ShouldveKnownBetter (3 page)

As she walked toward Keith, forty pairs of male eyes assessed her from head to toe and her blush deepened. “She’s our new consultant?” one of the guys in the front row asked, disbelief evident in his voice.

Great start. I’m beet red and the players are incredulous.

“Yes,” Keith said. “This is Sarah Jenkins. As we explained in the e-mail, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell before coming here. Her specialty is statistical analysis.”

He paused a moment to let the undercurrent of chatter die down then continued. “Sarah was hired by the NHL to help us out.” Keith had said it matter-of-factly, but there was no mistaking the meaning behind his words. This hadn’t been their decision.

Awesome, the whole team knowing that isn’t going to help my case.
If they were already skeptical, which it was obvious they were, knowing her appointment hadn’t been Jon’s or Keith’s idea would only make this more of an uphill battle.

“Because of that, we’re using Sarah as, let’s say, an experiment.” More murmurs went up from the guys and Keith motioned with a slash of his hand for everyone to settle.

He’s basically saying he doesn’t know if I’ll be of any use to the team or not. A ringing endorsement.

Maybe she’d been wrong about Keith being the easier one to win over. That made Sarah more determined than ever to prove herself.

Jon stepped up. Like most coaches in the NHL, he was an ex-player. He still worked out, and it showed in his large biceps and broad chest. His hair was cropped close to his head, and he, like the other on-ice coaches, wore a warm-up suit. His famous hardened gaze swept the room and the players snapped to attention with military-like precision.

It was obvious why Jon was a head coach. He had the perfect demeanor for it. The man had been a bruising defenseman for Philadelphia during his playing days, and his attitude still held that cocky self-assurance.

“Sarah will work with Doug analyzing both our team and other teams by doing in-person and video analysis. Everyone has that stuff these days, but what she’s proposing has never been done in the NHL before.”

Considering his attitude toward her before now, Sarah almost fell over hearing Jon defend her.

“It might not work, and I’m the first to admit I have my doubts, but we’re going to try it. Sarah will spend time in the video room, attend practices, and be in the press box during games. She will meet with us and use her knowledge and experience to give us an edge over our opponents.” Jon turned to Sarah and motioned toward the guys.

It was time for her to speak.
I deserve this chance. I deserve to be here.

After taking a deep breath, she said, “Hi, guys. Just to give you a little more background, I was born and raised in Rochester, and I’ve been a hockey fan all my life. I rooted for the Storm growing up, then went to Cornell and continued to follow the team while I got a PhD in applied mathematics. Yes, I’m a math geek.”

She smiled when they chuckled. Some of the weight lifted off her shoulders.
So far, so good. No one’s thrown me out yet at least.

“I’ve never played, but I know the game.” For the first time, Sarah noticed Sebastian sitting in the second row. She’d been deliberately stopping herself from searching him out, not wanting the distraction of a man she found entirely too attractive for her mental well-being.

Sebastian smiled, his eyes glowing with warmth. Male interest was plain in their brooding depths.

Her breath caught.
Wow, I wasn’t wrong when I met him. He’s interested.

Shaken, she ended her speech with a simple, “I’m looking forward to being a part of a winning season.”

“All right, enough of this admin shit. Let’s get our asses out on the ice!” Jon roared.

The guys started filing out. The captain, Ben Gerber, and a few of the others approached her and formally introduced themselves. She greeted each, shaking his hand and smiling. Ben asked a couple of questions about her plans and the players standing nearest gathered to listen while she briefly described some of her work with the Cornell hockey team and how her findings would translate to the NHL.

As she spoke, one of the players on the periphery leered at her.
Gross.
In the back of her mind she’d known it might be a possibility she’d encounter someone like him, but facing the reality on her first day with the players was discouraging.

Ben and the others left, and the man stepped forward, taking both of her hands and invading her personal space. He had an appearance she identified with Russian and Scandinavian players: pale skin and gray eyes, a heavy brow and high cheekbones. His smile was just a little too predatory for her comfort and she wasn’t sure how to react. She didn’t want to call unnecessary attention to herself.

