4. Liv
4
LIV
“ S o, you want to play this kindergarten style?” Max teases as we get out of his car.
“Are you seriously offering to hold my hand on the way into the building?”
“We can even skip so it can be as historically accurate as possible.” He laughs. “I know how you feel about incorrect reenactments.”
I shove him playfully. “You are ridiculous.”
“Yeah, but you smiled. That means I’m off the hook, right?”
“This time.”
“I’ll take it.” Max bumps my shoulder with his. “You’re going to do great, Squeak. I never would’ve suggested Scott look at your work if I didn’t think you could hack it.”
“Thank you.”
We both get quiet as we approach the doors to the training facilities. I can’t actually hear what he’s thinking, but I know he’s psyching himself up for work just like I am. I’d bet my life savings on it.
“Max, can I ask you for something before we go in?”
“Shoot.”
“Please don’t call me Squeak or Liv while I’m at work. Seriously. I don’t want to draw attention to the fact that you’re my brother.” When I see the expressions on his face, I quickly add, “It’s not that I’m embarrassed by you. Not even close.”
He raises an eyebrow at me.
“Okay, fine. Maybe when you get too drunk and think you’re the next pop sensation you’re supremely embarrassing, but most of the time you’re not too bad. It’s more that over the years, I’ve worked hard to build up a good reputation for myself. My work is already automatically questioned because I’m a woman; I don’t need to have any doubt circling about my capabilities because some jerk in my department thinks the only reason I got hired is because you’re my brother.”
“I get it. I wish I didn’t but I do. I promise—no Squeak, no Liv, no baby sis,” he says. “I won’t even come by sometimes to take you to lunch. I’ll be a total stranger.”
“Well… lunch might be okay every once in a while.”
“Do you want me to meet you in the lobby so no one near your desk sees us?” he asks.
I swear it’s like he can read my mind sometimes, and even after twenty-six years on this earth, I still don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. He knows what I’m thinking in the same way I know he’s hurt by it.
“At least for the first six months or so. By then, I’ll have established myself and settled into the new role.” I grin. “After that, I’ll be able to associate with the likes of you.”
Max pulls the door open and gestures for me to go inside with a matching grin. “After you, strange lady I’ve never met before.”
“Thank you, mister hockey player I’ve only ever seen on TV.”
His laugh gives me the extra boost I needed, and I’m able to walk into my new office with a bounce in my step.
My first stop is to check in with my new boss. Once I get the go-ahead from his secretary, I head into his office.
“Good morning, Mr. Booth.”
He reaches out to shake my hand, “Scott, please.”
“Well, then, good morning, Scott.”
We both take a seat. He starts talking me through the differences between the AHL position and the additional demands of the NHL office. Not surprisingly, there is exponentially more work on the NHL side of things.
As the senior analyst, I’m going to have to juggle behind-the-scenes analytics, color commentary, press conferences, and strategy meetings with my boss and other upper-level management.
Thank goodness I’ll be able to delegate some of those tasks out. The only downside is I don’t know anybody yet, so they might not respect my opinions right away, but I know how to establish rapport and build relationships. I’ve been doing it my entire career, but the road getting to that point is always bumpy. That’s always been the worst part of this job for me—fighting to gain respect.
“Now, since this is your first week and we’d like to keep you, you won’t be doing everything all at once. I can’t have you racing out of here in a panic. You’ll spend two weeks getting to know and shadowing your new team, seeing how they work out in the field, at press events, and getting acclimated to the speed we do things here, such as working on various reports and projects. Then, starting week three, we’ll have you go out into the field to games and other live events. I think that’s going to be the best way for you to get accustomed to the pace of work here and the way we like things done. Well, I believe that’s everything I wanted to cover with you. Do you have any questions for me right now?”
“No, sir.” I shake my head. “But I’ll be sure to reach out if I do.”
Scott’s computer chimes.
“Excellent timing as usual, Grace,” he mutters to himself.
To me he says, “My secretary has just finished getting your office set up and is now ready to give you the grand tour.”
I know a dismissal when I hear one, so I stand and extend my hand. “I look forward to working with you, sir.”
“Likewise.”
Grace is both thorough and friendly. The first thing she shows me is where the restrooms are then the vending machine with the good chocolate and snacks. She also gives me a quick rundown of the best takeout places in the area. Finally, she gives me a tour of the entire facility, going out of her way to introduce me to everyone she can.
Grace is charming, engaging, and has an excellent sense of timing, but there’s something a little bit off about her. All that charm seems surface-level only. Her body language is reserved, anxious even.
It’s like there’s something she’s not telling me, but I’m not sure if the anxiety is from wanting to tell me or needing to conceal it. I know I can’t ask her where anyone might overhear, so I wait until we step into my new office and close the door.
“Grace, I know that I just met you but you seem a little guarded. Is there something going on? If it’s personal, please feel free to tell me to mind my own business.”
