Page 14 of Game Misconduct
I reach for my laptop, dragging it onto my lap like it’ll anchor me. The Vipers roster is already open on the screen.
Scrolling through the names, I make notes—cap space, penalty minutes, performance ratings. Words blur. Numbers mean nothing.
Because the one name I need to see on the roster as active is the only yellow highlight at the top of the spreadsheet.
Contract: pending.
I stare at the words until they look like they’re no longer spelled correctly.
He’s the last piece. The one they all said I wouldn’t get.
I scroll again and again. Type. Delete. Re-type.
But my brain keeps replaying the moment in his doorway—him shirtless, arrogant, unreadable.
And then the flicker behind his eyes. The part he didn’t mean to show me. The part that made my heart catch and my stomach turn over.
I wanted to reach for him. Not to soothe. Not to control. But to feel the heat and the spark of electricity I saw in his gaze for a split second before he contained it.
My phone lights up with an email notification and the three text notifications I ignored earlier catch my eye.
They’re all stacked like bricks on my chest.
Two are from Dean, because of course he needs to remind me he’s watching.
Or to insinuate that he should have my job.
Dean: Status? Tell me he signed.
Dean: I want confirmation Lasker’s in. He’s not the only option.
“Oh yeah, Dean? Well, I want to rip your head off, but we can’t always get what we want.”
I angry tap out the lie he wants to hear.
Me: Negotiations ongoing. Will update you by tomorrow.
I don’t wait for his response. I already know what he’ll say. Some cold variation ofdon’t screw this up.
He won’t sayplease. He never does.
Tessa’s message, while still wanting to know about Maddox, didn’t tighten my muscles like Dean’s.
Tessa: Was it bad?
I hesitate. But I don’t want to lie to her.
Me: No signature. But he didn’t kick me out.
Tessa: So… progress. Do you need tequila or a punching bag?
A tiny laugh escapes, barely there, but it’s there. And it’s not the curated kind I use in press rooms.
This one’s real. Weak, wobbly. Human.
Me: I can only choose one?
Tessa: I’ll have both waiting when you get back.
