Page 4 of Pucked and Pregnant

There’s that little smile again.

Does that mean what I think it means?

“Why is that?” I ask.

“I assume your coworkers filled you in on the situation on the east coast?”

“They did.”

“Apparently, you’ve got quite the admirer over there. They requested you specifically for the senior analyst position. The other department heads tried to talk him out of it, suggesting their own people, but he didn’t bite.”

Of course they did.

“I’m guessing you put up a pretty big fight on my behalf.” I smile gratefully at her. “Thank you. That really means a lot.”

“I didn’t have to say a word. Before I could, Jackson—the man Caleb saw leaving my office—said that if the Blades couldn’t have you, they wouldn’t be taking anyone at all from this office.I told him I’d talk with you first so you could decide in a lower-pressure moment whether you wanted the position or not, but woman to woman, you’d be crazy to pass this up.”

“Wait, you said Blades. Are you telling me the Boston Blades asked for me personally?”

“Yes.”

That’s when all the pieces click into place.

“Damn it, Max. I told you to stay out of it,” I mutter to myself.

“Caroline, I don’t think I should take this job. I believe I’m getting the position because my brother badgered that office into hiring me. Someone who actually deserves it should get it.”

She lets out a low whistle. “Wow, that is a lot to unpack there, so I’m going to start with the thing that surprises me the most. I heard what you said under your breath and this Max you’re referring to—your brother—isMax Winters. The same Max Winters that’s the active team captain for the Boston Blades. Am I right to make that assumption?”

“Yes.” I hang my head. “I didn’t want to tell anyone because I wanted to earn my place here on merit alone rather than because of who my brother is. That’s the whole reason I applied for the position here in Minnesota.”

She shakes her head. “I thought you were smarter than that, Olivia. I really did.”

If she reached across the desk and slapped me, it would have hurt less.

“If I had known that I would have been able to get the pro division interested in you sooner. There’s no way Dave could have kept you in the junior analyst position for that long, and I could have even leveraged that to get you on my team far earlier.”

“See, that’s exactly why I didn’t advertise it. I wanted to earn it on my own,” I say, folding my arms across my chest.

“Struggling endlessly for the sake of struggling just makes you a useless martyr. You’re talented, but you know as well as I do how difficult it is for women to advance in a male-dominated field. Did you ever think for even a moment that you could use your connections to get to the top and push for actual change?

“How many more girls could you have inspired to join this field if you were doing color commentary and TV guest spots for the pro leagues? I value your hard work and your commitment, but that pride of yours might end up ruining your career. I know I can’t make you change your mind and take the position you’re being offered, but I will have failed you as your boss if I don’t strongly advise you to reconsider your answer.”

I want to argue with her. I want to tell her she has no clue how cold it gets living in your brother’s shadow and she has no right to speak to me that way.

But she’s right.

She’s right about everything.

“How soon do they want me in Boston?”

“As soon as possible. Does this mean you’ve changed your mind?” Caroline asks.

Although it feels like I’m betraying my principles, I say yes and take the transfer paperwork back to my desk to start signing.

2

LIV

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