Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 50840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
I snort. Loudly. Though I don't disagree. I've had some great bosses since we graduated two years ago, but working for peanuts in a city like this? Well, my student loans aren't paying themselves.
Gosh damn it.
"Tell me what you know about the team," I sigh, resigned to my fate. This will probably end in disaster, but whatever. If disaster pays the bills, I'll be a tornado.
Serena's expression lights up, excitement firing through her eyes. The girl knows her hockey. Her brother plays. Me? I know you play the sport on ice with a stick and a puck. And that's about all I know.
"Archer Graves, dark hair, brooding in the back corner," she says. "Team captain. Well-liked. He's a great player. No family though, so it's probably not him. Jordan Silvestri is seated beside him. He's the hunk with the piercing and tattoos. Everyone says he's difficult. He got booted from his last team for beating up the captain, but he's an incredible player. Also, no family."
I glance at Jordan, my eyes wide. "What did his captain do?"
"No clue." Serena shrugs. "River St. James is seated beside him. Avoid him at all costs. He sleeps with everyone, but he's fearless on the ice. Obviously, he doesn't have a family at home."
I wrinkle my nose. Why am I not surprised? River looks like the kind of guy women can't resist…dark blond hair, blue eyes, dimples he flashes at everyone.
"See the guy next to him? The one who looks about eighteen?" Serena waits for me to nod. "That's Diego Tapia. He's not nearly as young or as innocent as he looks. Avoid him too. No family at home. The guy in the glasses next to him is Micah Rushing. He plays defense. Very popular with the fans." She taps her bottom lip. "He could be your guy. He just had a baby."
He's laughing at something the giant with the gorgeous blue eyes said. He seems nice, approachable. Maybe I could work for him.
"What about the giant next to him?" I ask, my gaze drifting back to him in time to see him slip his phone from his pocket, his lips pulling down into a frown.
"That's Logan Moreno," Serena murmurs. "He's the new goalie."
"Is that all you know about him?"
"Avoid him," she says, her tone firm. "He's trouble."
"What kind of trouble?"
"The kind you want to avoid."
I tear my gaze away from him to glance at Serena.
"He just got traded from Nashville," she says. "He raised all kinds of hell out there, was in the paper every few weeks for one thing or another. He's fearless in the goal, but he doesn't take anything seriously. I don't know why we signed him."
"You don't like him."
Serena shrugs. "We don't need the bad press. He's nothing but bad press."
"So he probably doesn't need an assistant then."
Serena snorts. "He needs a babysitter, not an assistant, Peyton. I highly doubt you'll be working for him."
I exhale a tiny breath before turning back to the table. He's still texting, a furrow carved between his brows. He looks like he could be trouble. But he doesn't look like that much trouble. What do I know, though?
"Who else is over there?" I ask after a moment.
"Joaquin Reed," she murmurs. "I don't really know much about him. He's been on the team for a while, but I guess he flies under the radar. I don't think he has a family, though." She shrugs. "The player who just left the table is Nash Whatley. He was just traded, too. He's an incredible player. Everyone says he's a great guy. I don't know much about him, either. Just what the papers say."
"What do they say?" I ask, curious.
"His parents were killed in an accident when he was younger. He opted out of the draft to take care of his sister." She falls silent for a moment. "They bring it up a lot."
Of course they do. No one is ever allowed to grieve in peace, are they? Not even hockey players. The papers always want all the gory, grisly details. It's never because they actually care, either. It's simply so they can turn you and your misery into a story. In their eyes, pain is dollar signs and the people who feel it? Well, they might as well be fat stacks of cash walking around.
"Who else on the team has a family?"
"Trenton Wembley, Jeff Twomey, Carter Akers, Vito Santiago, and Arlo Santos," Serena answers. "They're third and fourth line."
"I have no idea what that means."
"It means they're good, but not nearly as good as the guys sitting at that table." She nods in their direction. "Everyone wants a piece of them and Nash."
"So my future boss might not even be here?"
"It's possible." Serena shrugs. "It's probably Micah, though. He's the only one who just had a baby. And he's the one with brand endorsements and everything else flying his way. He's a hot commodity now that he has a kid."