Page 3 of Press Your Luck

“Like shit,” I murmured.

She gave me a sympathetic smile. “At least you’re not the coach down in Henderson. Then again, she’s a bit of a novelty. If she was hired as a marketing ploy, it’s working.” Analyn knew all about marketing. She’d first started working for Reed’s online gambling business, but once they married and had their kid, she’d moved over here to help the team. Most of her ideas were wackadoodle to me, but then she showed me a story about a baseball team in Savannah, Georgia—the Savannah Bananas, I shit you not—that were a huge success from doing unconventional things. At that point, I let her and Reed worry about marketing. My hands were full with the players.

“I wouldn’t underestimate her,” Reed said.

Analyn looked up at her husband. “Oh?” There was a look in her eyes that seemed to ask how he knew so much about her.

He must have understood that, as he grinned at her. “She’s a star in the hockey world. I’ve never met her personally, but anyone who knows hockey knows Naomi.”

I nodded. “If she were a man, she’d likely be the best ever.”

“Ouch,” Bo said, putting his hand over his heart. “I thought you always said I was the best.”

I rolled my eyes. “Only because Naomi Withers is a woman. The question is, does her team respect her? You can have the best players, but if they can’t work together, they’ll be shit.”

“Speaking of respecting your coach, I’m tired of watching these lazy asses. I’m going to crack the whip.” Bo hopped the wall and skated onto the ice, yelling at the men to get their shit together.

With Bo in charge, I followed Reed and Analyn to the team offices. I told myself that their saccharine sweet love was annoying, but deep down, I was happy for my buddy... and envious. As a hockey player, I’d had no interest or time for relationships beyond one-night-stands with puck bunnies. When I became a coach, I was so focused on the team’s success that I didn’t have time for a relationship. But now, watching Reed, I had to admit there was something nice about family.

Of course, I was ancient now. At forty-two, I still had a decent body as I stayed in shape, but I wasn’t the young buck like the men on the ice. The fact that I’d jerked off to Naomi Withers, who was fucking two decades younger than me, made me feel like a dirty old man. That alone had to make me less than prime husband and father material.

As we reached the office, Reed's phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call.

Analyn pulled up a chair and motioned for me to sit next to her. “I want you to see this.” She handed me her tablet. On the screen was a news clip of Naomi coaching her team. I couldn't deny that she was impressive or that Big Ed was a fucking moron for not listening to her.

“I feel bad for her,” Analyn said.

“Why?” From what I saw, Naomi was being kick-ass.

“She’s being used because she has breasts, not because she has the skills.”

“Maybe that sucks, but if she succeeds, wouldn’t that force people to see beyond the tits?” I winced at my choice of words.

If it bothered Analyn, she didn’t show it. Then again, she’d spent enough time around male hockey players to know we could give sailors a run for their money language-wise.

“I guess. And it’s really not my concern. My concern is how do we get attention too? You’re great, Pierce, but—”

“I know. I don’t have great tits.” I grinned at her.

“Exactly. Marketing is about getting attention, and right now, Naomi and the Silver Nuggets have it. Reed really wants to pack the stands this year, so we need something to bring them in.”

I thought about Bo and how for years the owners and manager of the team had encouraged his reckless behavior because it brought the fans in. Women wanted to fuck him and men wanted to be him. It had driven me nuts as his coach because he was one bad accident away from losing his career, or even his life. Now he was happily married, with a young daughter he’d recently discovered he had and a baby on the way. So I probably couldn’t use him as a lure.

“What are your thoughts?” I asked her.

She pulled up some slides on her tablet and started walking me through her ideas.

Reed returned and joined us as she walked through the plan. Since I'd decided I had enough on my plate with the team, I told them I was happy with whatever they decided. Reed had built a billion-dollar company, so I had to trust that he knew what he was doing. And Analyn was a social media market expert, so again, I needed to trust her too.

When we finished, I left the office to head back to the ice to help Bo. I needed to find a way to build up the fire these boys needed to win. But as I headed down the corridor, my mind drifted back to Reed and Analyn. Maybe it was time I put more effort into finding a mate. Naomi flashed in my mind again, and I cursed. A woman like her wouldn’t want a man like me. I was too fucking old, and she was at the start of her career. Any other woman, closer to my age, wouldn’t want a perverted old man who wanked off to nubile female athletes.

Pushing thoughts of love and family away, I returned to the ice. “I don’t like what I’m seeing. You need to work on endurance.”

A collective groan came from the ice. They knew what was coming next. Shuttle sprints.

“It will make you better in bed,” Bo said to them.

I rolled my eyes.

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