The polite, bubbly mask crumbles. “Alice is my friend. She was good at her job. Everyone likes her. Everyone. But when she got promoted the only person who wasn’t happy for her was Travis.”
“Alice is the woman I’m replacing? And Travis, my new partner?”
She nods. “He was so resentful he got passed over that he did his best to make her life miserable every single day, yet in front of everyone else, he behaved himself. It got so bad that she decided to quit.”
“Why wasn’t he fired then?” I ask.
“From what I’ve overheard, Mr. Booth suspects Travis had a hand in why Alice quit, but he can’t prove it.”
“Why are you telling me this? Not that I don’t appreciate it but…”
She starts pacing my office. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m still mad about what he did to her. I might even be angry at Alice for refusing to report it. Or maybe I want to warn you so it doesn’t happen to you. It’s like one of those things when someone asks if you’re okay and it ends up being the final straw that sends you into a total breakdown.”
This wasn’t at all what I expected to happen when I asked the question. I did ask it though, so I need to manage the fallout.
“Why don’t we have a seat?” I gesture to the chairs. “This is my first day here, so I’m going to form my own opinion about him and everyone else in this office. However, I will take what you said into account. I won’t make you any promises, but I will tell you that I don’t scare easily and I don’t take things lying down. Take that however you will.”
“I think I can live with that.”
“Good. If you don’t mind my saying so, you still look a little unsettled. Do you want me to get you some water?”
Grace laughs.
My brow furrows. “Did I say something funny?”
“Not at all. It’s just that I’m usually the one offering such things to everyone else that I couldn’t help but laugh.”
“Well, maybe I’ll bring you coffee or tea every once in a while just to shake things up.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Sure I do. I might be the newbie in this office, but I’ve been around long enough to know that getting on the good side of the receptionist is the thing to do. Besides, we women have to stick together, right?”
Before she can respond, my office door flies open, and a man who I can only assume is Travis, barges in.
“Ah, there’s the new girl. Sorry I didn’t greet you when you came in. I was on the phone with Carl, sorry, Coach Masters, about the report I’ve been working on.”
Grace stands up. “I’ll take that as my cue to leave since it sounds like you have a report to discuss.”
“Thank you for the tour, Grace,” I say. “Oh, and would you mind shutting the door on your way out, please?”
Travis extends a hand. “So, would you like to know what Carl had to say about my report?”
“Only if you want to share or have any questions, but as the top junior analyst, I don’t anticipate that you would.”
I don’t miss the slight scowl at the word junior.
“Oh, no. No questions on my end. The coach and I have a good rapport. He’ll tell me straight up if there’s an issue.”
“That is definitely an asset our team can use.”
He plops down into the chair Grace just vacated. “I am definitely an asset for sure. I knew you had a good head on your shoulders when I first saw you.”
Anger flares in my chest at his patronizing tone, but I refuse to allow him to rattle me.
“So, what did you want to discuss then? It must be important, seeing as you interrupted a meeting without knocking.”
“A meeting? With Grace?” He scoffs, but then seeing the look on my face adds, “Oh, you’re not joking. You seriously want me to knock every time?”
“Yes, actually.” I smile. “Thank you for understanding.”
“You have a dazzling smile,” he says. “For the cameras, I mean. The media is going to love you. Fans, too.”
“They did in Minnesota, so hopefully they will here, too.”
“Love the confidence.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry, I don’t think you introduced yourself when you came in, or if you did, I didn’t catch it.” I actively have to suppress my smirk at his obvious annoyance that I asked for his name. Of course, I already know it but I refuse to play into his delusions of superiority.
“Travis Hydt.”
“Olivia Winters.”
“Fantastic. Now that that’s out of the way, why don’t I give you the grand tour?”
Classic attempt to reassert his perceived power… how predictable.
“Grace already gave me the grand tour, actually.”
“Nonsense. She doesn’t know any of the good spots in the office.” He beckons me with his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”
I want nothing more than to break those fingers, but knowing that causing a major scene on my first day would not go over well, I follow along behind him. The tour consists of him introducing me to everyone Grace already had. To my chagrin, he does it in a way that implies he discovered me. And when no one else was in earshot, he peppered in some thinly veiled sexist comments, testing the waters presumably to see if I’d report him to HR.
The whole thing made me sick.
He might have been able to harass Alice into quitting the senior analyst position, but he’s going to have a rude awakening if he thinks those tactics will work on me.
The first thing I do once he finally leaves me alone is create a locked folder and record every misogynistic and sexist sentiment he expressed to me. His behavior over the past two hours is enough to go to HR, but an official warning from them isn’t going to be enough for me. I need this man to be fired and blackballed from the entire industry, and I want to be the one to make that happen.
Travis said my smile was dazzling. I wonder if he’ll still feel that way once he finds out exactly how sharp my pretty teeth are.