“Owen!” I jog toward him, somewhat hampered by the coffee cups I’m carrying. It feels utterly ridiculous to be chasing my client through his workplace, but I’m already losing ground. Ridiculous, and somehow still personal. Damn his long legs!
“Owen!” I bellow.
He ignores me, though my shouting does attract the attention of a few of the players. Adler grins and waves atme. “Good morning, Remy! I totally didn’t strain my groin yesterday.”
“Hey, Adler.” I flash him a tight smile as I hustle past the cluster of Venom players. They immediately start whispering among themselves. I swear, I thought the girls in college were bad. Who knew that jocks were as gossipy as co-eds?
Owen swings into rooms with no apparent pattern. He bolts from hydro to the skate shop, then to the weight room, then the film room, then the trainer’s office. It feels like shadowing a very large, very irritated hummingbird, and every time I get close to catching up with him, he manages to give me the slip. Like he’s not just avoiding the conversation, butme.
He finally dips into the locker room, leaving me standing outside, breathless and flushed. He’s lucky that he’s out of reach of the tepid coffee I bought him, because otherwise, he’d be getting a faceful of bean water. I’m clammy. Part exertion. Part irritation. I don’t like being handled this way.
“Problem, Remy?”
I swallow a groan, expecting to find Adler hovering at my shoulder. I’m surprised, and somewhat relieved, to come face to face with Camden instead.
“I’ve misplaced my client,” I say through gritted teeth. My petty bullshit meter is in the red.
“Ah, yes.” Camden offers a sheepish grin. “I think he may be having a bad day.”
“Heis?” I demand.
Camden reaches for the coffee cups. “Was one of these for him?”
“Here.” I shove one of the cups into his waiting hand. “Take it.Heclearly doesn’t want it, and if I drink both of them, I’ll have steam coming out of my ears.”
Camden chuckles to himself as he takes a sip. “Listen, I know Owen can be difficult to talk to.”
I raise one eyebrow. “You think?”
He hums while he takes another swig. “Ooh, you got the good stuff. Listen, can I tell you a story?”
“Go for it.” I take my own coffee and slurp down the lukewarm beverage. He’s right, it’s still pretty good, but it would have been better hot. Too bad I was too busy chasingsomebodyaround the arena to enjoy it.
Camden smiles at my no-doubt grumpy expression. “My wife works with rescue animals, you know? She’s really good at earning their trust. But sometimes she’ll come across an animal that needs their space.”
“Is Owen the sad kitten in this situation? Because I’m feeling less than sympathetic at the moment.”
Camden cocks his head. “You think he’s a cat? I see him more as a puppy. And dogs are pretty friendly, for the most part, unless they’ve been hurt before. Once a dog learns to be distrustful, though, they tend to lead with their teeth.”
I exhale through my nose. “Okay.” If this turns out to be some story about how Owen got burned by a woman in the past, and now he’s wary of redheads or whatever, I’m going to flip a table.
“He’s a good guy,” Camden says slowly, choosing each word with care. “When he has time to think, he’s easygoing. But when you corner him, he lashes out. Why do you think that is?”
Because he’s gotten one too many concussions while goaltending.
Camden’s serious expression makes me think twice, though. “Because—”
“Because it’s what he’s been taught,” Camden says in a low voice. “Because it’s what he knows.” That lands differently than I expected. He takes a step back from me and grins, speaking at normal volume. “Thanks for the coffee, Remy. I’ll tell Owen he’sa dick for giving you the runaround.” He uses the cup to give a gesture that vaguely resembles a salute, then turns away.
I watch him leave, wondering what to do with the information he just gave me. Why can’t guys ever seem to come out and say what they mean?
But I get the idea, at any rate. I head off to the lower bowl to watch the team practice and figure out my next move.
Not to cool off. To rethink my approach.
* * *
Owen’s attempt at escaping the building is foiled by my foresight. While he took the world’s fastest post-workout shower, I posted up by his car. When he sees me leaning on the hood, he grimaces.
