Alec’s eyes went wide and he scoffed.
“What?” she asked, narrowing her green eyes at him. “Did I hurt your feelings? Despite what you may think of yourself, you are not an NHL player. Not yet, anyway. Not with your attitude. Being successful doesn’t just mean you have the skill. You need to develop the mindset as well. And right now, you don’t have it.”
“I’m on the ice every morning, seven days a week, trying to get better,” Alec snarled. He didn’t want to raise his voice. It would be akin to throwing a tantrum, and the last thing he needed was to prove Seraphina right, that he was a child, that he didn’t deserve this opportunity. “So don’t sit there behind your fancy desk telling me that I’m not doing enough. It’s one thing to observe play. It’s one thing to make your assumptions from your office. But you don’t know me and you don’t know what I’m capable of.”
“Don’t you think that’s a problem?” Seraphina pointed out. Her voice was still firm but there was no hint of frustration in her tone. “You’re my player and I don’t know what you’re capable of. Do you want to know why I don’t know what you’re capable of? It’s because you aren’t showing me. Practicing is good. It shows discipline, and that’s always a good thing. But what you need is focus. What you need is to forget about the status being a hockey player brings you. You’re an AHLer. That’s like when hockey moms scream their lungs out after their kid scores goal fifteen to two. You think you’re the shit? You’re nothing. Go win a Cup and then grab some of that attitude back. For now, you’re a pathetic kid who thinks he’s better than what he actually is.”
Alec’s nostrils flared. He had never been dressed down like that by any of his coaches because he was always the best player in the team. In fact, he had been the kid on the team the coach would instruct everyone to pass to. He was always the best and Alec didn’t think that would change at all, even in the minor leagues.
“You can’t talk to me like this,” Alec said, standing up and pointing a finger at her. “I’ve been nothing but professional with every event I’m required to attend. But telling me how to behave in my personal life? You have no right.”
Seraphina nodded, almost as though she was expecting this. “You are correct,” she said. “I can’t tell you how to behave when the skates are off. But I can tell you that if I don’t like what I see in your personal life, I can fire you. Talk to your agent and look in your contract if you don’t believe me. Whether you’re wearing the jersey or not, you represent this team. And I will not have my team fuck the kinds of people who show screenshots of you drinking alcohol and making out. This should infuriate you, Alec. You should not want to be remembered for this. You should want to be remembered for your game.”
Alec was ready to argue. Seraphina had no business telling him how to behave off the ice. He never took fans home from charity events and only flirted with them after a game. If they happened to be at the nightclub some of the team went to afterwards, that wasn’t exactly his fault.
However, something stopped him. It could have been his mother’s voice, it could have been his younger sister Lily’s voice. Hell, it could have been Jack’s voice for all he knew. But something inside of him told him to wait. To not argue. To hear her out.
As much as he wanted to tell Seraphina he would do what he wanted, Seraphina was his boss. Seraphina dictated what happened and when. Maybe she couldn’t kick him off the team, but she could instruct the coach not to play him. His minutes could be drastically cut – or worse. He could be a healthy scratch for the majority of the games, and if no one saw him play, he couldn’t make a case to get traded.
Not that he wanted to. He wanted to play for the Gulls. He wanted to continue to play for the Mayhem. His family was here. His best friend was here. Which meant he needed to at least hear Seraphina out.
He let out a sigh. It was as close to admitting defeat as he could make it.
“Fine,” he said. “I do, want to be remembered for my game. I’ll stop.”
“It’s not that simple.” She shook her head. “Not now.”
Alec furrowed his brow. His heart jumped to his throat. Did that mean he was screwed? Was she already looking to trade him, even though the season barely began?
“Look,” he said. He never thought he would be above begging, but now, he was desperate. He wasn’t good at a lot of things. He had been average in school at best. There was a reason he decided to play hockey right after being drafted rather than trying to go to college. His strength was not school, and that was fine with him. But if he got kicked out before he had a chance to really prove himself, he’d probably have to do something menial and boring and that paid minimum wage. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”
“Alec, I don’t want you to suddenly stop having fun. I don’t want to be the fun police,” she said. “But we need
