Page 76 of The Chemistry Coach
“Then why,” Coach Bree asked, “did I receive a phone call from the company we hired to lead that effort saying you refused to attend the last session?”
Connor threw up his arms, ready to defend their decision, and pleased when Hazy and Lover were willing to do the same.They all talked over each other.
“Hey!”Coach had to raise his voice to cut them off.“Beanie, you are the veteran player here, and I expect you to lead by example.So please explain to me why you blew off an activity I instructed you to take seriously.”
Connor braced his hands on his knees, taking a deep breath trying to lower his blood pressure before he spoke.“They fired the woman we had been working with.The replacement was unprofessional.Daisy has become a key part of our dynamic and performance.When we found out Collaborative Craft fired her, we went to find her.”
“Of fucking course this is about a woman.Which one of you is screwing this Daisy girl?”He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Connor’s face grew hot, and he looked toward the ceiling as three gazes bore a hole in his head.“We are not sleeping together.”Not for lack of trying on his end though.
He hadn’t seen her since his sister caught them making out.Connor had been eager to get her home so he could even the score, but Sarah had insisted on chatting with Daisy for an hour and a half, and by the time he got Daisy home she was nodding off.He’d said goodnight with a soft kiss on her lips, and the next day he’d left for a three-game road trip.He’d gotten by with texts and memes shared between them, but he was dying to see her in the flesh.
Hazy smacked Connor’s arm.“You’re not?Damn, dude.We did so much to set you up for success.”
Throwing his hands up, Coach said, “Jesus Christ.I sent you there to bond as a group, not to get your fucking dick wet, Greene.”
Lover came to Connor’s defense.“It’s not like that, sir.Daisy is our friend.She became a part of our team, and they fired her because of us, but she’s amazing at her job.She could make mortal enemies have a slumber party and like it.”
Coach rubbed a hand down his face.“What do you mean you got her fired?”
Hazy grimaced.“She’s a hockey fan, okay?She knew who we were and the types of things we would respond to.She’s been friends with Patrick Mills for years.She even got Patrick and Beanie to be civil.”
Coach uncrossed his arms.Some of the tension left the room, and Connor allowed himself to relax.“Surely they didn’t fire her because she was a fan.And youjustsaid you aren’t fucking her.”
“Oh!”Hazy said, seeming to remember he’d lost the point in his explanation.“She has a podcast.Remember that audio clip you had us listen to before we started all this?That was her!The whole team listens to it now.I went on it, and her work said she violated the NDA she’d signed when she agreed to work with us.”
“Sounds like she was terminated for cause then.”
“I’ve listened to the episode, and she didn’t say anything about working with us.She said she’d gotten to know us recently.Everything stayed vague.They used that as an excuse.If she hadn’t been helping us, she would still have her job.”
Coach circled his desk and sat in his chair.“Listen, boys.You can straighten this whole thing out however you want, I don’t care, but I need you to go finish the last activity so I can cross it off my list for management.”
Connor straightened his shoulders and looked the man dead in the eyes, knowing it wasn’t smart, but being unwilling to go back while Daisy remained jobless.“I’m not going.It won’t do any good.”
Coach sighed, putting his face in his hands.“Connor, I need you to do this, okay?It’s working for your game.If I’m being honest, I’ve been told they plan to shop you around before the trade deadline.You want to stay near your family, and I’m doing my best to justify keeping you to management, but you have to work with me.”
A lump formed in Connor’s throat.Management was considering trading him.He’d been a star for them for years, and instead of renewing his contract, they planned to move on from him at the deadline.
The room was quiet for ages, and Connor couldn’t bring himself to face his linemates.
Lover leaned forward in his seat, fingertips coming together to form a triangle.“Do we have to do the training through Collaborative Craft?Or do we have to show we completed a group bonding plan of some sort?”
Coach Bree shrugged.“I don’t think it matters.”
Hazy mirrored Lover’s pose.“We’ll do it, but you have to hire Daisy to finish out the program.And you have to pay her whatever astronomical number you were paying the other place.”
Both boys relaxed in their chairs, pleased smiles on their faces as they waited for Coach Bree’s response.He rolled his eyes.“Greene, that work for you?I hire your little girlfriend, and you cooperate?”
Connor realized he was staring open-mouthed at Hazy and Lover, and he snapped his mouth shut, turning his attention to Coach.“Yes, that works for me.”
“Thank God, get her down here ASAP.We need this finished this week.”
He dismissed the group with a wave of his hand.
Daisy was unavailable for two more days.Connor had seen her briefly when she met with management, and she stuck her tongue down his throat in the elevator before telling him she couldn’t hang out.
She’d been planning their latest adventure and gave them an address.Arriving at a rundown bowling alley surprised them.
