She turned the page eager to see who else he’d chosen, doing a little happy dance in her chair. When her eyes fell on the next player, however, she stopped mid-shoulder shimmy and nearly dropped the stack of paper.
Silas Jenkins.
Her breath caught at the sight of his piercing green eyes and the teasing smile that revealed a small dimple of his left cheek. She set the paper down. She didn’t need to read any of the stats on his page. She knew them better than anyone.
Though he’d spent the last two years playing for the Wisconsin Wolves, Silas had been in the league for five. He played forward and had the second highest number of goals of all the players in the Eastern Conference last season. Any team would be happy to have him.
So why did it have to be this team?
Miriam took a steadying breath before she opened her eyes and looked at Harris. “Is this some kind of joke?”
Harris’ blue eyes went wide. “What?”
“Silas Jenkins.”
“I know. I couldn’t believe it either. I’m not sure how much Greg promised to pay him to get him back, but I can’t wait to see what it’s like having him play for us instead of against us.”
Miriam stood up and shoved the papers at Harris’ chest before stomping down the hall. She ignored his questions and barged into Greg’s office without turning back. Greg looked up in surprise at her sudden entrance, but quickly smoothed his face out into a patient grimace. Miriam stopped in front of the dark mahogany desk and crossed her arms across her chest.
Greg closed his laptop. “Harris showed you the list of new players.”
She nodded once.
“Do you want to sit down?”
“No.” She gave him a tight smile. “I want to know why you brought him back.”
Greg sighed and took his glasses off. He set them on top of the laptop and rubbed his temples. “I know that you and Silas have a complicated history, but—”
Miriam snorted loudly. Complicated was one way of describing it. Train wreck was probably a more accurate word to encompass the total heartbreak she’d lived through.
“But,” Greg said with a warning glare at Miriam, “my responsibility is to this team. To its sponsors. To its fans. You know more than anyone how badly we’ve worked in the office to get people excited about the Storm, and the league in general. We’ve got public appearances, themed nights, hashtags...”
“Which are all really good.”
“Yes.” Greg nodded. “But we still need to fill those stands. The best way to do it? We need to give them a winning team.”
“This year’s team is great. Vinny and Grant are going to be great assets to the Storm.”
“And so will Silas.”
Miriam groaned. “Silas isn’t the only player out there.”
Greg shook his head. “You’re right. But he’s got a great record that even you can’t deny. And for some reason, he wanted to come back now that his contract with the Wolves is done.”
Some reason? You mean a giant fat paycheck. Miriam didn’t even want to think about how much Silas demanded to return to the Storm. She put her hands on her hips and stared at Greg.
He threw up his hands. “What was I supposed to do? Say no to one of the best players in the league?”
Miriam flopped down in the leather seat in front of her and closed her eyes. “I don’t know. I just wish it could have been anyone but him.”
The silence stretched between them as Miriam kept her eyes—and mouth—shut. While she’d always had a good relationship with Greg, and she considered him a friend, he was still Miriam’s boss and the general manager of the team. She was the community outreach manager, who had no say in the team or its players.
Miriam had overstepped, but she’d been blindsided by Silas’ stupid face that was now etched in her mind. She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes to try to clear the image and all the painful memories it brought with it.
Greg cleared his throat. “Look, I can understand it might not be, ah, easy to deal with him, but I need to know if you’re going to have any trouble doing your job.”
Miriam dropped her hands and her eyes snapped open. “What?”
“You’re responsible for bringing these guys out into the community. You need to make them look good. I know you’ll do a great job with most of them.” Greg rested his arms on the desk between them and leaned forward. “But you’re not going to be the only one who has a hard time welcoming Silas back. There were a lot of fans who felt betrayed by his leaving for Wisconsin. I need to know I can count on you to make everyone fall back in love with the golden boy.”
She leaned back, crossed her arms over her chest, and mumbled, “Golden boy, my—”
“Miriam.” His voice was firm. “Can I count on you?”
She bit her bottom lip. Spending time with Silas wasn’t going to be easy, but Greg was right. She had a job to do. Two years was a long time. She’d changed since then, gotten stronger, and wiser. Plus, she was really good at her job. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she thought it would be. She nodded. “Yes. Of course.”
Greg leaned back in his chair. “Great. Then I’d like you to head down to the arena to meet with some of the new guys and introduce yourself.”
Her heart dropped into her stomach. “Right now?”
He nodded.
“Will Silas be there?” She tried to keep the tremble of dread out of her voice. Seeing his picture was one thing, but she thought she’d have a bit more time to prepare before facing him.
More time, as in, forever.
Greg nodded again. “You know he will be.”
Miriam sighed, closed her eyes, and counted to ten.
