Page 5 of Press Your Luck

"Hah." I shook my head. "I can't win if you don't actually play the game."

Realizing nothing I was going to say would make a difference, I dismissed him. Anger seethed through my whole body, so I took to the ice, skating a few laps to work off the negative energy.

Once I calmed down, I went back to the box and wrote a few notes about the day’s practice and jotted down ideas for potential changes, especially if I was going to take Big Ed out of the lineup.

I packed up my bag and headed to the office area. I went directly to the team owner’s office, knocking and opening the door.

The owner, Todd Marshal, was nearing fifty, but he was still a strikingly good-looking man. Not that I was interested in him romantically because I wasn’t. Still, that didn’t mean I didn’t notice that he had a lot going for him. I appreciated that he was giving me a chance that nobody else would've ever given me as the coach of a men's minor-league hockey team.

But he was also exasperating as the boss because while he seemed to enjoy the game of hockey, he saw the team as a business venture. He didn't care much what happened on the ice as long as the team made money.

He waved me in. "Naomi. Come on in. How’d it go today?" His hand extended out toward the chair, inviting me to take a seat. "I understand you've threatened to bench Big Ed?"

I arched a brow. "So he tattled on me?"

Todd grinned. "I think that guy has testosterone for brains."

"Did you tell him to quit complaining and shape up, play the game?"

"I told him that on the ice, you’re the boss."

I wanted to reach across Todd's desk and slap the jovial smile on his face.

"If this team is going to win—and make money," I added since I remembered that profit was his focus, "Big Ed needs to shape up."

Todd sat back and studied me for a moment. "I can talk to him, Naomi, but he won't ever respect you if I have to step in and fight your battles for you."

Dammit, he was right.

"If you're going to be a coach in a men's league, you're going to have to put up with his bullshit and bring him around. I’ll support you if you bench him the first game, but he needs to play, Naomi, so you're going to have to earn his respect, or at least find a way to make him comply."

"I suppose if we lose the game because Big Ed isn’t doing what he’s supposed to do, the sports media will call him out for it." I couldn’t be sure Ed would be motivated by negative publicity or being blamed for a loss.

Todd nodded.

"I suppose the question is, does he hate me more than he hates negative press? Because it seems he hates me more than he wants to move up to the NHL."

"I told you, that guy is as dumb as a lump. But he's good on the ice."

Realizing I wasn't going to get anywhere with Todd, I gave a quick report and then left the rink, heading home to my new apartment. When I arrived home, I warmed up the leftover take-out that I ordered last night. I sat down at my kitchen table to eat and scrolled through my phone to read the sports news.

I had always been athletic and competitive. Growing up, I played a lot of different sports, from softball, to basketball, to tennis. But hockey was the sport that I loved the most. I loved the speed, and yes, the aggressiveness. Through hockey, I got a scholarship to college and excelled so much, I was offered a chance to play in the women’s professional league. I left school, finishing up my degree through online courses. I also continued to give back to the sport by volunteering with the local high school and college teams.

Then I got injured. Along with the broken collarbone, I had a pretty severe concussion. It terrified my mother, who could list all the famous people who’d died from head injuries from falls. By the time I was given the okay to play again, the season was over. Despite my mother's concerns, I headed back into training, fully intending to return to the ice as a player. But then Jasper Leads, an NHL player, was hit in the chest with a puck and went into cardiac arrest. He survived the freak accident, but it sent my mother into a tizzy. She was relentless in her worry, and I was doing my damnedest to ignore it when Todd Marshall reached out to me about this job in Nevada. At first, I was surprised as I was still playing and my coaching experience had only been from volunteering. He pointed out that the team I’d been assisting won the national championships and that the coach had credited me with helping them do that.

Deciding his offer was a sign from the universe that I should give my mother some respite from her distress, plus, admittedly, the excitement of being the first female hockey coach in a male league, I accepted the offer and moved to Nevada.

Women have come a long way in the world, but not so much so in men’s sports. My goal was to prove that while women's hearts and lungs may be different from men, our strategies and skills could be just as sharp or sharper. About half of the team had finally come around to accepting that I knew what I was doing. Another quarter of them were starting to come around, but that was because of Max Blake, who, besides Todd, was my biggest supporter. Since Max had the respect of most people on the team, they were willing to give me a chance. The other quarter was undecided, but only Big Ed was acting like a brat, digging his heels in and refusing to listen to me.

I told myself that I was fortunate to have as much of the team on my side as I had. I knew this job wouldn't be easy, so I had to dig in and find my strength to lead these men. And I had to do it without losing my cool lest they call me a bitch, the go-to accusation men tossed at women they felt were too strong. I just had to hope that Big Ed didn't push me so far that I ended up beating him with his own hockey stick.

3

Pierce

Our first game was tomorrow against our neighbor and rival, the Silver Nuggets. I was feeling confident as the team was finally starting to coalesce. They were strong and working well together on the ice. Bringing Bo on board was a big part of that.

The Silver Nuggets’ owner, Todd Marshall, and my partner, Reed Hampton, got together, deciding it would be a good idea to have a press conference the night before the game. Initially, I resisted suggesting that Reed would be the best to face the media, but he pointed out that I was the coach, at which point I pointed out that Bo was a coach as well. Then they both pointed out that I was the best of both worlds because I was both part owner and a coach. In the end, what changed my mind was learning that Naomi, not Todd, would be on the press junket with me.

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