Page 147 of Game Misconduct
Everyone wants to know what the hell just happened at a youth skate on the road.
Join the damn club.
Tessa’s already booted up the smart board. PR, Legal, and Comms are seated, watching me like they expect me to detonate.
I don’t.
Instead, I tap the screen and pull up the trending clips.
Finn, waving like a parade clown. The snag, the rip, the horrifying near slip. The viral caption underneath: “#Zamboner”.
My jaw tics. I say nothing.
PR clears her throat. “We suggest a soft-touch response. Keep it light. Make it a ‘boys-will-be-boys’ moment without saying those words. Position Finn as the lovable goof. Public tends to be forgiving when we give them permission to laugh.”
Dean leans back in his chair like it’s a beach lounger. “God bless the idiot brand.”
Legal jumps in. “We can’t hit him too hard or it raises questions about uniform policy and equipment liability. The incident happened at a team-sanctioned event with minors present, but technically there was no exposure. The boxers stayed on.”
“For the most part,” Dean mutters.
I raise a hand. The room goes still.
“Here’s what we’re doing,” I say. “We draft a three-line statement. Emphasize it was an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction during a community event. Add that we’re reviewing internal protocol to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Full stop.”
PR nods, already typing.
“Internally,” I continue, “he’s on a leash. No media, no side interviews, no solo events. He’s glued to Logan or Eli for the next month. Every sponsor appearance, every youth partnership, every fucking breakfast fundraiser—we own his calendar.”
Tessa slides something across the table. A sticky note in her handwriting.
Fan footage. Maddox in the background.
Looks furious.
I don’t react. Not visibly. I fold the note in half and place it under my phone.
Dean notices. Of course he does.
“What?” he says, eyes narrowing. “Lasker didn’t step in?”
I look up. Slowly. “He’s not the hall monitor, Dean.”
“He’s the veteran. The anchor. He could’ve pulled Finn off the damn Zamboni.”
My smile is ice. “Maybe he didn’t want to create a bigger scene.”
Maybe I told him I wasn’t ready.
Maybe I pushed him away and let the silence grow between us until it turned into this.
Dean keeps going. “If he’s going to be a leader on this team, he needs to act like it. Especially on the road.”
“Enough.” My voice cuts clean.
The room falls quiet.
Tessa clicks her pen but doesn’t say a word.
