Page 191 of Rookie Attraction

“I’ll wear a bow when I get back.”

The next morning

I’m prepared for Hugo’s lecture as soon as I see him at the rink, but he’s busy talking to Range and doesn’t even acknowledge me. I take advantage of the break and pick up my pace. Only, when I’m about to walk past them, Range turns to me.

“Hold up, Kirkland, we need to speak. My office.”

Great, I’m gonna get a lecture from Coach too…

Once we’re in his office and the door’s shut, I wait silently. Range looks at Hugo and Hugo nods.

“I wanted to inform you that, as of this morning, Brady is no longer a part of the Rush organization.”

It takes a couple of seconds for the news to sink in. Is this for real or am I dealing with jet lag?

“Where’s he going?” I ask Range.

“I have no idea. He’s been terminated.”

“We can’t go into details,” Hugo adds. “But suffice to say, he won’t be bothering you anymore.”

“Not in person. But I’m guessing he’s still going to blame this on me.”

“Then he needs to look in a mirror. He should have kept his mouth shut,” Range replies. “He showed no effort on the ice this season, he went rogue on our PR team, made public insinuations about teammates, and ignored calls from management. That isn’t the way to do business. Most important of all, his attitude with the rest of the team was shitty, and his behavior toward you was inexcusable. ”

“Speaking of going rogue—” I glare at Hugo.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, Sel. Answering questions from the media is part of your job. And you want to talk about rogue? What was that comment yesterday? If you have something to say? Care to enlighten me about that?”

“Not at this time.” I smirk. “But hey, aren’t you happy with all the attention my comments received?”

Hugo rolls his eyes, and I glance at Range, who looks like he wants to yell at both of us.

“Can we focus please?” Coach grumbles. “I’m going to inform the team about Brady asap. Kirkland, get changed, and Hugo, I’ll meet you in the conference room after for the presser.”

I do as I’m told and head for the locker room. Most of the guys are busy sharing stories about their holidays, and I do the rounds. When I get to Berg, he gives me a knowing look.

“How was your break?” he asks.

“Awesome. Cali sun and time with the fam. You?”

“Quiet, but restful,” he replies with a grin. “I’m psyched to get out there. Seems like the air is charged today.”

“I know what you mean.”

Sure enough, by the time I change, Range appears and makes the announcement to the team. There’s silence, questions—like who’s going to replace Brady—and when Range is gone, celebration.

Even St. Clare, Brady’s buddy, pulls me aside.

“Is it weird that I’m relieved too?” St. Clare admits. “Brady got so vicious, and I felt—sorry, I feel shitty about the things he said to you, things I went along with at the beginning. I should’ve tried to put a stop to it, but instead I just kind of withdrew. Man, I can’t believe I was once tight with that guy. What am I saying? I’m no better than him.”

He shakes his head and looks away.

“Look, I don’t think anyone could’ve convinced Brady to change. He made up his mind when I arrived and that was it, and he stopped playing the way he should’ve. He’s the one to blame for this situation, not you.”

“You’re way too forgiving, Kirkland,” St. Clare mutters. “Seems like we have a lot of work ahead of us. Me more than anyone.”

St. Clare stalks off before I can say anything else. I head back to my stall and check my phone. Finn’s already messaged me.