Page 42 of Date with a Devil
“The fans booed him the other night,” she mumbled.
And it was because of me,she thought with a gulp.
“Exactly.” Thayer gleefully smiled. “Unfortunately, his performances in Edmonton and Calgary this week have made up for it. Fans have short memories—with them, it’s all very what-have-you-done-for-me-lately.”
“You mentioned the animosity between you two. I’m curious—DeHardt said you quoted him off the record. Was that true?”
He gave an arrogant snicker. “I suppose it’s technically true. But is anything evertrulyoff the record these days? Every corner you look, there’s a camera watching—and I’m just talking about everyday Joes like you and me. Why should aprofessional athleteexpect to have any right to privacy when the little guy doesn’t? They’re public figures, not private citizens, so the rules for them are different. And it’s not like I sneaked into that locker room. The door was wide open and I was standing outside, waiting to interview them. I was only doing my job. It’s his fault for being so obnoxiously loud.”
“Oh,” Austen said with a gulp. She was stunned by her boss’s reasoning and his total lack of remorse.
He glared at her, sensing her repulsion. “You don’t see a problem with that, do you?”
“No, not at all,” she lied.
His suspicions vanished. “Great. I didn’t think you would.”
“So, er, when is the interview going to air?” she asked.
“After tonight’s game.”
“I see.”
Thayer reached across the desk and touched her hand. Again. Just like he had a week ago. “I know you haven’t been happy with how things went this week, but trust me when I say you’ve done your part. Why don’t you head home early today? You deserve a break.”
“Yeah,” she muttered. “Thanks.”
Austen fetched her things from her desk and left. In the employee parking lot, she sat in her car in stunned silence. She’d never seen this side of Thayer before, and it scared her. So much for having a “transparent workplace” or “making the world a better place.” Apparently, all that went out the window if it made the guy who signed your checks happy.
She had a thought that scared her—DeHardt was absolutely right to hate Thayer. Hell, maybe he should aim his sights higher and hate the whole damned Dallas Devils organization!She had half a mind to warn DeHardt about tonight’s interview, and what Thayer had just told her.
But no matter how long she stared at her phone, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. If she warned DeHardt, he might say something to the media. Thayer would then find out that she’d blabbed, and she wouldsurelybe fired.
And it wasn’t like she owed DeHardt anything. He obviously saw her as just another piece of ass, a hookup that went wrong and made him play a bad game of hockey.
What did she owe him?
She stashed her phone in her purse and drove home.
Chapter 18
Dane
After eking out a surprising win over the Nashville Fury, the jubilant Dallas Devils escaped the ice with gleeful shouts:
“Woooo!”
“Fuckin’ right!”
“Hell yeah, boys!”
The Devils hurried down the tunnel and to their locker room, where their victory song was already blasting over the stereo—this year, the victory theme was “The Best”by Tina Turner.The twenty-two athletes belted out the chorus in unison. They weren’t the best singers, and they knew only a few words of the actual lyrics, but nobody could deny their enthusiasm.
“I hate this fuckin’ song so much!” Mikey yelled amidst the chaos.
“We all do!” Dane yelled back. “But Goddamnis it nice to hear it again!”
The boys tore their equipment off in a hurry, rehashing the game’s ups and downs to a chorus of raucous laughter. Then the party moved to the showers.
