Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

TIMOTHY

Thankfully, Jake was as eager to fire Ben as I had hoped. He processed all the paperwork, then hounded me endlessly about pressing charges. I told him over and over again that it wouldn’t be right. It was a tedious process. Nothing good would come of it.

With the former assistant coach out, I had to pick up the slack. Well, I convinced myself I had to. It wasn’t going to get done otherwise.

As the seasons starts, it becomes more and more apparent there’s no way I can balance the two jobs. Being Jake’s assistant keeps me plenty busy. Adding in the extra work is a disaster waiting to happen.

Sure enough, Luke notices I’m struggling on the worst possible day imaginable.

“Hey, Timothy,” he says, his voice soft. “Are you ok?”

I blink to dispel the frustration that rears up with his question. Am I ok? Of course I’m not. I’m exhausted, and I’m hungry, and I want a nap.

But I can’t have any of it.

I don’t mention any of this. Instead, I put on a fake smile and nod. “I’m all good, Coach. Just trying to get everything ready for the newcomers.”

Today is the big day.

Leon Howler and Maddox Poirier are arriving for their first day of work. While this is exciting for Jake, it’s nerve wracking for the rest of us. At least, for those of us who know. Somehow, we’ve managed to keep things pretty hush hush in the media.

“You’ll tell me if you need anything?” Luke holds my wrist gently, his touch reassuring in a way I can’t handle. I don’t want to feel weak for him. Don’t want to cave at his sweet words.

So instead, I resolve to hold fast in my mask of professionalism.

“I doubt I’ll need anything anytime soon. Thanks, though.”

Easing from his grip, I take off down the hall to be ready for the two men to arrive. Hopefully, once this is over, things can go back to some semblance of normalcy. Though, nothing is ever truly normal with Jake Bellport as my boss.

I straighten my bunny bowtie while I wait for the first arrival a little while later. According to the estimates he gave, Maddox should be here any second.

No more than five-minutes pass before the door opens. I rush to greet him, hoping my friendly tone will put him at ease. We don’t need fireworks before the real chaos starts.

“Hi, Mr. Maddox. I'm Timothy. I will be your liaison today, helping you get where you need to be. Do you have any bags with you?”

He tilts his head towards a truck beside him. “I do, but I figured this would just be a quick trip and then I'd get to go home.”

Oh, drats. I’m going to have to be the bearer of bad news already.

“Well, actually, sir, I'm here to let you know that you're requested to stay for practice today. The full practice. We know you've been on the road traveling, but this is merely an observation situation. We would love for you to meet the guys and get settled in. This trade has caused a bit of a stir, as you can imagine.”

There’s tension in his body. It radiates off him in a way I can’t ignore.

Hoping to make it better, I offer to leave the bags in the office while we head into the rink for him to meet everyone else. The other players are already deep into practice with Luke.

I glance at Maddox as he takes in the arena during our walk toward the ice. He doesn’t have much of an expression. I can’t tell if he likes it here, or if we’re a disappointment.

Despite this trade being a hell of a deal for him, I would understand if he’s unhappy. It’s all very sudden thanks to Jake’s ministrations.

Luke waves me over the second he sees us. I keep leading the big man until we’re right by the ice.

“Well, here we are.”

Luke has the biggest smile I’ve seen on him yet when he says, “Great to have you on board, Maddox. The Bellport Bears are big fans. My name is Luke Swift.”

The two of them shake hands, then Luke gives him a mini welcome speech. From the look on Maddox’s face, he didn’t expect such a warm greeting.

When Luke makes the mistake of mentioning the duplex, I nervously interject that Jake has set it all up so as not to let the surprise be blown. It would suck for Jake to not at least get to see both men he worked so hard to acquire.

Luke takes over dealing with Maddox while I head back out to the front to wait for Leon. His agent, Larry, emailed a window of time he might arrive, though he gave no further details. And since I’m taking on far too much work these days, I didn’t follow up until this morning.

As expected, I haven’t had an update, meaning I can only wait during the time he said.

By the time Leon does appear at the arena, I’m elbow deep in an intense game of Tetris on my phone. It’s rare that I allow myself the time to play, but I couldn’t resist. It’s not like I could go to my office and leave the man to fend for himself.

When he appears right as I’m shit talking the blocks like a madman, I jump to attention. My phone goes into my pocket while I greet him.

“Oh, hi, you're Leon. Hi, Leon. Leon. Hi, I'm Leon. No, you're Leon. I'm Timothy. Sorry.” I extend my hand as I shake my head to clear the confusion. “Let's try again. I'm Timothy, and you're Leon.”

“Yes, I'm Leon. Nice to meet you, Timothy.” His smile is amused, though he doesn’t outwardly laugh at my fumble.

