Page 5 of On Ice

“It doesn’t worry you at all that the team has been losing a lot lately?”

“The team isn’t the problem. They’re good players. They’ve been almost winning games, despite shitty management.”

“Almost isn’t good enough though, is it?” He frowns.

“No. Of course not.” The home team skates out to thunderous applause, and I find myself tracking number 11 again. Evan Riley, twenty-six, captain for three years. His stats are impressive, but numbers on paper are nothing compared to seeing him play in person.

“I just really hope you can make this hockey team profitable. I don’t want the men thinking you’ve lost your edge.”

“This gambling operation will be a winner,” I say, pulling my gaze from number 11 and forcing myself to focus on business. “We’ll start small, point spreads, over/unders. Build up a pattern of wins and losses that looks natural. Once we have control of enough officials, we can expand to more specific prop bets.”

“It’s all fine and dandy to have the officials in your pocket.” He studies me. “But do you think the team will cooperate? Without them, it won’t work.”

“They’ll cooperate.” My smile is strained. “They won’t have a choice.”

“I guess.” He doesn’t sound convinced.

I try to ignore how much his doubt eats at me. I finish off my scotch and then say, “Besides, I don’t have to have the whole team in my pocket. I just need one really important player.”

“Okay.” He nods. “Which one?”

“The captain,” I say curtly. “I need Evan Riley to do what I tell him to do.”

“And you think he’ll obey you?”

I ignore the little shiver of lust those words send through me. “I’m sure he’ll do what I tell him to do. All it should take are a few strategic threats and some generous bonuses. Human nature is mind-numbingly predictable.”

“Ain’t that the truth. Humans can be such a disappointment sometimes.” Marco gestures at my empty glass. “Another?”

I nod, glad we seem to be back on stable ground with each other. “Be happy they are. We wouldn’t be rich if people weren’t mostly sheep.” I watch as Riley takes his position for the opening face-off. There’s an intensity to him, a focused power that reminds me of a wolf sizing up its prey. Once more my dick gets hard. When he wins the draw clean, I lean forward slightly.

“You know what would be more profitable than game-fixing?” Marco hands me a fresh scotch. “Those cryptocurrency exchanges we discussed. Clean money, harder to trace, less risk of someone talking. Or that chain of urgent care clinics, perfect for distributing our pharmaceutical interests. The construction company that would give us control of union contracts.”

My second in command is like a dog with a bone.

“I get it,” I say sharply. “You think there are other things that we could do that would be easier.” The Bay City center throws a dirty hit on one of the Ice Hawks’ rookies. Riley immediately confronts him, radiating controlled aggression.

“Yeah, I do.” Marco no longer seems cowed by our earlier run-in. He’s back to his usual cocky self. “There are a ton of better business decisions than buying a hockey team because little Luca wasn’t allowed to play growing up.”

I almost laugh because he can be such an asshole sometimes. But I squash my smile and shoot him a warning glance. But there’s no real heat in it. I don’t want to fight with him. “Just suck it up, Marco. The team is a solid investment and it’s already a done deal.”

“Fine. I guess on the plus side, if this gig tanks, I can rub it in your face for the rest of your life.” Marco returns to his seat, resting his feet on the glass coffee table.

“I’m sure you’d take great pleasure in that.” On the ice, Riley executes a perfect give-and-go that leads to the game’s first goal. The crowd erupts, and I feel myself smiling with something similar to pride. I hide my smile from Marco though. He has enough ammunition to pick on me as it is. I don’t want him catching on I might have a little thing for the captain of the team I just bought.

Marco exhales. “I do enjoy ragging on you, but a part of me is also proud of you for buying this team.”

Surprised, I glance at him. “Excuse me? Two seconds ago you were telling me what a bad idea it was.”

“It probably is a bad idea but, well, you really wanted it and so you did it. I’m glad for you. Mostly you just trod the path your father traveled first. This is something new. It’s good that you’redoing something you want. I think it’s hard for you to see how much you’ve accomplished because everything is so mixed up with your dad’s legacy.”

“I know I’ve done stuff. “

“Yeah, but I worry you still think it’s because your dad started it first. But you know, your dad failed at things too. He was wrong about a lot of things.”

“Of course. He was just a man after all.” I’m trying to brush it off, but Marco has a point. I do sometimes find it difficult to see where I’ve excelled because everything I do is tied to Father’s legacy.

“You’ve doubled our territory and modernized our operations in the year since he died. But I think you don’t take credit for that enough.” Marco finishes his scotch. “I still suspect this team will be more work than it’s worth, but I’m proud of you for doing something that is all your own. Even if it crashes and burns.” He smirks.

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