Coach Rufini suddenly moved from his desk, heading toward one of the windows in his office, the one overlooking the parking lot. He stood facing the glass with his hands in his pockets. “Son, we don’t need the kind of publicity you bring with you to the table. I’m not going to lie about that. But the decision is really in your best interest if you want to make it to the big leagues. Your time is running out.”
Well, there it was for me, as blunt as could be.
My keen hearing could tell there was a commotion outside. I headed toward the window, sucking in my breath when I peered down at the parking lot. There was the press, security unable to remove them. I was certain they threw out some crap about filing lawsuits.
Both Gabe and the assistant coach seemed to be holding their breath. Wow.
I don’t know whether I was angry, disappointed, sad, or just exhausted from trying to prove myself. It was one thing to be in Saint’s shadow, but another to feel as if the entire weight of the shifter world was on my shoulders. I’d had enough. And before I did something stupid, it was time to get the hell away.
“I’ll need to think about it.” I started to walk out of the room. I’d hoped for another team and holding out was definitely in my best interest. There’d been other recruiters sniffing around. They were always looking to augment their talent.
“We’re not done yet, Steven. Give us the room,” the coach told the others.
With a deep exhale, I moved against the wall, remaining close to the door.
Brent walked out almost immediately, but Gabe lingered, moving in front of me.
“You need to do this, Beast.”
As soon as he threw that in my face, I bristled. “Fuck you.” I whispered the two words and knew by doing so, I could likely kiss my career goodbye but fuck him. Fuck all of them.
I expected him to throw some kind of a tantrum, but when he grinned, I had to laugh.
“That’s the spirit, my man,” he said. “I’m going to work on a Beast campaign. We’re going to carve this interview into something special. More money. More clout. Hell, by the time I’d finished with you, your brother will be in the dust. And I’ll be rich.”
Now he chose the moment to walk out.
“Greedy son of a bitch,” I muttered. I was mouthier than usual today. Maybe I had reached the end of my rope.
“Yeah, he is,” the coach agreed, even chuckling when he did, yet the moment was awkward between us.
I hated that it was obvious that two of the men were eager to get rid of me while the other was all about making money. Being a pawn or getting rich wasn’t the reason I wanted to play hockey. It never had been. I was born to play the game. It was all I’d ever wanted to do my whole life. Why did it feel as if no one would ever look past the man-eating beast to the man inside?
He returned behind his desk, sitting down. After fiddling with a group of papers, he leaned back, folding his arms behind his head. His fatherly stare meant a lecture was coming.
“Sit down, son. What happened with the game last night?”
I hadn’t wanted or expected him to ask the question, at least right now. Reluctantly, I slid into the seat. “Wait a minute. You think I sold my soul to that goddamn program. Don’t you? Well, I didn’t. I would never do that to my brother. Never.”
His exhale was heavy. “I didn’t say a word about the show, son. Not a word. Stop jumping to conclusions.”
I harrumphed, hating my lack of patience. “My mind wasn’t on the game. That’s all.”
“You sure about that?” He eyed me carefully.
“What does that mean? I’m not in the habit of lying.”
“That means you had eyes for a one hot blonde sitting in the stands. Don’t think I didn’t notice, or that half the team and the local paper didn’t either.”
Coach Rufini preferred paper versus computers, tossing the local newspaper across his desk, which had already been turned to the sports page. I didn’t need to pick it up to read the ridiculous headline.
Has Local Shifter and Hockey Star Steven ‘The Beast’ Savage Found his Lifelong Mate?
The photograph was of me peering up at her from the ice with both hands on my heart.
“Oh, Christ.” This time, the growl I issued was ripe with anger. I was sick to death of the intrusive headlines. “That was a damn joke.” No wonder Gabe had been frothing at the mouth.
“Yeah? Doesn’t look like a joke to me. You were showing off for her, for one thing.” When I opened my mouth to reject what he’d told me, he shook his head. “We’re not going to discuss the Jell-O shots. I can’t stomach it. Just another distraction. When you were hired, you were quiet, content with doing what you needed to do and heading home. Then out of the blue, you started going to parties.”
