He laughed. “Maybe, but I’d prefer we celebrate with a nicer meal.”
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“You’re not making me order some kind of rabbit food, are you?”
“Of course not; you can have anything you like, even the beloved diet soda.” He got out of the car. “Stay here a second.”
“Are you keeping something else from me? You turned nice again all the sudden.”
Troy opened the passenger door and offered his arm. “Let’s go inside.”
***
“Surprise!”
Alex’s mouth dropped open at the sight of familiar faces seated with Glenn. “I hope you don’t mind that we invited some additional guests, Alexandra.”
“I…no…oh my God, of course not!” She turned and punched Troy’s arm. “Damn it, why didn’t you tell me these guys were in town?”
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“Ouch! Shit, Al, what’s with all the hitting today? If Glenn and I said anything, it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”
“How did you all…?” Alex began.
“Mr. Collins brought us to Pittsburgh on the quickest nonstop flight, dear,” Doris said. “We barely had enough time to change clothes and come straight from the hotel.”
“We wanted to help celebrate your big moment since no one knows when you’ll return to New York,” Beau added.
“What about you and Phyllis opening on Broadway? Jen, what’s going on with the Office Girls 2 movie?”
“Filming doesn’t begin for another two weeks,” Jennifer answered. “What better way to spend what little spare time I have left than with an old friend?”
“My and Beau’s show is on delay,” Phyllis said. “Just our rotten luck, unexpected financial issues arose.”
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“I’m sorry, Phyllis. Surely things will work out soon.”
“Hey, no one’s here to mope and complain,” Greg said. “Tonight’s all about you. We can now brag to everyone that we know a couple people who play for the Pittsburgh Rebels.”
Phyllis raised her glass. “Here’s to our lady who broke the American Hockey Conference’s gender barrier!”
The others followed suit. “Here, here! May she enjoy puck drops for many years!”
“Don’t go crazy, people,” Alex replied. “I haven’t yet officially made the team for sure. I still have to get through training camp.”
Glenn smiled at her. “I’m sure you’ll make the final cut, young lady. Maybe you’ll help find your mentor a wife in the meantime.”
She saw Troy blushing. “Glenn! Don’t embarrass the poor man.”
“I’m messing with him.”
Troy glared at his agent. “Sure; you’ve only nagged me about marriage since I was eighteen.”
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“What’s the hurry?” Alex asked. “You have your entire life.”
“Thanks, finally someone who makes sense!” Troy opened a menu. “Since Glenn’s buying, what’s everyone ordering? I’m sure our guest of honor is starving.”
“Kid makes twelve million a year and I’m still paying for his meals,” Glenn muttered. “Some things never change.”
***
147
Chapter 29
Alex signed a $900,000, one-year contract and received instructions for reporting to development camp. In the interim, she granted interviews under watchful eyes of Troy, Bright, Halloran, and the Rebels’ PR team.
$900,000. A gross amount, but Alex would still clear more in one game than during her entire brief acting career after paying required taxes and fees.
My God, I’m overwhelmed with a contract worth fewer than one million dollars. How on earth does Troy handle earning $12 million a year?
He sensed her uneasiness and hired a trusted financial advisor used by several teammates. Troy was not only familiar with transitions from humble roots to having a considerably expendable income, but also with several sports legends reduced to bankruptcy from poor judgments and bad investments. He couldn’t think of Alex experiencing the latter fate.
148
She almost tripped in the front door one morning after a coffee run. “Troy, are you still home? You won’t believe what happened at Starbucks!”
“What on God’s green earth are you doing out at seven-thirty in the morning?” he asked.
“Enjoying life and getting coffee.”
“Al, that stuff will rot your guts and brain.”
“I’m not dealing with another caffeine headache. Gee, you’re a cranky child this morning. To think I had a good story to share.”
He managed a smile. Give the girl a break. Everything was new to you back in 2005. “All right, what happened at Starbucks, where you shouldn’t have gone in the first place?”
“Remember that interview I did last week?”
“I hope so since we went together.”
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Alex set her cup on a nearby table, removed the newspaper tucked under her arm, and waved a part. “It’s on the sports section’s front page!”
“What? Let me see!”
“Uh uh, not until you say please.”
“Please?”
She handed him the section. “That’s better.”
Troy broke into a wide smile. “What a great headline! Meet Alexandra Galloway: First Lady of the AHC.”
