Page 7 of The Official Problem
“Damn, I thought so,” the girl said, nodding. She leaned in to whisper something to her friend again. “He really fucked you up.”
In more ways than one, sweetheart. In more ways than one.
Kieran kept the thought to himself and nodded again, this time more stiffly, before making a show of replacing his earbud and turning to the window.
For the next five hours, Kieran fought to push the image of Matthieu’s face from his mind; that look of betrayal and brokenness before it turned to rage. He kept seeing it, again and again, that haunting sadness, even as the plane’s wheels touched down in Seattle.
THREE
MATTHIEU
September 2023 - Montreal
Matthieu hefted his duffel bag over his shoulder and stepped into Montreal’s practice facility. His flight from Newark had been delayed by a late summer storm, cutting into the little time he had between landing and reporting to development camp.
Most of the other officials had arrived the day before. Matthieu, already anxious about leaving home for a full week, had booked the latest possible flight. Now he was lugging everything he’d brought with him into the dressing room, trying to cram it all into the last available locker.
He hated being late. Nothing felt more disrespectful than not showing up on time. But there wasn’t much he could do about it now.
He changed quickly, forcing a few deep breaths before heading out for a warm-up skate. Luckily, by the time he made it out, Scott, who had recently been re-elected as director of officiating, seemed to have just arrived as well. He was too busy shuffling papers to notice Matthieu sneaking in the back.
Alexei, on the other hand, noticed. His face lit up when he saw Matthieu approach. “I thought they’d canned you after all,” he joked, though it wasn’t particularly funny.
The end of last season had been brutal. Every time Matthieu thought the investigation into his on-ice scuffle with Lloyd was over, another NHL executive or hungry reporter came at him with more questions.
As expected, he wasn’t selected to officiate the playoffs, which, while disappointing, wasn’t a surprise. It was almost unheard of for a first-year official to get that kind of opportunity, especially with a fresh scandal on their record.
In the end, he got a warning, extra training hours, and a long lecture about on-ice professionalism. It could’ve been worse.
“Nah, you’re stuck with me for at least another season,” Matthieu replied.
Alexei feigned disappointment, but his grin was wide. “I’m glad, man. Let’s keep those fists of fury in check this year, just to be safe?”
“I think I can keep it together. We both know I can’t fuck up again.”
Scott had made it clear a repeat offense wouldn’t end as kindly. Matthieu was smart enough to heed the warning. He’d worked too hard to get here and had too much riding on that steady paycheck to risk losing it all.
“Besides, it’s unlikely we’ll see much of each other anyway. I only had two Seattle games last season. Wouldn’t surprise me if they tweaked my schedule so I don’t officiate them at all.”
“That’s if he doesn’t get traded,” Alexei said flatly. “His contract with Seattle ended last year.”
Matthieu’s stomach churned at the thought of Kieran getting traded to an Eastern team. He silenced it with logic. “He gave Seattle five solid years and took them to the conference finalstwice. There’s no way they didn’t renew his contract. Right?” They’d be crazy not to.
“I haven’t heard either way,” Alexei said with a shrug. “You’d think they’d have announced something by now if he were staying in Seattle. It’s September, for God’s sake. Training camps start next week.”
Matthieu shrugged, done with the conversation. Luckily, Alexei picked up on it and changed the subject. “How’s my future wife? Still studying hard?”
Matthieu shot him a dry look. Alexei loved teasing him about the supposed “destiny” between him and Matthieu’s younger sister. Julie had harbored a crush on Alexei for as long as Matthieu could remember, and Alexei, shameless flirt that he was, had done nothing to discourage it. However, and it would break Julie’s heart to know this, Alexei liked his partners male, usually in multiples. Matthieu had long since stopped worrying about him making a move on his sister.
“You know she is. I put her on a plane to Paris yesterday,” Matthieu said. “Study abroad program. She’ll be gone the whole semester.”
Julie was in her final year at Columbia, brilliant and driven in ways Matthieu never had been. Pride bloomed in his chest at how far she’d come.
“Sounds fun.”
“Sounds expensive,” Matthieu grumbled.
Julie had a partial scholarship and lived with him in New Jersey to avoid the sky-high dorm fees. Still, her education was slowly draining his bank account, though he’d never tell her. If she knew the truth about their finances, she’d probably drop out on the spot. Matthieu couldn’t allow that. She’d already been through too much.
