Killian (On the Line 1)

My mind was jerked back to the present when I became aware that the coach had moved on from his teaching lesson. “The new owner’s upstairs watching practice,” Orion announced, giving us the evil eye. We all looked up in the direction of the owner’s box, but I couldn’t see anyone standing inside.

Orion turned to Bruce, the Flyers assistant coach, and spoke in a voice loud enough that no one could miss what he was saying, “Bruce, did we not have a meeting with the new owner before practice this morning?”

Bruce nodded his agreement.

“Tell me if I remember this right, Bruce.” Orion continued. “Did she tell us this team will be undergoing some major changes? That we’ll be making cuts and bringing in new talent?”

“That’s right, Coach,” Bruce said in an even tone.

Sighs and shuffling from around me indicated nervousness. I had nothing to worry about. I was the captain of the team and probably the best player here, though Bennett was a very close second. But the idea of cutting the dead weight got my attention. I was as disgusted as Orion with the record of our team. It was fucking embarrassing. He’d been brought in by the new ownership to turn things around and it sounded like that was about to happen.

“I’ve been here two weeks,” he said. “I’ve given all of you a chance to show me you want to be on this team. Starting today, there’ll be one-on-one meetings between some of you and the new owner. Later, Bruce and I will talk to each of you individually to let you know who’s staying and who’s going. Now back to the fucking play, boys.”

As we turned to get back in line, Orion called Liam’s name. “You’re up first with the owner,” he said. “You know where her office is?”

My head swiveled to look at Orion. Her? The new owner was a woman? Fucking hell. A woman wouldn’t be able to make the tough decisions this team needed to recover from its place at the bottom of the league.

And what about Liam? He was a quiet, solid player on the first line. What the hell did the new ownership want with him? I wanted to go with him to that meeting, but that was never going to happen.

Liam skated over to the bench and I glanced back up at the owner’s box, glowering. Anybody who fucked with Liam was also fucking with me. I had nothing to lose, and a man with nothing to lose was never someone you wanted to fuck with. Especially not by some woman who thought she could overhaul this team and turn things around. Others had tried and failed. She would be no different.Sidney

I stood in the owner’s box, watching the practice, my arms folded and my face impassive. These players were enough to make a girl want to throw up her arms in disgust. When they missed their mark, they either looked like they didn’t give a damn, or they cracked their sticks against the ice like little boys having a temper tantrum.

“Looks like I bought the proverbial Bad News Bears, Keri,” I said, turning to the woman standing next to me. “It’s going from bad to worse.”

She shook her head. “I told you to buy a baseball team.” Keri and I had worked together for several years and, as far as I was concerned, she was a PR genius par excellence.

I looked back out over the pristine white ice. “I don’t love baseball. I love hockey.”

“Well, you’ve got a good coach, and now that we’re here, we’ll get down to work. This is a big challenge, Sid. We’ve re-worked the images of other companies, but we’ve never had to fight against twenty-something men who only care about partying and getting laid.”

“Well, I’m the boss now,” I said, arching my brows. “I’ve got a ton of money tied up in this investment and I’m going to make certain it pays off. These guys can either get with the program or hit the road. There’s plenty of fresh talent out there.”

Keri nodded. “Agreed. But don’t forget about that first line. Orion was adamant about not letting any of them go.”

“We’ll see. As far as I’m concerned, that first line has to prove themselves every day just like everyone else.”

“Orion did tell us he doesn’t need this job, so . . . just remember that. His conditions for taking it in the first place were firm, and they included keeping that first line.”

I furrowed my brow. “Look, I’m not planning on getting rid of any of them. But they better be as good as Orion says, or we’re gonna have problems.”

Keri tapped on her wristwatch. “We’ve got those player meetings scheduled all morning. The first guy should be waiting in your office right now. I saw him leave the ice a few minutes ago.”