He pulled her even closer then kissed each of her cheeks. “Welcome. I am Jaroslav. You are beautiful woman. You will go on date with me.”

Sarah frowned.
What a pig. And nice line. Does he expect me to believe he thinks I’m beautiful? I’m a dork with a PhD. He probably hits on anything with breasts.
She yanked her hands away. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because I work for the team, for one thing.” She glanced around, hoping Jaroslav wasn’t going to cause a scene. The last thing she needed was for the guys to think she was easy prey. She was no one’s prey. In the past she’d let her guard down, and had learned her lesson well.

Sebastian strolled toward her, and she smiled, glad to have an excuse to get away from Jaroslav. Leaving the jerk standing there, Sarah approached the younger man. “How did I do?”

“You did well. It’s hard being new. I should know. I'm still considered new since I haven't cracked the main roster yet. Been invited to the training camp before though, and been playing in the AHL while I wait for my chance. This is my third time…”

He was babbling, and despite wanting to stay professional around him, Sarah could admit to herself it was pretty damn cute.

Sebastian glared at someone over her shoulder and she pivoted to find him and Jaroslav engaged in a stare down.
Great, I might already be turning teammates against each other. That’s not gonna help my cause.
Sebastian didn’t capitulate, instead moving closer to her.

With narrowed eyes and a thunderous expression, he continued to play the game of “who will blink first” with the older man. Sarah shivered. The idea of guys like these two powerful men squaring off was a scary proposition. After another glare in Sebastian’s direction, Jaroslav skulked from the room.

Sebastian met Sarah’s gaze. She jerked her chin toward the door. “Thanks.”

“What is up with him?”

He didn’t get the new toy he wanted.
“Who knows?”

“So do you want to run screaming yet?”

Sarah loved Sebastian’s somewhat stilted English, which sounded adorable rather than odd. Add a beautiful smile along with his many other fine attributes, and Karen’s assessment was right, he was a dazzler. “You don’t scare me.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire…

Sebastian winked and Sarah’s heart skipped a beat. “Just be yourself and you’ll be fine, you know? They’re not really all that scary.”

Sarah thought back to Jaroslav. She’d have to watch her back with him. Her gut told her not to trust him for a minute.

Another man joined them and grinning, held out his hand. He was shorter and stockier than Sebastian. “Hi, I’m Rob D’Amico, Sebastian’s roommate and quite obviously, the handsome one in the house.”

Liking him immediately, she laughed and shook his hand. “Hi, Rob.”

“So you’re gonna astonish us with all kinds of complicated math stuff, huh? Contrary to popular belief, hockey players are pretty smart, so bring it on. Well, I’m pretty smart.” He jerked a thumb toward Sebastian. “I can’t speak for my roomie.”

Sebastian punched Rob. “Wow, two mean things in a row. Besides, you’re the one who likes to watch cartoons.”

“Cartoons are awesome. Maybe my taste is just more refined.”

Sebastian snorted. “Or way less.”

Sarah threw her head back and laughed. “Wow, tough crowd. Despite how intelligent you obviously are, I’ll try to make things easy for the team.”

Rob grinned and Sebastian shook his head. Rob would be good to lighten the team’s mood. Sarah imagined he was popular in the locker room. He didn’t take himself too seriously.

“Come on,” he said to Sebastian. “We’d better get out on the ice before Jon decides wind sprints are a great way to open camp.”

“Ugh, no thanks.” Sebastian waved as they loped from the room.

Doug said good-bye to one of the staff members then approached.

She gave him a rueful grin and wrinkled her nose. “I hate public speaking. I felt like such a dork. ‘Hi, I’m the math geek.’”

He laughed with her. The moment they’d met she’d known they would get along well, and he hadn’t proven her wrong yet. “You did fine. They’ll come around. Some of them are just a little skeptical about a woman who’s never played hockey, doing this kind of work.”

“A little? Well then, that’s all right.” She let out an indelicate snort. Running a hand through her hair, she mentally reminded herself to get some hair clips to keep in her office. “Just gives me something to work toward. So what’s next?”

