Page 28 of Big Stick Energy
“Um, no,” she says quietly. “Making yourself available 24/7 to carry every player’s emotional load is not, in fact, part of the job. The players’ manual is on my desk, Tremaine. I know things.”
I clear my throat. “Yeah, okay. But it helps, you know? If they have someone to turn to who’s always there. They’ll play better if they’re feeling solid. That’s the idea anyway. And then we’ll win the Cup, and I’ll finally get a championship ring. And Porsche will notice me and offer me a sponsorship.”
She laughs. “You already have the Porsche, though.”
“True. Another sponsor, then. Brooks Brothers? I could save a lot of money on suits. Or maybe Blank Street Coffee. God knows I’m their best customer.”
“Whoareyour sponsors?”
This is embarrassing, but it’s my fault for bringing it up. “Beyond hockey gear, I don’t really have any. Still waiting for that big opportunity. But whatever. I don’t need the money.”
“Huh,” she says. “So I guess it’s a status thing, though? Like,you know you’ve made it when…”
“It’s exactly like that,” I agree. “I’m the captain of a team that’s made the playoffs for three years in a row. I’ve given my whole life to the sport…”
“… And DeLuca’s the one whose face is on a billboard on Seventh Avenue.”
“Right?” It comes out sounding a little more desperate than Iwould have wished. “My agent suggested I might be too clean-cut for some of the big brands.” I play that sentence back in my head and realize that it’s completely obnoxious. “Cry me a river, right? I can pay for my own coffee.”
“No, this is really interesting from a marketing perspective,” Darcy says slowly. “Sponsors seem to like the notoriety of troublemakers, because their faces have a lot of recognition. But then they sponsor them andpraythey don’t get into even more trouble. Look at Chase Merritt.”
“Exactly.” My teammate had a social media dustup early in the season, and all his sponsors got nervous.
“Maybe you need to get into more trouble,” Darcy says. “You need to show them some big stick energy.”
I bark out a laugh.
But she’s not done. “What kind of trouble do you want to get into? Road rage incident? Bar fight?”
“Sure, Kendrick. But why stop there? We could rob the package store on the way to this party.”
Darcy snickers. “I’d like to see that. You’d probably be polite about it. ‘Sir, if you wouldn’t mind opening that cash drawer. And if you’re having any woman troubles, I’m a good listener.’”
I try not to laugh, but she’s right.
“It’s fun hearing you saypackage store,” she says, leaning back in her seat. “Nobody says that in New York. Takes me back to high school.”
“Yeah? Do you get back to Massachusetts often? You grew up in… Bracknell, was it?”
There’s a brief silence from the passenger seat. “I don’t get back here too often,” she says slowly. “Just a couple of days at Christmas. My mother moved to New Jersey. My father is still inMassachusetts. But over the summer break, I’m busy with school. And the rest of the year… you know our schedule.”
“Yeah,” I agree. It’s a lot. But I like it that way. “Tell me about your family. Who am I meeting at this party?”
She mutters something under her breath. It sounds likehere we go.
Chapter 11
The New-Leather Smell
Darcy
Up until now, I’ve been sipping my latte and trying not to be so stupidly impressed by the new-leather smell of Eric’s Porsche or unnerved by the cozy size of the car’s cockpit.
We’re just two work friends heading to the same party, I keep telling myself.Stay calm.
Except now we’ve reached the tricky part of the conversation—my family. And since he’s about to meet most of them, I’m going to have to explain. Not that I’ll enjoy it.
Although it begs the question—which is more embarrassing? DMing Eric with an offer to lick him? Or my family’s history?
