Page 68 of Sven

“Hey, listen to me. Just tell him that the housekeeper had been bringing her grandkids. That’s why there is stuff around?”

He nodded.

“Go answer the door and come get us when you’re done.”

He nodded as Natalie slipped out the back door and heard him opening the door for his dad.

She made it back to the pool house with a sleeping Winnie and laid her down with a sigh of relief.

She was pacing. She had no idea what was going on because she had never seen him like that. He was panicking. His dad had put pressure on him being a Hall of Famer himself, but that seemed like more than pressure.

As she paced, she noticed the intercom on the wall. She was tempted to listen to him, but she wouldn’t. After last night, everything had gotten messed up, and she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to work for him anymore... Okay, that was a lie, but it did leave her with a lot of questions.

Questions she should get the answer to by talking to him, not by eavesdropping... but even as she thought that she found herself walking over to the intercom and pushing the button. She wasn’t even sure how to work it, but she pushed it, and the sound of Sven and his father filled the room.

“What are you doing here?” Sven asked his father.

“You stopped answering my phone calls,” his father answered in a low, dominant voice.

“I’ve been working on stuff.”

“Well... your last few games have been better, but there is still room for improvement. Why aren’t you on the top line with Conner and Wes anymore?”

“Coach is just trying for more depth.”

Natalie didn’t like the sound of his voice. As much as she pretended to not like Sven’s swagger, she loved it. Here, it was all gone. He sounded like a scared teenager rather than a cocky professional hockey player.

“Well, you need to be scoring more if you ever want to catch my record. It looks like your teammate might do that before you.”

“It doesn’t have to be a competition, Dad,” Sven said quietly.

The intercom squealed as Winnie stirred. Natalie moved back to the monitor to shut it all off.

“I brought some game tapes. We are going to sit down and talk about it. Then I have some trainers to meet with you this week.”

“Dad, I’m not allowed to work with other trainers.”

“I think your agent should put in for a trade.”

Natalie’s hand stopped over the button. Did Sven want to be traded?

“I still have another year on my contract,” Sven protested.

“I need you to trust me, son. Have a seat.”

She knew she should turn this off and stop listening.

“Why do you have all this baby stuff?”

“Oh, umm....” Sven paused, and Natalie’s heart stopped.

Come on, she thought,just tell him it’s the housekeeper’s.

“Ummm... my housekeeper has been bringing her granddaughter sometimes.”

“You’re too soft with the help. She should not be allowed to do that. And if she does, she should clear away all the crap.”

God, this guy was an ass. Natalie pushed the button to turn off the monitor, but as she pushed the button, it did nothing to stop the sound.

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