OneManAdvantage (17 page)

“We just fucking made you captain! You can’t go around
punching out your own players!”

Logan gritted his teeth. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Fuck me.” Scott ran a hand through his thinning hair. He
covered his eyes. “Tell me what happened.”

“It doesn’t matter. I was wrong to do that. If you want to
take the C away, I’ll understand.”

Scott lowered his hand and stared at him. “Jesus Christ.
You’re not going to fucking tell me, are you?”

Logan narrowed his eyes. “I said I’m sorry.”

“You can go now.”

Logan felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. Oh yeah, he
had
been. But more than just the physical blow, his insides now knotted so tightly
he thought he might puke. He nodded and rose to his feet, then walked out of
Scott’s office.

Well, he’d been captain for about an hour and a half. Good
thing he hadn’t phoned his parents. Or Tag or Jase or Matt.

He couldn’t regret what he’d done, much as he’d apologized
to Scott for it. He’d apologize all over the place, because he knew he was
supposed to. But he wasn’t sorry he’d punched that asshole Burrell’s face.

He left the arena. He didn’t know where to go. He’d have his
own place in a couple of days. He’d been waiting for that with so much
anticipation, mostly because then he and Nicole wouldn’t have to try to avoid
Fedor and Taylor. He knew she hated that. At that moment, he wanted his own
place so he’d have somewhere to go and be by himself and lick his wounds in
private.

First Nicole had shut him down. Shut him out. Let him down.
He’d been so pumped about being made captain. She’d been the first one he
wanted to tell, the only one who mattered. And she’d fucking let him down. Her
dismissal had been like a kick in the nuts.

Then that douchebag Burrell had seen them. Logan had been
pissed at Nicole and somehow Burrell had sensed there was more to it than just
business, but he’d waited to say anything, following Logan back into the
dressing room where some of the guys were lounging around eating wings and
watching TV. Logan had had the mistaken idea that he was going to be safer with
others around, but when Cody had mouthed off about Nicole, red heat had
exploded in his head and he’d mouthed off back at him. Then Cody’d nailed him
in the gut and he’d retaliated by drifting the guy in the nose. Fucking broken
it too, blood spattered all over the rug. Cody’d fought back, landing a couple
of good blows, and the guys had had to break it up, dragging them apart. He’d
caught Fedor driving a fist into Burrell’s stomach as he’d helped break up the
fight. He smiled at that. Then Scott and Brad and Travis had come running in,
and…well, he could kiss that C goodbye now.

Fuck. Who cared. He stopped at a red light, so tired he
wanted to rest his head on the steering wheel. He guessed he had nowhere else
to go but back to Fedor’s place. He really did not feel like facing one of his
teammates at that moment. He let out a heartfelt sigh.

Tomorrow his parents and Jase would be in town for dinner.
They were all excited about the baby. Mom was planning to fly to Chicago as
soon as they got back to Winnipeg, all anxious to see her granddaughter. Jase
would be the hero yet again and he’d be the big loser, the guy who’d been made
captain and blew it an hour later. The guy who’d found the perfect girl for him
and was all excited for his parents to meet her, but she refused to meet them
or even go on a date with him. And never mind the whole trade thing, which he
understood was business, but still stung.

One free admission to the Pity Party. Yeah, that was him.
Well, he could wallow in it for a day or so. Maybe. Maybe a week.

Chapter Seventeen

Breck called Nicole into his office first thing the next
morning. She hadn’t slept and her head ached with a tightness that started at
the base of her skull. Her heart ached too, over Logan and what had happened
and the fact that she hadn’t heard from him.

“Okay,” he said. “We have a change in plans. Hold off on
that media release and the press conference about Logan Heller being captain.”

She rubbed her forehead, looking at Scott through tired
eyes. “What do you mean?”

“There was an incident yesterday in the dressing room. A bit
of a brawl broke out among some of the players.”

“What?” She was really tired, but she wasn’t getting this.
“A fight in the dressing room? Our dressing room? Our players?”

