Killian (On the Line 1)

He smiled and stood. “Will do. He’s a sweetheart. You’re just gonna love Killian.”

It was all I could do to hold my tongue until he closed the door behind him. “What an ass,” I said to Keri in a low tone. “I don’t envy you having to deal with his antics.”

She laughed and stood up. “Nothing we can’t handle, Sid. You want some coffee?”

“I’ll have Nicole bring some in,” I said, taking out my cell phone to text my assistant.

“She’s watching practice from the stands,” Keri said. “Can’t say I blame her. Some of those guys are hot.”

“Don’t get distracted,” I said firmly. “Nicole’s been told fraternizing with the players is off limits. I wouldn’t lay down a directive like that to you, but be careful Keri. These guys are only looking for sex, and it would affect your ability to work with them if you ever got involved in that way.”

She waved a hand dismissively. “No, never. I’m a professional. You’re paying me very good money to be here and I’m focusing on my job. I have no interest in playboy hockey players anyway. Especially not if they’re all as arrogant as Liam.”

“Well, next up is our team captain, and I’m not expecting much humility from him.”Killian

I took off my pads and stripped off my sweat-soaked T-shirt. Bennett was doing the same on the other side of the locker room bench. He met my eyes with a glare that said everything I was thinking.

Orion was a good coach, but he was no miracle worker. Today’s practice had been another reminder that our team had dead weight that needed to go. My line worked hard every time we were on the ice—at every practice and at every game. But I was sick of carrying the guys who couldn’t bother to keep up weight training or go the extra distance in practice. Those guys needed to get the fuck out.

“Pensacola tomorrow night,” Bennett muttered. I sighed deeply, but said nothing. They’d annihilated us last time we played them. After my line picked up a two-point lead, the second line managed to hold it steady, but then the third line blew it. After that we got crushed.

“Wanna lift before lunch?” Bennett asked.

“Yeah.” I pulled on a clean T-shirt as Liam approached and nodded at me.

“Your turn with the new boss lady,” he said.

“What’d she want with you?”

He shrugged. “Just her and her PR lady tellin’ me to stop being such an asshole.”

I laughed and he cracked a smile.

“So that’s it, then? They just want to tell us to be good boys? Guess I’ll feed ’em the same line of shit I fed my mom in high school.”

Liam shook his head slightly. “These two won’t remind you of your mom, man. They’re both fuckin’ hot.”

I knitted my brows together with surprise. “Seriously?”

“Go see for yourself. And, Killian, they don’t seem like the type who like to be kept waiting.”

“You mean like fuckable hot?” I asked.

“Hey, watch it.”

I turned at the sound of Orion’s voice. He was none too happy. “None of that shit. You’ll respect Sidney and her staff, or you’ll feel my foot in your ass.”

“I didn’t mean any disrespect,” I said, meaning it.

“No locker room talk about the owners, the staff, or my wife,” he said. “Anyone else is fair game.”

“I have to go up to the new owner’s office,” I said to Orion, heading for the door.

He followed me out and stepped into the hallway after me. “Come find me when you’re done,” he said. “I want to give you a heads up about who I’m cutting.”

“How many?”

“For now, four.”

I nodded and headed down the hallway. The new owner’s office was in a room upstairs I’d never been in. I took the stairs two at a time and found the office, knocking once before opening the door.

“You rang for me, ladies?” I said, grinning.

A tall woman with long, dark auburn hair stood to greet me. “Mr. Bosch, I presume?”

I was dumbstruck, but I managed a response. “That’s me.”

“Sidney Stahl. I’m the new owner. This is Kerrigan Oliver, my PR director.”

I took her hand and shook it, mindful not to squeeze too hard. It was long and graceful, her red nails a contrast to her ivory skin. I barely registered the other woman.

“You’re the sole owner?” I asked. She didn’t look much older than me, and I was twenty-six. A woman that age having the means or the interest in owning a hockey team caught me by surprise.

“Correct.” Her green eyes cast a spell over me. She was stunning. Fuckable was definitely not the way I’d describe this woman.

“What’s a beautiful woman like you want with a hockey team?” I asked, my curiosity about her piqued.

The PR lady, Keri I think her name was, stood up with her cell phone in hand. “Sorry, but the furniture’s here, Sid. Do you want me to go down and sign for it?”