Page 49 of Break the Ice
Jerry’s question lingers as she walks away from the coffee station in the lounge. I finish mixing my creamer and sugar substitute into my coffee while I pretend I’m not throwing furtive glances across the hall.
Mr. Beringer’s office is well within view—he hasn’t pulled down the shades to cover the glass walls that make up seventy-five percent of the room. He’s currently seated behind his desk punching the keys on his laptop. He must type in the wrong letter because he immediately backspaces with his nostrils flaring. Realizing he’s being watched by me and others in the area, he leaps out of his chair and scrambles to drop the blinds.
His behavior raises alarm bells. Intuition tells me something is up.
Daniel Beringer has been off for days now. He’s gone from being Mr. Hawk’s bumbling sidekick to being a bundle of anxious and angry energy.
The night of the Wolves party flashes to mind. I’d spotted him multiple times mingling with others and enjoying himself. Then I’d walked in on him and Mr. Hawk in the middle of a heated conversation.
“It doesn’t fucking matter!” comes Mr. Hawk’s voice from deeper inside the suite. “You’ll do whatever the hell I say! We’re not letting him go. Is that clear, Danny Boy?”
“You can’t control things forever, Hawk. Sooner or later, something’s got to give. Somebody’s going to pull that rug out from under you.”
“Is that a threat? Huh? You threatening me, Danny Boy?”
“Of… of course not. I… I just meant…”
Mr. Hawk hushes him as he finally senses they’re no longer alone…
The conversation fades as I wander past his office with my coffee mug. I cast him an inconspicuous smile that he moodily acknowledges with a nod of his head just before the last of the blinds closes. Even the tight way he inclines his head feels off.
I’ll have to set aside some time to dig a little more into Mr. Beringer’s life.
My first chance comes a couple days later when I encounter him at the end of a team sync, a weekly meeting where the managers, coaches, executives, and other necessary employees gather to update each other on news. I have to attend as the PR consultant they’re depending on to turn the team’s image around.
Everyone’s on their feet the second the meeting ends. Most attendees break off in twos and threes for sidebar conversation. The few others show themselves out.
Mr. Beringer is an outlier—he gets up to grab another slice of coffee cake from the refreshments table.
I snag the opening. I come up on his side, acting as though I’m in need of fresh coffee.
He nods in greeting, his mouth full of coffee cake.
I smile. “That was a great meeting. But I couldn’t help thinking about Mr. Hawk.”
“Hawk would’ve been doing what he always did,” he says once he’s swallowed his bite of coffee cake. “He would’ve been smoking his cigar asking about drinks later.”
“He always seemed to encourage camaraderie.”
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
I pretend my attention is focused on pouring my cup of coffee. “Oh… well… I just met him,” I say, careful to sound distracted. “I’m sure you know him better.”
“Better,” he scoffs. “I was his college roommate. Few people know Jasper like I do. He’s always in the spotlight. It’s been that way since he was a pro player himself. He’s never been one for sharing attention. But only a few people know the real story. Not just what Hawk presented to the public.”
“That does sound like it could be frustrating. Especially with you knowing each other so long. I’m sure people would be open to hearing your side… and the rest of the story.”
“Maybe. Excuse me.” Mr. Beringer excuses himself for the nearest exit.
The conversation might’ve been cut shorter than I hoped, but it’s enough to stay on my mind into the evening. At home, I pull up my laptop and type their names into the search engine. A string of sports and business articles pop up for Mr. Hawk and Beringer.
They were both D1 hockey players expected to go on to major fame and recognition once they hit the NHL. One crummy season in senior year resulted in Mr. Beringer being passed over during the draft. Mr. Hawk went on to sign with the Portland Trojans. His career showed promise until he abruptly left the NHL citing personal reasons.
There are many rumors circulating as to what that personal reason was. Some conspiracy theories include his feud with Eliot Golding and the herniated disc injury that ended his rival’s career.
Hawk and Beringer wound up putting their dreams of playing professional hockey aside and went the business route. Several successful ventures later, they partnered with fellow business mogul Quigley Blackman and bought the Wolves.
The biggest piece of the pie went to Hawk.
