Chapter 6 Emmett
EMMETT
New York in August is brutal. Hot and humid. The kind of heat that makes you appreciate ice rinks. I've been back two weeks, looking tanned, relaxed, and ready for another season. The summer was exactly what I needed. After Monaco, Lincoln convinced me to keep going.
"I know a guy in Ibiza. And another in Barcelona. Come on, mate. When's the next time you'll have this much time off?"
He was right. So, we went. Monaco turned into Ibiza.
Ibiza turned into Barcelona. Then the Greek islands.
Mykonos. Santorini. Places I'd never thought I'd go.
Parties. Beaches. Clubs. Women. So many women.
None of them were her. By the end of summer, Lincoln had dragged me out of my shell completely.
I'd loosened up. Had fun. Remembered what it was like to just exist without overthinking everything.
"Look at you," he said the night before we flew back. "Actual human being. I'm proud."
"Fuck off."
"Seriously. When you showed up in Monaco, you were miserable. Now look at you."
He wasn't wrong. I felt lighter. Ready. And when I landed back in New York, I left Europe behind. Including her.
Things had changed with my team during the summer.
Felix St. Pierre was joining our team. It made headlines because of the LA star’s messy breakup.
He’s a solid player. Talented. A bit of baggage with the ex-girlfriend screwing his teammate situation, but that won't be a problem here. I don't let that shit fly on my team.
The rules are simple, partners, exes, and sisters are off-limits.
That only causes issues and fucks up team dynamics.
It was a fucked up thing for his teammate to do.
From what I've read online, research any captain would do, Felix is now dating Harper Rose.
As in the Rose Hotels heiress. One of our major sponsors and her dad is on the board.
Seems like he's gone from one complicated situation to another. But that's his business.
Training camp starts soon, and I'm looking forward to meeting him to see how he fits with the team. It's my job as captain to make him feel welcome. But also, to make sure he knows how to play the Mavericks way.
Then I heard about what happened to his brother, Pierre.
The runaway groom. What a social media drama that was.
Leaving your fiancée at the altar, the entire world turning on you, and then dropping receipts that she was the one cheating, and then the internet turned on her instead.
Those St. Pierre guys are unlucky with the ladies.
I hope that kind of drama never finds me.
I'm happy being single. Less complicated.
I get a call from management asking me to come in for a meeting, which is never good. I have no idea what it could be about.
"Emmett, thanks for coming in," Coach Anderson says, shaking my hand, he looks tense.
I sit. "Not a problem. What's up?" Please don't tell me I'm getting traded.
"Just wanted to give you a heads up ..." he says.
My heart hammers in my chest.
"You know how we've signed Felix St. Pierre ..." I nod. "Well, his brother was released onto the free agent market." My brow rises.
A player like that on the free market? That's insane. "I thought he was locked in for life in South Dakota. Wasn't he building that team?"
"That's what I thought, but ..." His brows pull together as he leans forward. "I think something happened at the club. Might have something to do with this runaway groom saga," he whispers.
"Do you know something?"
He shakes his head. "No. All I know is he was let go from the Devils. His contract was paid out, and he is a free agent."
"Why would the Devils let go of a player like him?" I ask.
He's the top scorer in the league. One of the best wingers in hockey. He was on track to take South Dakota to their first cup. As a new team, that's unheard of.
"Exactly," Coach Anderson says pointedly.
"You don't think ...?"
He nods. "Not my place to speculate.”
"What does his drama have to do with us?"
"It has everything to do with us. Because the Mavericks just signed Pierre St. Pierre," Coach Anderson states.
No fucking way. "You're serious."
"Dead serious. He signed yesterday. Two-year deal with an option to extend."
I lean back and process this. Felix St. Pierre was one thing. A young player with a bad breakup. That happens. But Pierre? Pierre comes with a circus, media, drama, and scandal. And now we have both brothers.
"I need you to make this work." Coach Anderson leans forward. "You're the captain, Emmett. Your job is to keep this team focused. No distractions. No drama. Can you do that?"
I study him. Two brothers. Both talented. Both coming off public scandals. This could go very well. Or it could implode.