Regardless, I blush at the quick bout of embarrassment.

“Yes sir. I'm sorry. It's been a crazy day. I'm here to get you to where you need to be. Did you fly in or drive over? Larry didn’t confirm.”

"I drove over, and I'm parked in the visitor section,” he says while pointing toward the parking lot.

“Perfect. We're going to head inside then. The other new player is here and watching the team. I'll introduce you two. We can watch the rest of practice after that until Mr. Bellport arrives. You'll get to meet Coach too.”

Knowing this will either be perfect, or a complete disaster, I lead him into the arena. Luke greets Leon with just as much enthusiasm as he did Maddox, only he makes a point to him about being on his best behavior.

Leon replies to him, “I am a great team player, sir. I have no problems working with others.”

And that’s when all hell breaks loose. Luke explains it’s a different kind of situation while he points out Maddox, who is waiting nearby. Already, there’s a palpable tension between the men.

This isn’t going to go well.

I move to step between the two men, my need to fix the issue overriding my common sense. But then I look up and catch Luke’s eye.

He shakes his head softly, in a barely there movement. I know what he’s trying to say. He’s telling me to back off. To let the men deal with it on their own.

I freeze, not wanting to make a bad situation worse. Besides, Luke knows what he’s doing. I might be doing some of the work of an assistant coach, but I’m not nearly qualified enough to actually help with this.

The rivals square off, their words perfunctory. I watch closely as they try to make sense of it all.

My phone rings as they’re talking about meeting Jake. As if he knew he was being discussed, I see it’s him on the call.

“Yes, Mr. Bellport? Yes, you're here? Okay, good. We're down at the rink. Yes, sir. Okay.”

I turn to Maddox and Leon after hanging up the phone. “Mr. Bellport is here and coming. He'll be here shortly to greet you.”

As I sit to wait for whatever grand entrance Jake intends to make, I keep my body in the most professional stance possible. I feel helpless to do anything else.

Luke doesn’t want me interfering with his players.

Jake wants to make a big, flashy entrance.

Maddox clearly wants to leave. And so does Leon.

All I want is a nap and some comfy pajamas.

Maybe a snuggle too, though it’s been years since I’ve had a proper cuddle.

I can’t think of it too hard, or I’ll be miserable. Life isn’t fair. Why does cuddling have to be so taboo? Platonic snuggling should be a normal thing. If it were, I’d be right up next to Luke, my face buried in that smooth jaw of his as I felt the warmth I know he can provide.

Of course, my boss takes that moment to come riding in on a hoverboard as he blasts an airhorn. I remind myself I like my job and the benefits it brings. I’m really close to saving up for a better apartment. I can’t quit just because I’m grumpy and lonely.

I’ll be brave.

There’s no other option but to be.

It’s not long before Jake asks for the keys to the duplex, then he’s off, leading the two rivals away to show them to their new homes. Homes that have only a wall between them.

I have no idea how he plans to save this. One look had those two ready to come to blows. Putting them on the same team, a place where they’ll constantly have to work together, was a recipe for disaster in my opinion.

“Timothy,” Luke calls out right at the end of practice. I hadn’t even realized how much time passed while I zoned out. The sounds of the blades moving across the ice wove into a lullaby. I’m far too relaxed to deal with whatever might come next.

One look at me has his tone softening.

“Hey there, honeybee. You look exhausted.”

It’s not a question, so I don’t make light of it.

“A bit, yes. Things have been busy with trying to get Leon and Maddox here.”

“And you’ve been taking on assistant coaching duties. I know you’re doing far more than you should,” he rebuttals.

I drop my head forward, frustration rising at his declaration.

“Who else is going to do it? Jake hasn’t hired a new assistant yet. We can’t let things fall through the cracks.”

Luke huffs as he sits down beside me. His body is close. Almost too close.

“That doesn’t mean you have to be the one to step up. There are other people here who can do the work. People who are probably more qualified for it too.”

I jolt at his words.

Unknowingly, he’s touched a wound.

You’re not good enough, Timothy.

Why can’t you do the job right?

This is so simple, yet you can’t figure it out.

I’ve been thrown every single degrading comment out there in my previous jobs. Each time I heard negative words, it was like a slap in the face.

Listening to Luke, the man I’ve been crushing on, telling me basically the same thing, has me in a tizzy. I don’t want him to see me that way.

Incompetent.

Foolish.

Naive.

It’s all too much. I have to leave.

Now.

I stand from the bench, and without another word, I take off for the office. Luke shouts something to me; however, I can’t make it out. My thoughts are muddled with memories from the past.

Staying will only make them worse.