“I don’t like it. They make me sound more like some cheesy beauty queen than member of a professional sports team.”
“Enjoy the ride. You’re already a sensation without yet setting foot in camp or playing an exhibition game. I should get this framed.”
“Hey, give back my only copy, greedy ass!”
“Let me finish. I want to have the article framed for you.”
150
She took several swigs of coffee. “That’s kind of you.”
He grimaced. “I can’t believe you like drinking that five-dollar poison.”
“Six-fifty, but I wouldn’t need to go out for my daily fix if some dork invested in a coffee pot. Anyway, I making headlines was not the only thing that happened today.”
Troy looked alarmed. “Did someone harass or follow you? Al, I warned you about going out alone now that you’re–”
“Relax; no one molested me. A few nice people in Starbucks wanted autographs and selfies with me. I look like microwaved shit, but wanted to make the fans happy.”
“Sounds like you handled everything well, but I’d feel better if you didn’t go places by yourself anymore.”
“What am I supposed to do, live like a hermit? You’re the only person I know and you’re spending most of July and August in Nova Scotia.”
“You’ll meet the other guys at camp,” Troy reassured her, “and I’ll check in on you much as I can.”
151
“I’ll miss your fat ass.”
“I’ll be away a little over two months, Al. Trust me; you’ll do great.”
“Will I share a dressing room with the guys? How will that work?”
“I’m sure other arrangements are in progress.”
“Special accommodations for me aren’t necessary. I doubt you and the others possess anything I haven’t already seen.”
“Some people may not share your sentiment. There’s a seventeen-year-old kid on the team and last thing staff wants to deal with is any potential out of control adolescent hormones because a female is present. Having grown men behave like horny frat boys is bad enough; we don’t need Johann joining the mix.”
“Oh. Not that I have anything special to excite anyone, but yeah, I get the point.”
152
Al, you’re an unspoiled beauty. Don’t be hard on yourself, Troy wanted to say. “You’d be surprised how many types of women appeal to different guys.”
Alex gave him a knowing smile. “I have an idea what kind turns your head.”
He felt uneasy. “Let’s not make this conversation about me. I’ll be in the workout room.”
“You were already on the treadmill when I left for Starbucks.”
Alex turned up her nose at the now-cold beverage. “Maybe I’ll use some of my new six-figure salary to buy a decent coffee pot.”
***
153
Chapter 30
Rebels Training Camp, Day One:
“Unbelievable,” Second Alternate Captain Lenny Walton grumbled first day of training camp. “Last season management drafted a kid barely old enough to drive; now we have to play alongside a girl? What are Halloran and Bright smoking these days?”
“I heard ‘First Lady of the AHC’ is getting nine hundred grand for one season,” defenseman Marty O’Freel replied. “This team has officially gone down the shitter.”
“How much you all want to bet Talmadge was behind everything? He and Halloran have been buddy-buddy for years.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it in the least, Lenny.”
“I agree with both of you,” longtime AHC veteran Jax Ivanka said. “Women only belong in two places, and a hockey rink’s not one of them.”
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Lenny nodded. “I’m with you, Old Man. Perhaps we should blame both feminism bullshit and Talmadge.”
Left winger Vince Beaumont shook his head. “I never thought I’d see a day when chicks played in the American Hockey Conference.”
“Nothing’s sacred anymore for us men,” Jax said.
“Aren’t you blokes being a bit harsh?” Davy St. Cloud asked. “We haven’t yet met the lass and you’re already taking the piss out of her.”
“Galloway has to be something special if the top brass drafted her,” defenseman Reggie Hebert added. “You guys put down Baby Finn last year and look what an asset he’s become to our team…well, aside from his cancer scare and getting swept up in the AHC’s meningitis epidemic.”
“Jokela’s a dude,” Lenny responded. “As Ivanka likes to say, chicks are good for two things: cooking and fucking.”
Jax nodded. “Keep women in their own fucking leagues and off our damn ice.”
“When’s the bitch due to arrive?” Vince asked. “We need to think of some good ‘welcoming’ tactics.”
155
“What bitch, Talmadge or the girl?” Lenny joked.
Vince, Marty, and Jax laughed in unison.
“Other times I’d say El Capitan, but we have a new victim,” Vince answered between guffaws.
“Talmadge is in Canada anyway.”
