Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
Hayes
God, omegas were infuriating. This one especially. She walked in here not bothering to look professional, and had the audacity to poke at me in front of the team.
A low growl rumbled out of me as I started to pace my office. I was restless and I couldn’t fucking shake it.
My alpha was even unsettled in my chest. He’d never reacted to anyone and he almost seemed against my frustration.
Which only made it worse. She was even driving a wedge between me and my alpha, something she shouldn’t have the power to do.
I’d played my hand a little too loosely in that conference room. I let her see how much she affected me.
I knew I was being unreasonable, that this wasn’t her fault. But she was infiltrating a space she wasn’t needed and there was fuck all I could do about it.
As if the devil himself summoned her, the moment I stormed out of my office she was there waiting, her hand poised as if she was just about to knock.
“What do you want?” I practically barked at her.
She raised an eyebrow, and God, it was infuriating how unaffected she was. That bark should have had her backing down, cowering… anything.
“I’d ask if you’re happy to see me, big boy, but I think the answer to that is pretty obvious.” She leaned against the doorway now, crossing her arms and watching me with those too-blue eyes. “Which is exactly why I’m here.”
Her tone suddenly turned much more serious and I barely held back another bark to tell her to fuck right off.
“We’re going to be working together very closely for quite a long time, and I, for one, refuse to be miserable for that long. So, you can either be miserable all alone, or you can tell me what’s got your panties in such a twist.”
“Oh, and I’m the unprofessional one?” I shot back.
God, I sounded like a child. She seemed to think so, too, looking more amused than annoyed by my words.
“You know you’ve got a vein right here?” she said, pointing to the side of her neck. “Every time you get mad, your pulse jumps. I’m a little worried about your heart there, old man.”
“‘Old man?’” I repeated, teeth bared. Fuck, it had been a long time since I’d felt so out of control. My alpha was right on the edge, angry at me, wanting to study her. I could have walked away, taken a breath, instead I engaged. “Should I start calling you kiddo?”
“I mean, if that got you to loosen up, sure. Call me whatever you want.”
Her absolute nonchalance made me want to scream. Nobody was this unbothered and confident in themselves, and I hated how sexy I thought it was.
I hated even more what she represented.
“Let’s be clear,” I said sharply, stepping forward and jabbing a finger just inches away from her. “You’re here because the owners hired you, not because I think you’re going to be a good thing for this team.”
“It doesn’t matter what you think. It matters what your bosses think, and they seem to have no problem with me being here. Yet, you do.”
It wasn’t a question, it was a direct challenge.
“Are you just afraid I’m going to find your team lacking? Or maybe your coaching? Maybe you assume they’re going to show their asses and I’ll have to tell the world about it?”
Then she tilted her head as if I were a lab specimen she wanted to understand.
“Because I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t know the difference either way.” She let out a small huff of a laugh.
That comment caught me so off guard my mouth snapped shut before I could say any of the things on the tip of my tongue seconds ago.
“Look, I want to be real with you,” she continued while I stood there frozen. “You can continue being as infuriating as you want to, and I’ll still be here doing my job. Nothing is going to change that.”
“You’re right,” I admitted finally, letting out a breath as I leaned back against the door frame. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to become best friends with you. You can do your job and stay in your lane, and I’ll focus on mine.”
“Sure,” she said with another shrug, once again completely unbothered.
“We may have to work together, princess, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to sit here and hold your fucking hand.
Or be happy to have you disrupting my team.
This is the time we should be honing our skills and focusing inward, not doing frivolous articles and trying to convince the world we deserve respect because three guys fucked up. ”
“Imagine the respect the world would have the moment they hear their coach singing his team’s praises already and helping them improve.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Yet you’d rather sit here and fight with me than find a way to tell the world the Narwhals shouldn’t be counted out yet.”
I clenched my jaw, unsure what to say to that.
“You can sit on the sidelines and be the stoic head coach all you want, but you’re just showing your team how to disrespect me. How to disrespect omegas. That you have no control and you’re just being an asshole for no reason.”
The accusation hit harder than I wanted it to. She was right.
“I shouldn’t have to come here and fight to be respected,” she continued. “I’ve worked my ass off to build my reputation, and I would have that with or without this fucking story. I’m here because I’m the one who called those assholes out for what they did because Lana deserved justice.”
Her voice sharpened further.
“Whatever your issues are, you need to work them out and leave me out of it.”
“Or what?” I challenged. “Are you going to run to the owners?”
