Page 106 of What If I Knew You

I shake my head in utter disbelief. “Man, I’m sorry to hear about your sister, Oliver. That really is terrible and I’m glad she got out. But listen. Where McClacken is concerned, he’s a grade-A douchebag and not worth the breath it takes to mention his name. And quite frankly, he’s not that great a player anymore.”

Barrett laughs and hitches his thumb gesturing to me. “Listen to this kid.”

“What?” I shrug. “I mean it. The guy spends more time swinging fists than he does playing hockey. Statistically speaking, over his last ten games, he’s spent more time in the penalty box than he has on the ice.”

“I actually read somewhere that it’s rumored he has a drinking problem,” Griffin states.

“Wouldn’t surprise me given the way he plays now,” I tell them. “Why he’s even still with the team is beyond me.”

Harrison laughs. “Well, we don’t want him so it’s good that he’s still under contract with Seattle.”

Oliver snarls. “The day Jared McClacken becomes an Anaheim Star is the day I walk out of here forever.”

“That’s not happening. I’m just saying that McClacken is the least of our worries. If he comes in strong, just say something to piss him off and he’ll earn himself the penalty and we’ll have the power play. Easy peasy.”

Oliver switches off the big screen on the wall. “Well, at least we should be able pull a win as long as we play smart and don’t lose our heads. Jared might not be the strongest player, but he’s headstrong and he knows how and when to pick a fight. As much as I’d like to be the one to kill that guy with my own bare hands, I respect this team. And we all need to get through the game without a shit ton of penalties and no league fines or bad press.”

“Agreed,” Griffin says with a nod.

The rest of us nod with him. “Yep. Agreed.”

“Good. Now I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

Corrigan

That was an awesome assist you had out there tonight.

Me

Thank you babe. Felt pretty good to pull one over on McClacken. That guy is such a douche.

Corrigan

I can’t believe you didn’t deck the shit out of him.

Me

I wanted to, but we talked about him earlier this morning and Oliver made it very clear he wanted us all to skate a clean game with no penalties. Besides, if any deserves to beat the shit out of McClacken, it’s Oliver Magallan.

Corrigan

McClacken spent more time in the sin bin tonight than he did on the ice. He’s such an idiot. And why Oliver Magallan?

Me

You don’t know about McClacken and Magallan’s sister?

Corrigan

Should I?

Me

I didn’t until this morning. Long story but apparently McClacken and Oliver’s sister were together before she married Milo Landric.

Corrigan

Red Tails Landric?

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