The locker room door opened and First Alternate Captain Boris Furishnykov entered. “What so funny?” he asked in broken English. “I hear you laugh outside.”
“Hey what’s up, Russian Giant?” Vince greeted him. “We were just discussing some of the team’s fresh meat coming today.”
“Fresh meat?”
“Particularly the lady draft pick, mate,” Davy said. “These blokes have done nothing but talk shit about her.”
Boris nodded and smiled. “Oh yes; Troy tell me she good.”
156
“Aha!” Lenny exclaimed. “I knew he had something to do with her being drafted!”
“Why you all act like world ending? We should give her chance. Troy like. Jonathan like. Roy like. She can’t be bad if they like.”
“Christ, Furishnykov, don’t tell me Talmadge brainwashed you into thinking women in the AHC is a good idea.”
“I think for myself and we should see how she do on ice, yes?”
“Absolutely, mate,” Davy agreed.
“No!” Lenny, Jax, Marty, and Vince roared at once.
“You guys are assholes,” Reggie said. “I agree with Boris we should give the lady a chance. What can happen other than her being cut or sent to the Rebels’ minor league affiliate in Scranton once preseason ends?”
“Unfortunately if Talmadge does have any say, she’s guaranteed a permanent spot with us,” Marty replied.
157
“A tenner says all you wankers will eat your words by regular season’s end,” Davy said.
“Make it twenty she won’t make it to end of camp, St. Cloud,” Jax challenged him.
“You’re on, Old Man!”
Lenny heard voices outside the locker room and opened the door a crack. “Hey, guys; looks like our newest target has arrived. Time for the fun to begin.”
***
Alex walked into the Rebels’ new training center feeling both eager and apprehensive. Despite Troy preparing her for this day, she still had difficulty quelling the butterflies in her stomach.
Oh God, what have I gotten myself into? I should have stayed in New York after all…
A friendly and heavily French accented voice greeted her. “Hi! May we help you with something, miss?”
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She jumped and spied two men standing behind her. “Oh! I’m Alex Galloway. I’m supposed to report for the Rebels’ development camp today and am trying to find the dressing room.”
“Sorry we startled you. So you’re the Galloway everyone’s making a fuss over. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name. I’m goaltender Pierre Germaine and this is Greise Faust.”
“I know,” Alex said with a laugh. “I’ve followed the Rebels for years, but never dreamed of someday playing alongside you.”
“Schön, Sie kennen zu lernen, Miss Galloway,” Greise replied in German.
“In English, friend,” Pierre gently admonished him.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Galloway.”
Alex shook Greise’s hand. “Schön, dass Sie auch zu treffen, Mr. Faust.”
His eyes widened. “Sie sprechen Deutsch?”
“Ja, ich spreche Deutsch, Französisch und Tschechisch”.
159
Greise turned back to Pierre. “She speaks German, French, and Czech.”
“I actually know four languages if one counts American Sign Language,” Alex said.
“Français aussi?” Pierre asked. “Oh merde…”
“Don’t worry, I won’t rat out you boys to people who don’t understand anything but English unless you want me to.”
“Let’s find your dressing room. Nobody should cause any trouble since you're with me and Greise.”
“Merci, Pierre.”
He smiled. “De rien. Welcome to the Rebels, Mademoiselle.”
***
160
“We need to keep an eye on the girl,” Pierre said after he and Greise made sure Alex was safely inside a dressing room designated for her. “I have a feeling Walton, O’Freel, and Beaumont might pull something.”
“Better add Ivanka to the list. I heard he isn’t happy about her being on the team either.”
“That old grunt’s more likely to hit on her. I think she’s twenty, twenty-two; practically a child. He’s the last guy I’d want near any female, let alone one Alex’s age.”
“I totally agree mein Freund. We owe Talmadge the assurance that Galla stays safe.”
“Who?” Pierre asked, confused.
Greise jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Galla. We helped find her dressing room, remember?”
“Her name’s Alex.” Pierre placed a hand on his backup goalie’s shoulder. “We really need to find a better system for you to remember proper names, friend.”
***
161
Chapter 31
Alex’s hockey skates glided over the practice ice as she focused on controlling a puck, oblivious to all other surroundings. Her grace and near-flawless proficiency didn’t go unnoticed by someone watching her; it was almost as if she and the stick performed in sync.
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