Page 112 of Bad Teammate
“I’m dead serious,” Niko answered.
“Then I won’t be needing this,” Mr. Bowfield said as he reached across the desk and took the trade proposal back. He held the contract in the air and,riiip!,shredded it into two pieces.
The three of us erupted into an elated state of pure joy and complete confusion.
“So wait, youarekeeping Niko after all?” I asked.
“I don’t understand,” Katerina said. “I thought you said you already signed off on the trade.”
“I signed off on the trade, yes, but I never submitted it to the league,” he said, dropping the torn paper into the trash. “And a trade isn’t official until the league has a signed copy in their hands.”
“Why’d you wait to submit it?” I asked.
“Because I had a funny feeling I should wait until I heard from you.” He smiled. “And once you got here, I had to make sure Niko wasseriousabout rehab—not merely serious about staying in Dallas.” He stared long and hard at Niko. “Don’t get the wrong idea, Niko. This is all predicated on you going into a thirty-day rehab program. If you back out on me, you’ll be as good as gone.”
Niko shook his head. “I won’t let you down, sir.”
“Then I’ll make a call and get the process started.” Mr. Bowfield picked up his desk phone and dialed a number.
While Mr. Bowfield made arrangements, Katerina hugged her brother. She held onto his arms and gave him what sounded like a pep talk in Russian. The siblings embraced one more time with a loving hug. Then she turned around and jumped in my arms. I squeezed her tight and kissed her, even if kissing still kinda hurt, thanks to my busted lip.
“Thank you, Derek,” she said. “He’s really going to do it.”
“I should be thankingyou.You’re the one who gotthrough to him.”
“But I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Mr. Bowfield jotted down some notes and hung up. “Here you go.” He passed the note to Niko. “They’ll pick you up at your place at three o’clock. You should pack a small bag.”
“We should get going, then,” I said.
Mr. Bowfield embraced Niko in a hug. “Good luck, kid. If you ask me, you just proved that you’ve got the heart of a warrior. But don’t ever be afraid to ask for help if you need it. We’re here for you.”
“Thank you,” Niko said.
I shook my general manager’s hand. “Thanks again for keeping the team together, Mr. Bowfield.”
“Thank you, Reavo, for making it happen,” he said. He turned to Katerina. “And thank you, Miss Nikolaeva, for your help. You made translation look easy.”
“Thank you.” She smiled modestly. “But it’s not a big deal. I work as a translator, so I get a lot of practice.”
“Really? Where do you work?” he asked.
“In a cramped apartment in Moscow.” She chuckled. “I’m self-employed.”
“Interesting. How much do you value being your own boss?”
“Well, the autonomy is nice,” she said. “But honestly? The trade-off is that I’m always working, and I feel too guilty to take time to myself. It’s a real grind.” She paused. “Why do you ask?”
“How would you like to be employed by an NHL team?”
Her eyes grew. “Are you offering me a job?”
“I am. We need a Russian translator, but more importantly, we need Niko to thrive. He’s going to need all the support he can get if he’s going to make it through this. You’re his family and I’d like to keep you as close as I can.” He winked. “Two birds with one stone.”
“Wow,” she stammered. “I don’t know what to say.” She turned her eyes to me, wondering what I thought.
“Take it!” I nudged her, encouraging her. “Move to Dallas. You’ll always be near the team. We’ll get to see each other all the time.”