After a few twelve-hour days sifting through video with Doug, Sarah feared she’d never see straight again. Her neck, back, and shoulders were killing her from all the time she’d spent huddled in the uncomfortable chairs in the video room. Even though they’d reviewed video at least a couple of hours a day since shortly after she started, the days of
just
watching video were brutal, and they hadn’t yet finished going through tapes of each Storm player. Then they’d move on to the divisional opponents. The rest of the Eastern conference would come next, and last would be the remaining teams in the NHL.

She reached back and rubbed at a troublesome sore spot on her neck, trying without much success to focus her bleary eyes. Already she was working long hours, and the season hadn’t even begun. She couldn’t complain—she absolutely loved her job—but the niggling guilt about leaving Tasha alone all the time wouldn’t go away. There was no good solution to the problem. If she got another animal to keep Tasha company, that would be one more thing to take care of when she was home and then leave behind when the team traveled.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Doug glanced at her and grinned. “Sure, that’s what I’m here for.”

“This is a different type of question.”

Sitting up, he gave her his full attention. “Shoot.”

“Do you think everyone is just waiting for me to fail? I’d like your opinion about how I’m being perceived.”

Doug’s eyes widened and he didn’t seem to know how to react. Finally, he asked, “What do you mean?”

Sarah fidgeted, doodling on her notepad as she considered how to couch her concerns. After a moment, she forced herself to meet Doug’s gaze. “I fear that some of the players, plus Jon and a few of the front-office guys, think this is all a big joke. I’ve heard some whispering in the halls, snickering when I talk during meetings, that sort of thing.”

Doug nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen a little of that too.”

At least it’s not just my own paranoia if Doug has noticed it too.
“You know these guys better than I do. Do you have any suggestions for what I should do about it?”

He rubbed his chin. “You don’t strike me as someone who’s cowed by others’ impressions.”

“Not usually, but this is brand new territory. Plus, I’ve really got nowhere else to go if this doesn’t work out. My position at Cornell was eliminated.”

“Well, you’re at a disadvantage because you’re a woman, obviously. It’s not right and it’s not fair, but it’s there and you have to deal with it. The fact you’ve never played the game doesn’t help your cause either. Here’s the best advice I can give you. Do your best and try to keep your nose clean.”

“My nose clean?”
What the hell does that mean? Does he think that’s going to be a problem?

Doug smiled. “Yeah. Be professional with the guys. Show them you know what you’re doing. Sound confident. As far as the whole ‘being a woman’ thing, hockey players put women in one of three groups: lover, wife, or mother. So don’t be any of those things and you should do okay.”

Sarah nodded as an image of Sebastian flooded her addled brain. Getting involved at any level with a player was a horrible idea. She knew that. Sebastian would be nothing but trouble, but he had elicited a stronger response from her than any other man she’d ever met, and that both terrified and fascinated her. Staying professional and detached where he was concerned would be a monumental task.

This job was important to her and she would not to let her physical attraction to Sebastian stand in the way of her effectiveness. She wouldn’t screw up this chance. Sitting up straighter, Sarah smiled at Doug. “Thanks. You make it sound so easy.”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s in all of our interests for you to do well. Plus, I like you.” He grinned again. “Just don’t tell my wife.”

“One more thing, since we’re being sentimental,” Sarah teased. “Thanks for being so great about all this. I know it must’ve seemed like your position was being usurped, but you’ve been such a rock for me. I appreciate it. I think we make a good team.”

“So do I,” he said. “Just don’t forget who’s in charge.”

“Right…”

Doug glanced at his watch. “On that note, what say we call it a night?”

“Sure,
boss
. Player interviews start tomorrow and I want to be alert.”

****

Despite how it probably made him look like a lovesick idiot, Sebastian had been waiting outside Sarah’s office for the past half hour. He’d been looking forward to this meeting since the very first day of camp.

Rob exited. Knowing Sebastian thought Sarah was hot, his roommate was taking every opportunity to tease him about it, and so Sebastian wasn’t surprised when Rob started making kissing noises. Sebastian could’ve killed him.
Like I’m not nervous already.
Rob’s mockery didn’t help.