“Yeah. Logan was there and involved in it. Apparently Cody
Burrell instigated it by insulting a woman again.”

Her stomach swooped and a flash of adrenaline heated her
veins.
Merde
! He
had
said something! She squeezed her hands into
fists briefly, then forced herself to relax, open her eyes and look at Breck.
“Great,” she said. “I gather it was me. We have to do this again?”

Breck actually grinned.

She gaped at him.

“I don’t know who it was,” he said. “None of the guys would
repeat what he said or who it was about.”

“And that’s funny?”

“No, not funny. I actually think it’s kind of sweet, these
big, tough guys defending…uh, the woman. Protecting her, so to speak.”

“It was me.”

“I don’t know. I’m guessing it might have been. But like I
said, nobody will say.”

She tried to wrap her head around all this. She knew it was
her. Breck guessed it was her. But nobody was saying.

“We’re trying to decide how to deal with this. Logan was
involved.”

“You mean they might not make him captain after all?” Her
stomach swooped.

He sighed. “Your captain can’t be brawling with his
teammates in the dressing room.”

“No. Of course not.” She bit down on her bottom lip. Oh god,
no. This was just horrible. And it was all her fault! “Does the media know
about this?”

“We’re trying to keep it quiet.” He rolled his eyes. “Rumors
get started pretty quickly, though.”

“I won’t say anything. Obviously.”

“Logan’s pretty tight-lipped about what went down, but we’ve
talked to the others who were there and gotten a picture of what happened.
Logan didn’t start the fight. But he did participate. I guess he defended y…uh,
the woman, called Cody some choice names and basically told him to shut the
fuck up. Cody took a swing at him, Logan punched him and broke his nose.”

Tabarnac de câlisse!
She stared at him, wide-eyed.
She closed her eyes, her blood roaring in her ears.

“The other guys broke Logan and Cody apart, Scott and Brad
walked in and it was done.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why…I just…” She stumbled to a halt
and rubbed her face. “I’m sorry, Breck.”

Did he know about her and Logan? He hadn’t said that. Should
she say anything?

“Once again, this isn’t your fault, Nicole. I don’t know
what Cody’s problem is exactly.”

“I feel like it’s my fault.”

“I can’t say much more about it. They’re still figuring out
how to handle this. But we need to hold off on our communications for now.”

She nodded. Her throat was too tight to speak, so she just
gave Breck a tight smile and returned to her desk. A string of curses in French
ran through her head. As if she was going to be able to concentrate on work for
the rest of the day.

What was going to happen to Logan? He’d been defending her
to that asshat.

Her heart swelled and ached in her chest. Even after she’d
been so awful to him. He’d put his chance at being captain of the team at risk
because of her. Once again, she could only beat herself up for having ever
gotten involved with him. This was so bad for him! He’d been so excited about
being captain. He deserved it. And now because of her, it was all screwed up.

She would totally understand if the team didn’t want her
working there. Her worst nightmare had come true. It had happened again. They’d
said before it wasn’t her fault, but sweet Jesus in the lap of Mary, she’d gone
and gotten involved with another player when she’d vowed not to, when she knew
how bad it could be, not just for her, but for everyone. The entire damn team.

At this point, nobody knew this was because of her. But word
would get out. It wouldn’t be hard for people to figure it out once they’d
heard that the fight had been over a woman.

She could tell them the truth about her and Logan and wait
for them to fire her. Or she could wait it out and hope the truth never came
out. Or she could just save everybody the trouble and quit.

Once again, she had to face the very real, very
heartbreaking possibility that it would be best for everybody if she left.

* * * * *

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Logan lifted his head and looked at Jase. “Huh?”

“You’re totally out of it. What’s going on?”

They sat there in the swanky downtown restaurant with his
parents. A bunch of other Chicago players were at a long table just across the
restaurant, also having dinner the night before the game.

“Nothing.”

“Is this because of Nicole?” his mom asked. “Why didn’t she
come for dinner too?”

