Laurel hadn’t known how or when she would jump in, but she’d been prepared because she was used to being spoken down to in sports. No matter how much she’d accomplished, she would never receive the same respect men got, so she had no problem taking the lead. She had nothing to lose here because becoming the head coach of an NHL team had never been on her radar; even if she flew back home tonight, she wasn’t any worse off than she’d been yesterday. So the time to prove herself and stand up to these men was now.
“Excuse me?” Howard’s face turned red.
“Why would you even bring up our previous relationship?” Laurel continued. “We were young and things simply didn’t work out, but we’re still good friends with the utmost respect for each other. Our past really doesn’t have anything to do with anything.” She’d stolen that straight from Gage but it seemed fitting.
“Whether it does or not, the press is going to have a field day with this.”
“I’m a qualified coach and I’m available. It’s eleven games. We can sit here and debate my history, my relationships, and my career, or we can use this time to come up with a plan for the next few weeks.”
“I agree,” Marshall spoke up. “If Laurel and I are going to do this, we need to get started immediately.”
“I need the team contacted and told to be at the arena at nine,” Laurel continued. “I want to meet with them as a group before the morning skate and then I’ll meet with them individually the next day at practice. Who has questions?”
She looked around the room, using her most professional look, one that often bordered on icy. It tended to be effective with men like this, and she was gratified to see everyone but Marshall squirm uncomfortably.
“The league is going to want answers,” Franklin said simply. “You can’t just fire people with contracts.”
“I can. I did.” Gage stuffed his hands in his pockets. “If the league wants to see the evidence, I’m happy to show them. I’m throwing a press conference tomorrow to answer all the hard questions. You guys just have to back me up. Nothing more, nothing less. As long as we project a united front, everything will be okay.”
“And what if the boys won’t play for her?” Howard demanded.
“I know most of them will, and with that many on board, the rest will follow suit.”
“It’s eleven games,” Franklin said, shrugging. “If we get to the playoffs, we’ll reconvene and reassess. This season is probably over anyway, so there’s no point in turning this into a bigger deal than it is.”
Laurel breathed a mental sigh of relief and forced herself to stop tapping her foot impatiently. She had too much to do to waste time in a pissing contest with these men. She had something to prove, a lot to read, and not enough time for any of it.
It took another hour to get everyone out of the house and by the time Gage had shown the last of them out, she was already in her pajamas, feet tucked under her on the loveseat in front of the fireplace in her suite. Gage had gotten her stats and analytics on every player, for each game of the season, and it was a lot of information to digest. She’d watched many of the games, of course, since she knew a few of the guys and was friends with two of their wives, but it wasn’t the same as coming up with a plan for the next eleven games.
The Blizzard had a lot of talent, but for whatever reason, they simply didn’t win as much as they should. This season had been better since they weren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. However, it would take a lot of effort with a few shots of luck for them to make it, and that was the plan. She hadn’t told Gage or anyone else that, but she had a chance to do something no one else had ever done, and she was going to do everything in her power to make it happen.
There was a knock on the door and she didn’t even glance up as she called out, “Come in.”
“Hey.” Gage came in wearing sweats and a T-shirt, his bare feet noiseless as they padded across the thick carpet. “Do you need anything before I turn in?”
“No, this is great,” she responded, looking up. “Thanks for getting it for me.”
“Of course.” He paused. “What time do you want to leave? I think we should go in together tomorrow, just for the first day. I’d like to be there for the initial meeting.”
“I told Marshall to meet me there at eight.”
“All right, be ready to go at seven thirty.”
“Thank you. I’ll need to learn my way around quickly.”
“For the first few days, I’m happy to drive you since I go in to the office most days anyway. And I made sure to get you a rental with a navigation system.”
“That was very thoughtful.” She forced herself not to say thank you again. She hated to keep thanking him, but he kept doing nice things. Why did it annoy her so much?
“I know you like to be prepared for everything, but you should try to get a good night’s sleep. It’ll probably be a while before you get another one.”
“I’ll probably be way too nervous,” she admitted. “It’ll catch up to me tomorrow after the game.”