"Of course. What do you need from me?"
"Keep them in line. Make sure they integrate.
The rest of the team will have opinions.
Questions. I need you to set the tone. I don't want these two to be a distraction.
" That's probably inevitable right now. "I want them to know that we don't care about the tabloid bullshit.
We care about winning. Pierre and Felix are here to help us do that. End of story."
Coach Anderson is right. As much drama as these brothers are in right now, they're some of the best players in the league. Any team would kill to have these two on its roster.
I nod. "You don't think Pierre is going to struggle going from leading a team to being a follower?" Don't need him undermining me.
"I've been assured by upper management that Pierre is here to play. Bring home the cup. He understands that by accepting this deal, the captaincy is not included. You are the captain."
"You think he's going to respect that?"
Coach Anderson nods. "Yeah. He's a good guy. I've worked with him before, he does what's best for the team."
"That's probably what his last team thought, too." I don’t mean to sound catty with that comment. Coach gives me a look. "Sorry. That kind of came out."
He gives me a smile. "I get it. But from what I hear, he didn't want to leave. He also couldn't stay there anymore. I think whatever happened was too much for him to ever work with that organization again."
Fuck.
"I'm sure one day the truth will be revealed. Or maybe he'll tell us. But right now, we know nothing about the reasons why. Can I trust that you're going to welcome them to the team?"
"Of course," I tell him.
Coach nods.
"When does Pierre start?"
"Press conference is tomorrow. They're announcing him then. The media think they're just getting a Felix welcome event. They're going to surprise them with Pierre."
"That's going to be chaos."
“Probably. But it'll generate buzz. Get people talking about the Mavericks.
Put the other teams on alert. We have a chance this year for the cup.
If we can get the team dynamics sorted, it's ours.
" He's right. "Training camp starts Monday.
I need you there early. Set the tone with the team before the brothers arrive. "
"I'll handle it."
"I know you will. That's why you're captain."
I stand and shake his hand, then leave.
This is going to be interesting.
I watch the press conference from my apartment the next day.
It's streaming live. The arena is packed with media, there are cameras everywhere.
Felix St. Pierre walks out first. He looks comfortable and confident, he handles the questions well.
Talks about being excited for a fresh start.
About leaving the LA drama behind. About proving himself with a new team. The media eats it up.
Then the moderator speaks. "We have one more announcement today."
The room goes quiet.
"Please welcome Pierre St. Pierre to the Manhattan Mavericks."
The place explodes.
Pierre walks out and sits beside his brother.
The cameras go insane. He looks ... calm. Composed. Not like a guy whose life imploded not that long ago. The questions come fast.
"Pierre, how does it feel to be in New York?"
"Great. I'm excited to be here. Excited to play with my brother for the first time in our careers."
"What about the scandal? The wedding?"
His jaw tightens slightly. "That's in the past. I'm focused on hockey. On this team. On winning."
"Do you think the media attention will be a distraction?"
"I hope not. I'm here to play. That's it," he tells them.
"Can you comment on the rumors about why you left the Devils?"
Pierre pauses and looks directly at the camera.
"I left the Devils because staying wasn't an option.
The details are between me, my former team, and my lawyers.
What I will say is that I have no regrets about my decision.
I'm grateful to the Mavericks for giving me this opportunity, and I'm ready to move forward. "
The room falls silent.
Well damn, someone fucked up in that organization so badly they lost their star.
Their loss is our gain. Felix jumps in, cracks a joke, and the room laughs, breaking the tension.
The brothers play off each other well. Banter.
Smile. Show the media they're a unit. By the end, the press seems satisfied.
For now. I turn off the stream and lean back.
They handled that better than I expected.
Maybe this won't be a complete disaster.
My group chat starts going off. Puck Heads is the name. Don't ask me, one of the guys created it.
Sully: Did everyone just watch that press conference?
That's Connor Sullivan. My best and oldest friend from Wisconsin. Defenseman. Solid. Reliable. Veteran.
Bouch: Holy shit we got PSP.