“Who’s Nicole?” Jase demanded.

“Nobody.”

His mom made a sound. “When we talked on the phone, you
sounded so happy. I was excited that you were seeing someone you actually
wanted us to meet.”

“Yeah, well, things didn’t work out.”

“Oh.” He caught the concern on his mom’s face. “Are you
okay, Logan?”

“I’m fine.”

They’d held off on the announcement about making him captain
while they figured out how to handle this whole big fucking mess. So he
couldn’t tell his parents about that. And he couldn’t introduce them to Nicole.
Loser.

“What’s happening with the baby?” he asked Jase, changing
the subject. “Home from the hospital yet?”

“Yeah. Brianne took her home yesterday. I’ve talked to her,
but haven’t been over there.”

“What the hell do you do about custody of a newborn?” Logan
asked. Jase’s face clouded. Shit. Maybe that had been kind of tactless.

“Obviously, Emily has to be with Brianne right now. She’s
breastfeeding her. I’ll just visit sometimes…” He shrugged, the corners of his
mouth drawn down. “We’ll have to work out a custody arrangement later.”

“And how’s Remi dealing with it all?”

“She’s dealing. She’s happy that the baby’s here and she’s
fine. She loves babies.” He sighed.

“When are you going to get married?” Mom asked, leaning
forward. “You and Remi should have a baby of your own.”

Jase gave her a lopsided smile. “I’m trying to convince her
of that. I didn’t realize how much this was going to affect me. I’m really
bummed about not seeing Emily much. But even though Remi loves babies and wants
a family, she needs time for herself right now.”

“That’s kind of selfish,” Logan said.

Jase’s head whipped around to glare at him. “Selfish? Did
you just call my fiancée selfish?”

“He didn’t mean that,” Mom said, reaching for Jase’s arm.

“I didn’t mean to insult her,” Logan said. “I just meant,
she should be thinking of you.”

“She spent her whole life thinking of others,” Jase said
hotly. “It’s about time she put herself first. I’m not going to push my sad
agenda on her if she’s not ready for it.”

Logan leaned back in his chair. He gave a dry laugh. Jase
was defending the woman he loved. His gut cramped at the thought of how he’d
tried to defend Nicole and what that had gotten him. Fucking nothing, that’s
what, and she didn’t even give a shit.

Jase scowled. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. Just ignore me. I’m in a bad mood.”

“Yeah. I’ll say.” Jase shot him a black look.

“You’re certainly not yourself,” Mom said, her eyebrows
pinched together. “You’re usually so carefree and relaxed. You seem…tense.”

“Sorry, Mom. You guys drove all the way here to see us and
I’m being a jerk.”

“You’re not a jerk,” she said, studying him with scary
maternal perceptiveness. “But something’s really wrong. Were things really
serious with this Nicole?”

He looked down at the fork he was playing with. “For me. Not
for her.”

“I’m sorry.”

As usual, Dad sat there and took it all in without saying
much. That was him. But now he said, “Anything we can do, son?”

Logan shook his head, forcing a smile. “Nah. I’m good.”

He got the conversation steered back to something nice and
safe, something they all liked to talk about—hockey.

* * * * *

The next day Scott once again called Logan into his office.
He was wearing out a path in and out of there. But this time the news was good.
Somewhat.

“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. We talked to the other
players involved in the incident the other day and I think we have a good sense
of what happened.” He eyed Logan sharply. “Everyone was pretty unanimous in
saying that you didn’t start the fight with Cody.”

Logan pressed his lips together, gave a short nod and held
Scott’s gaze steadily. “No, sir. I didn’t.”

“They confirmed you were defending a woman.”

“Yes.”

“Nobody will say who it was.”

Logan let out a long, slow breath but said nothing.

“You know that was completely inappropriate behavior.”

“Yes sir.”

“Cody won’t dress for the game tonight,” Scott said grimly.
“And we’re putting him on waivers.”