He nodded. “See you in the morning then.”
“Goodnight.”
In spite of the advice he gave Laurel, Gage didn’t sleep much that night. He tossed and turned until about four in the morning, finally getting up and running on the treadmill for half an hour. By the time he lifted weights for another thirty minutes, showered, shaved and went downstairs, Laurel was in the kitchen having coffee. She obviously hadn’t slept well either, though her eyes were bright when she looked up.
“Suit or sweats?” she asked without preamble. “Usually I wear sweats for practices, but this is a meeting too, and their first time meeting me.”
Gage hesitated. “You’ll be out on the ice with them, right?”
She nodded.
“Sweats. They’re not judging you on the quality of your attire, ba—er, Laurel.”
She didn’t seem to notice his near-gaffe and absently got up to refill her coffee cup.
“Wenda doesn’t come in until ten,” Gage continued slowly. “I’m usually on my own in the morning, unless I have something special planned, so if you give her your breakfast requirements, she’ll make sure the fridge is stocked with whatever you need.”
“Thank you.” She made a weird face that made him wonder what was on her mind, but she was distracted this morning, so he wouldn’t bother her with asking.
“Did you sleep at all?” he asked instead.
“Maybe four hours. That’s all I need on a day like today. I’ll sleep well tonight and then get on a schedule. I need to get the initial jitters out of the way.”
“I’ll leave you to your work then.” He poured his own cup of coffee and got some eggs out of the refrigerator. “Eggs?” he asked.
“Oh, um…” She looked up in confusion. “What?”
“I’m making eggs,” he said patiently. “Would you like some?”
“Okay, yes. Thanks.” She took a breath. “Sorry. I’m thinking about twenty different things.”
“No worries. You do your thing, I’ll make breakfast.”
He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he made eggs, bacon and toast, all things she liked. She’d been a fussy eater when they’d first gotten together and she was playing college hockey, but she’d eventually relaxed her strict diet regimen, especially in the off-season. They’d cooked together in those days, and he tried not to think about how many times cooking had led to other things. Sexy things. Things that made his cock stir behind his sweats. He had to stop thinking like this or she’d be out of here before he finished breakfast.
“When are my predecessors cleaning out their offices?” Laurel asked, bringing him back to the present.
“Tomorrow. I didn’t want them in the arena on a game day.”
“Okay, I’ll be sure to stay out of there until then.”
“Are you coming back here after practice or staying at the arena all day?”
“I’ll stay there. I have a ton to do and don’t want to waste time commuting. I packed my suit for tonight so I’ll bring everything with me.”
“You can use one of the executive offices upstairs in the afternoon. I’ll introduce you to everyone and—”
“Not today.” She shook her head. “I have to focus on the first game. I’ll meet everyone tomorrow, okay? Today is just the team and the support staff. I’ve memorized most of the names but now I have to put faces to them. Dani said she’ll help. She’s going to be at the meeting this morning. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s your team,” he said quietly, dumping half the eggs on her plate, tossing a few pieces of bacon on it, a piece of toast, and carrying it over to her. “Just eat something. I know how you are when you’re focused on something and you won’t eat all day.”
“I keep protein bars in my purse,” she said, picking up a piece of bacon.
“Well, just ask if you need anything, and I’ve reassigned my assistant to you for today since you don’t know your way around or where anything is.”
She looked like she was going to protest, but then nodded. “Thanks.”
“I’m going to eat upstairs while I check email. I’ll be ready to go in about forty-five minutes.” He took his plate and headed out of the kitchen. She was distracted and he figured the best thing to do was leave her alone. Being alone with her like this brought back too many memories he’d tried hard to forget and this wasn’t the right day for that. He’d never dreamed he’d have this kind of access to her again, the chance to win her back. She wasn’t going to make it easy, though, and the situation with the team made everything a lot more complicated than he would have liked. If he’d known he was going to be in this position, he’d have come up with a plan. Instead, he was winging it, and with Laurel, that was a tricky proposition because she wasn’t the spontaneous type.
For the first time in his life, Gage was totally off-kilter and he didn’t like it one bit.