Marc Bouchard. French Canadian. Center. Happy-go-lucky kind of guy. He'll be training with Pierre.
Fish: The runaway groom himself.
Justin Crawford from Maine. Got his nickname because Crawfish and Maine is known for fish. Yeah, nicknames don't always make sense. Forward winger. Our prankster. Cheeky young gun.
Nelly: Two St. Pierre brothers on one team. This is either genius or a disaster waiting to happen.
Lars Neilsen from Sweden. Goalie. Say no more.
Evan: Genius. Did you see Pierre's stats last season? He's a machine.
Artem Evanoff. Winger. Russian. Standoffish at first. Hard nut to crack. But when you do, he's a good guy under all the Soviet hardness. Dependable.
Bouch: Pretty sure every team in the league is shitting themselves right now.
Fish: We just became the most dangerous team in the Eastern Conference.
Nelly: IF they can play together without drama.
Evan: Big if.
Sully: You think they'll fight on ice? I used to want to kill my brother when we played together.
Fish: My money's on Felix. Kid's got fire.
Bouch: Pierre would destroy him. Size advantage.
Emmett: Enough, guys.
Sully: Oh, Cap has entered the chat.
Emmett: No one's fighting anyone. We're a team. That means everyone works together or you answer to me.
Evan: Yes, sir.
Emmett: Pierre and Felix are Mavericks now. Whatever happened before doesn't matter. What matters is winning. Are we clear?
Fish: Crystal.
Bouch: Oui, Captain.
Nelly: Got it, Cap.
Sully: Fuck off. This is our chat not the locker room. You don't have to pull that management bullshit with us.
Of course, my best friend would call me out like that.
Emmett: You're right. It's just.
Sully: Guessing shit has gone down behind the scenes we don't know about yet.
Emmett: Yeah.
Bouch: We've got you. You know that.
Emmett: I know. It's the others on the team I'm worried about.
Evan: We'll keep them in line.
I know they will. They always have my back.
Fish: So we're not allowed to ask about the wedding drama? It's been all over social media.
Fucking Fish.
Nelly: It is weird they let him go.
Evan: His ex-fiancée was hot though.
Bouch: WTF.
Evan: She's an influencer. She's come up on my feed before. It's not like I follow her or anything.
Sully: Not sounding convincing.
Evan: Fuck off.
Bouch: Who the hell did she cheat on him with? Like PSP is the GOAT.
Nelly: Fangirling much.
Bouch: He is my country's icon. I will not let you disrespect my man.
A slew of middle finger emojis enters the chat.
Sully: I do agree it's weird. That contract he had with the Devils was huge. He was building that team to be a cup contender and he was doing it. To lose him like that, so quickly, is sus.
Emmett: I don't know anything, but I do agree.
Fish: She had to have cheated with someone high up. Like a board member or
Evan: The owner.
Laughing emojis fill the chat.
Sully: Dude is old enough to be her grandpa.
Fish: He's a billionaire.
Bouch: But she had PSP.
Fish: Just because you'd suck his dick.
Bouch: Fuck you.
Emmett: Does it matter? Whatever happened, it's their loss and our gain.
Bouch: Exactly, Cap.
Fish: Can't imagine dealing with all this drama and changing teams last minute like that.
Sully: Must have been bad.
Nelly: And don't forget the Felix drama. Fucking around with your teammate's girl is the lowest of the low.
Evan: Think we might need to show Stephen Carter how the Mavericks treat assholes like that.
Sully: Agreed.
Bouch: We've got that exhibition match with them at the start of the season.
Emmett: Above board though.
Evan: Yes, Cap.
Sully: They are Mavericks now and we look after our own. We won't tolerate any disrespect. Agreed?
All the boys agree.
Emmett: Guess I'll see you fools at training camp next week.
Nelly: Can't believe they're sending us away for a couple of weeks.
Emmett: Coach thought it might be best we get away from our normal training facilities because of the media scrutiny.
Sully: Makes sense.
Evan: Can't imagine everyone is happy with that.
Emmett: No, they aren't. But they don't have a choice.
This season is going to be interesting.