Page 9 of Oh, Flutz!

“Here he is,” Juliet says, injecting copious amounts of brightness into her voice, and Lian nods.

“Thank you. Ekaterina, you already met Juliet Campbell, my assistant; I’d like you to meet someone else. This is Bryan Young.”

The seat-stealer turns around, and my eyes practically pop out of their sockets.

What thefuck?

Sure enough, Ekaterina freaking Andreyeva is sitting two feet away from me, in my chair, bright red hair in a bun severe enough for competition, steely grey eyes boring holes into me.

By the time I’ve unfrozen, it hits me that I should probably say something, so I clear my throat. “Er—hi.”Real smooth, Young. I shoot Juliet a look, like,what in the everloving hell is going on?But she’s suddenly very preoccupied with the lid of her coffee.

Ekaterina doesn’t say anything, just keeps staring at me with a squint that, aside from making me uncomfortable, gives me the impression that she doesn’t really know what’s going on either.

The thought should reassure me, but it doesn’t. Mostly because she’s looking at me like she’s picking me apart into itty bitty pieces, and then debating whether to step on them.

“Bryan’s in singles as well. For now.” Lian waves a hand to the other chair. “Sit down, will you?”

I barely process the question, mostly because I’m still working on thefor now,and Juliet has to nudge me. “Uh—yeah.” I almost trip over myself as I go to sit down.

“You two are probably confused right now, so I’ll get to it.” Lian leans forward across the desk. “Both of you are in a bit of a predicament. Your careers are at a crossroads, and there’s a decision to be made. You either have to shit or get out of the kitchen, you know what I’m saying?”

“No,” Ekaterina replies flatly, an accent tinging the word, and I almost jump out of my skin.

Lian doesn’t miss a beat. “It’s an idiom. It means you need to do what you need to do before you lose your chance. And in this case, that means what I’m about to tell you.”

I glance over at the girl sitting next to me, stiff as a board. This is so insanely weird. I’ve only ever seen her on TV, not counting the times I’ve spotted her in busy hallways at international competitions.

“Katya, I’ve been watching you for a while. And Bryan, as your coach of twelve years, I’d like to say I know you well enough to make this decision. I’m pairing you up.”

I frown. “For…”

“The arena’s brand-new circus troupe. For pairs skating, Bryan.”

I say “what?” at the same time Katya cries out, “pairs?”

“Lee, what?” This hasgotto be some kind of fever dream. “I thought you were going to talk to Heffner about giving me a break!”

“I was told I’d be switching teams, not switchingsports!”

Lian rolls her eyes. “You two are so dramatic. See? Already have something in common. Pairs isn’t that different from singles; it’s a separate discipline, not a separate sport.”

I laugh nervously. “Look, I—”

Katya looks me up and down judgmentally before scoffing. “If you think I’m trusting this pile ofsticksto toss me in the air like a sack of potatoes—”

“Hey!” I protest. “I’m literally right here.”

She ignores me. “I’ve never heard of this skater before. If you wanted to be serious and transfer me, why didn’t you find someone actually worth my time?”

What did I even do to this girl? I narrow my eyes at her, then turn to give Lian the fakest smile I can manage. “I can see why you thought this was a good idea.”

Lian shoots me a withering look, then gets to her feet, planting both hands on the desk and leaning over us. “Listen to me, you little shits. Morris and Kelso just retired to have their baby, and the AFSC needs its new pairs sweethearts to bring in some cash flow. I promised I would find some, and now I have. They and the Russians, by some miracle of sweet baby Jesus, have all agreed to my idea. I’m saving both of your asses here, so you’d better play nice and do as I say.” She glares at both of us. “Unless you want to retire, of course?”

Just hearing the word makes the nausea come back full swing like I’m having an allergic reaction—I can practically feel the hives breaking out. “No!” I blurt, and Katya rolls her eyes but doesn’t answer.

Lian locks eyes with her, arching an eyebrow. “Well?”

They stare each other down for a moment, and I almost think my coach may have finally met her match—but, as always, Lian wins.

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