Page 58 of Her Player

“Those dirty fucking bastards!” Brynn barked as we all slammed into the locker room.

Victoria clicked angrily in her heels behind her daughter, ushering the rest of us into the locker room. For the first time all season, things were eerily quiet, despite the incessant barking of the women.

Jett was having the time of his life, though. “Didn’t know those two had mouths on them.”

I just snickered before I took my seated spot in front of my locker.

Coach stood before us with Victoria and Bry on either side of him, their faces beet red and fuming. Victoria had never looked more powerful, standing there in her pencil skirt and her heels with our team jersey slipped over her plump curves.

I needed to get her a jersey with my name and number on it.

Coach drew in a deep breath. “We played a good season, boys.”

That whipped Victoria’s face up to his. “The hell does that mean? We aren’t out of this. Not yet. We’re still⁠—”

Coach shot her a look and I felt every muscle in my body wind up at once.

I didn’t leap to my feet.

That look was the wrong call. It was the way you shut down a player who’d gotten too lippy in the locker room, not the way you talked to the woman who owned the building you stood in. Coach was tired and he was frustrated and he was wrong, and I was about thirty seconds from telling him so in front of the entire roster.

I didn’t.

Because Victoria Caldwell had been running this franchise for fourteen years without me stepping in to defend her, and the second I started doing it in front of the team was the second she stopped being the owner in this room. She was already opening her mouth to say something back. I’d watched her drag harder men than Coach across the boardroom carpet without ever raising her voice. She didn’t need me jumping up to fight her battle.

I tightened my grip around my hockey stick. Not to hold my anger back. To remind myself that the most useful thing I could do for her right now was let her handle it the way she’d handled everything else.

Coach rubbed his hands down his face. “When a double forfeit⁠—”

Before he could even get his words out, a knock came at our locker room door.

“What?!” Coach barked.

And when the door swung open, it was one of the officials.

Bry took a step forward, but Coach put out his arm, preventing her from taking any more steps toward the man.

I stood and greeted him with a nod. “How can we help you?”

The official stood there with his hands slipped into his pockets. “Our playback cameras don’t show enough detail as to what really happened out on that ice.”

“It’s clear what happened on that ice,” Victoria said flatly.

The official looked at her before nodding solemnly. “Off the record, the Pirates are known for playing dirty. It’s why we always keep a fresh eye out for anything they may pull on the ice.”

“Is Moose all right?” I asked.

The official nodded at me. “He’s heading back this way now. I wanted to beat him here and let you know that despite the double forfeit, both teams are still eligible for the wildcard round of games.”

“You know they don’t deserve that,” Victoria glowered.

The official simply shrugged. “Even so, without clearer cameras, we can’t⁠—”

“Fuck the clearer cameras! I was in the goddamn VIP booth and I saw what the hell happened up there! You don’t get⁠—”

“Mom,” Bry said softly.

Victoria held still, and I watched her jaw work. I wasn’t sure if she was grinding her teeth or biting down onto her tongue, but she tried her hardest.