Logan gripped the armrests of the chair he sat in and kept
his face neutral. “I’m sorry to hear that. He’s a good player.”

“Let me be frank here. We still want to make you captain.
It’ll be announced officially tomorrow. We held off while we figured out what
to do about this mess. Cody has been a disruptive influence on the team. He has
talent, no question, but he needs to deal with some anger management issues. He
won’t play for the team again.”

Logan nodded. This actually made him very happy, but it
didn’t seem right to be happy about someone else’s misfortune. Cody was an
asshole, but Christ, he was shitting his career down the toilet with his bad
behavior. That sucked big time.

“Thank you,” he said instead. “I appreciate your fairness in
this and I’ll make sure your trust in me to lead the team is earned.”

Scott smiled. “Damn right.”

They talked about the game that night. “My parents are
here,” Logan mentioned as he left. “They came to watch my brother and me play.”

Scott shook his head. “Who the hell do they cheer for when
that happens?”

Logan’s cocky answer at one time would have been “Me.” But
he didn’t feel so cocky at that moment. Even though he hadn’t lost out on the
opportunity to be captain, his self-esteem had taken a bit of a bruising. “My
mom always says she just wants us to both play well and she doesn’t care who
wins. My dad, though, was a big Chicago fan for years, so I have a feeling he’s
cheering for them. That’s okay, though.”

He took another deep breath as he left Scott’s office and
released it slowly. Okay. This was good. He hadn’t completely blown everything.
Hadn’t lost everything. Just Nicole.

But that was a lot.

* * * * *

Nicole ran through the arena that evening carrying a laptop.
Their graphic designer Tassi’s laptop had died and she needed it to edit the
images the photographers were taking and upload them to the cloud storage used
by the NHL.

There was always something. Nicole had been running all day
after that disturbing meeting with Breck. There’d been some kind of printing
problem with the game-day issue of Faceoff and she’d been on the phone with the
printer half the morning. A season-ticket holder had complained that one of the
team photographers kept blocking his view and he hadn’t seen a goal all season.
She’d had to track down Ryan to help her deal with that, placating the
season-ticket holder, making sure he was satisfied—they paid big bucks for
season tickets, of course they wanted to see every goal—while making sure the
photographers were able to do their job. There were only so many places the
photographers could stand and get prime game shots, and depending on which team
was playing, sometimes there were a lot of photographers there. And now this
issue with the computer.

She hadn’t had a lot of time to sit and stew about what she
should do, but at some point she was going to have to sit down and make a
decision.

She dashed into the media room where Tassi was working, a
memory flashing through her mind of Logan dragging her in there that day and
the excitement on his face when he’d told her his news. She grimly pushed that
away and helped Tassi plug in and boot up.

“Okay, good,” Tassi said with relief. “I uploaded my test
image and it worked fine, and then all of a sudden, nothing. I gotta get busy
now. Ryan brought me his first-period shots, over two hundred to go through.”

“That’s a lot.”

“Tell me about it.” But Tassi grinned. “Thanks, Nicole,
you’re a lifesaver.”

“Okay!” Nicole smiled back and let out a long breath.
“What’s happening in the game?”

“It’s tied at one. I watched the first period.” Tassi didn’t
have much to do until after the first period, when the photographers brought
her their images. “Logan got one goal and his brother got the Chicago goal.
Isn’t that funny?”

“Yeah.” Nicole’s heart bumped. “I guess I’ll go watch a
bit.” She was finished with everything that needed to be done and could stop
and watch some of the game. She left the media room and squeezed through the
big curtain closing off the opening in the stands, then made her way beneath
the seats to stand by the glass at rink level, near the Caribou net. A Chicago
player took a slap shot from the blue line and missed the net, banging it off
the glass near where she stood. She jumped at the noise, even though she knew
she was safe, and grinned at Ryan, who was seated on a small stool there with
the lens of his camera in a hole in the glass. He’d jerked back too, not
wanting to take a puck in his expensive camera lens.