Her eyes narrowed into icy, little slits, her jaw clenched as she faced off with me. “I don’t have to. My stories will speak for themselves.”
For one brief second, I was triumphant. Her visible annoyance felt like a win.
But the moment the door slammed closed behind her, her words sank in.
I was teaching my team to disrespect her.
This team had already shown the world they didn’t know how to treat an omega, and here I was doing something painfully similar.
Disgust twisted my stomach. What kind of alpha was I?
Unable to stay here a second longer, I stormed out of the office. The frustration turned inward as I tore through the building.
The words tumbled around in my head, taunting me as I slid my helmet on and revved the engine of the motorcycle to life.
I was so in my head that I drove right past my house and through the city. The rumble of the engine and the wind tearing past me wasn’t enough to chase away the ugly truth she’d dragged to the surface.
Did I have my own biases toward omegas?
I would’ve said hell no if anyone asked me that before. Now, the truth was obvious.
When the fuck had I gotten so jaded?
I’d been elated when I got this phone call. This position was one that I’d been dreaming of.
Now, here I was, flushing it down the drain because my ego took a hit.
It took several more miles before I finally landed on the cold, hard facts.
This omega scared the shit out of me. She was the human embodiment of my job being on the line. What she wrote in those articles could make or break my entire career. She wanted the truth, and I’d given her some fucked up version of myself.
I was every bit the old man she called me. Past my prime at forty-three. I had no pack, no omega, and nothing other than this to show I’d made something of my life outside of hockey.
There was no family waiting for me when I got home tonight. It was just an empty, little apartment with barely any personality.
I’d married my career, and I’d made peace with that.
At least I thought I had.
I continued spiraling through the shittiest night of sleep I’d had in years, through morning coffee that tasted bitter and far too strong, and all the way through the drive back to the arena.
My heart dropped when I walked into my office to find it already open and the owner of the Narwhals sitting in my chair.
Jeremiah Kingsford looked completely at peace as he looked down at his phone. Dread rumbled in my stomach.
She’d called my boss and told him what an asshole I was. That I was being combative and refusing to work with her.
I was about to lose my job over my own fucking ego.
“Mr. Kingsford,” I greeted carefully. “What can I do for you?”
“Rough night?” he asked with a small chuckle as he took in my appearance.
I forced myself not to react. “Rough sleep, but nothing a solid mug of coffee won’t fix.”
“I just wanted to stop by and make sure the guys were receptive to Roxie.”
How the fuck was I supposed to explain that my guys were fine with her and I was the dick?
“We haven’t done any interviews yet,” I started carefully. “Yesterday was just introductions. So far, it seems fine.”
“Good, good,” he said, nodding his head in approval. “She’s going to be the biggest way for us to get the truth out there.”
He leaned back in my chair and studied me.
“I think this team is worth fighting for, Coach Hayes, and I would hope everyone on this team agrees.”
It wasn’t said as a threat to me. That made it even worse. He trusted me to lead the team and I’d failed on day one.
Kingsford believed in our team, and I hated the reality that I was more concerned about my own feelings than doing what was best.
“We’ll make sure she feels at home here,” I promised with a tight smile. “We’ve worked out the awkwardness and are starting to feel like a team.”
“Well, I have something that might just help with that,” he mused, pulling over a paper I hadn’t noticed and sliding it my way. I sat in the chair on the wrong side of my desk and looked down at it.
“A resort?” I questioned, confused.
“I’ve seen the footage. You’ve worked those boys hard for a month,” he said, chuckling again. “This is an all-inclusive resort that gives you all a break. It’s just for four days and I want Roxie to go with you.”
“Okay,” I said, my voice stunned.
He started to rise, fixing his blazer. “You’ve worked hard, Coach. Enjoy the break and fine dining. Oh, and tell Roxie to bring a friend. I don’t want her to feel unsafe.”
I finally found my voice as he started to walk away, realizing I’d been meaning to contact him and the board.
“Oh, Mr. Kingsford. I wanted to talk to you about Greer Abbott.”
He stopped walking, eyebrows furrowed as he turned. “He’s been one of the biggest assets with our redemption.”
“He has,” I agreed. “But I’ve noticed he’s not bouncing back quite as easily. We need a permanent physical therapist on the books if we can swing it.”
He considered it. “Done. Put the listing out and I want you to sit in on the interviews.”
“Of course,” I said, relieved it wasn’t a fight. “Thank you, sir.”
He waved over his shoulder. “My team will send over the information. The team leaves tomorrow. Buses are arranged.”
He walked out and I was stunned silent in my office for the second time in two days.