Page 119 of Wild Card 13

Director of Player Operations

NoActingbefore her title. I glared at it. Lucy was staying. Not helping temporarily. Not filling a gap. The thought moved through me slow and dangerous, the first crack in lake ice.

Sarah stood. “This is not a disciplinary meeting.”

“Feels defensive to open with that,” I said.

“It was for your benefit, Burns,” she responded.

Coach laughed once. Lucy did not. She clicked the remote in her hand, and the screen shifted to a clean title slide.

Northbend Community Outreach Skate

“Tomorrow morning,” Sarah continued, “we’re hosting a community outreach event on the secondary sheet. This was originally routed through PR, but with current departmental changes, operations is stepping in to stabilize final execution.”

Lucy stepped slightly forward. “The event is structured as a hockey clinic and fan meet-and-greet. Small group format. No formal press conference. No staged spectacle. The goal is community connection, not media extraction.”

Her voice was steady. I leaned back in my chair and watched her hands. The remote was tucked in her right palm. Her left thumb moved once over the edge of her folder.

Ezra nodded. “This is part of the larger effort to remind Northbend that these players are not just products on the ice. They’re members of the community.”

Coach glanced at me. “Average people too.”

I lifted both hands. “I have never claimed to be average.”

“Trust me,” Sarah said. “No one has accused you of that.”

A tiny ripple of amusement moved through the room. Enough to loosen the walls.

Lucy clicked to the next slide. The event schedule appeared.

Arrival.

Welcome skate.

Small-group drills.

Autographs.

Photo station.

Hot chocolate reception.

Alois made a low sound in his throat.

I looked over. “You objecting to hot chocolate?”

“I object to having to be approachable before nine in the morning.”

“You’re charming,” Ezra deadpanned.

Alois’s face did not change. “That is classified information.”

That time even Lucy’s mouth moved. Barely.

It was gone almost immediately, but I saw it. I had once spent an entire biology test watching the corner of her mouth because I was sixteen and stupid and halfway in love before I had the vocabulary for it.

Sarah continued like we were not all sitting around pretending Müller hadn’t just admitted he liked people. “Alois and Buzz are the player representatives currently attached to the event.”