The Penalty Box (A Vancouver Wolves Hockey Romance Book 3)

I LAY IN BED, staring at the ceiling. Yesterday afternoon, my coach had called to tell me they had handed me a temporary six-game suspension. They would review the duration of my suspension as facts came to light. Immediately after that phone call, Krista called to fill me in. She told me that if the police came upon evidence that further embroiled me in Andrusha’s investigation, they would trade me. But Ashford had stressed to her that if I could prove to him I was trying to turn my situation around, he’d be open to lifting the suspension provided no more damaging information came to light. As a suspended player, they banned me from all games and all practices. I couldn’t even go work out at the team gym with my trainer.

Anger and frustration flowed through me. If I got traded, would I even be picked up by another team? I didn’t want to leave Vancouver. My entire hockey career I had played for the Wolves, and I couldn’t imagine not being part of this team. The thought of being traded made me sick.

But marrying a complete stranger made me feel just as bad. Yesterday, as we sorted through various candidates, I felt a growing sense of doom. I didn’t want to invite a complete stranger to live in my home. I rarely brought friends back to my place, and my home was off-limits for all the women I dated. This didn’t mean I wasn’t generous with my dates. I loved spoiling women with expensive restaurants and gifts; I pampered them with five-star hotel weekend getaways, and when they invited me into their homes and lives, I always treated those situations with the utmost respect. But I wanted no one in my space. This was my sanctuary, a place that I retreated to when I needed to shut the world out, and only a few people were invited in. So, the very idea that someone would live here, in my space, for a year made me feel as violated as I had when the police tore my place up.

Sheer frustration made me roll out of bed to go for a long run, but even though I came back with shaking legs and burning lungs, I couldn’t shake the restless emotions that rolled through me. I stood, breathing hard in my kitchen, and looked around. I didn’t even recognize my home. I knew I needed to clean up and put my house back together, but it was such a mess, I didn’t even know where to start. So, when Krista called, ordering me to her office, I jumped at the chance to avoid dealing with it.

AS I GOT off the elevator to Krista’s office, Charlie came to mind. I wasn’t lying when I told her she reminded me of Krista. Snark seemed to be her middle name, and whenever she bothered to look my way, her glances were often filled with disdain. I enjoyed needling her for the sole purpose of watching her get riled up, but besides those fractious moments, I had never really given her a second thought.

Her reaction last night, after I saved her ass, had been unexpected. Instead of melting down after being accosted, she had tried desperately to warn me off, even after I offered to help. Which told me one thing. The chick was deep into some serious shit. Why had she been giving that guy money? Who was Yazimoto?

She wasn’t sitting at her desk when I walked into the office, so I headed towards Krista’s corner office.

Krista sat with her stilettos up on the desk, her phone pressed to her ear. The second she saw me, she said into the phone, “I’ll call you later.”

Without waiting for a response, she hung up and tossed her phone on the desk. “How are you doing?”

I ignored her question and leaned back in my chair to look over my shoulder. Charlie’s desk was still empty. Had she even come in today? She had played it so tough last night, but if she owed someone money, she was in way over her head. What if something had happened to her last night because of my interference?

I kept my voice casual. “Where’s Baby Krista?”

“Charlie?” she looked perplexed. “She went to get my coffee.”

A smidgen of relief trickled through my veins. I wanted to talk to her. Find out what last night was really about.

“Tell me about Charlie.”

Krista gave me a sharp look, her voice curious. “She’s whip-smart, does the work of three average PAs, and is a workaholic. Why?”

I shrugged. “No reason.”

She eyeballed me for a moment before she shifted gears. “Let’s talk about who you’re going to marry.”

I crossed my arms, feeling defensive. Everything in my body wanted to fight this plan. “Fine.”

“We’ve hit a few snags.”

My mind started to wander. Maybe I could sit this year out. What if we brokered a deal where Mark suspended me for a year so I didn’t have to get married? It would kill me to not play hockey, but it might be a better alternative than having to marry someone. Would he go for that? Could I go an entire year without playing hockey?

“Mica, are you listening?”

I worked to focus back on Krista. “Sorry.”

She paused and folded her hands on the desk. “I know you have issues with marriage.”

Just the word marriage made my throat tighten with discomfort. Almost like a noose was tightening around my neck. I couldn’t rationalize how I felt, it was just the reaction I had. I worked to explain how I felt to Krista. “I swore I’d never get married.”

Her voice softened. “Because of your parents.”

My parents were the last two people I wanted to talk about. “I don’t want to get into it.”

She glanced down at her files. “I will be honest with you. None of these candidates will work.”

Relief seeped into my veins. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t think marrying a complete stranger, when you are so averse to marriage, is our best game plan. And frankly, I’m not sure that any of these women would be capable of keeping their end of the bargain.”

I didn’t want to know. “What does that mean?”

“I think most of these women would agree to marry in name only, but before the ink dried, they would start working to make the relationship real.”

I inwardly shuddered. I’d take a year off from hockey. Anything was better than this. “Tell Mark to suspend me for a year. Let’s work that angle.”

She paused and studied me. “I have a better idea.”

Honestly, anything was better than this marriage plan. “Talk.”

“I told Mark Ashford you were marrying someone nice. Someone who was a good influence on you.”

I rubbed one eye. Krista, once she got hold of something, never seemed to let it go. It was pointless to argue. My best option was to hear her out before working on her to nix the marriage and get me suspended long term. “Right.”

She took a breath. “I was thinking about Charlie.”

I frowned, not connecting the dots. “Okay.”

“She’s a good girl. She has a great reputation in the industry, and all the players love her.”

Wait. Was she putting Charlie forward as a candidate? I cut her off. “You want me to marry your PA?”

“It’d be easy to sell her as the nice fiancée who is a good influence. Plus, it’d explain away a secret relationship. You two have known each other for a couple of years.”

I worked to keep my expression blank while I tried to imagine being married to Charlie, but my imagination didn’t stretch that far. “She’s your PA.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“She hates hockey. I’m pretty sure she hates me.”

“Well, the good news is that she wouldn’t try to make the marriage real.”

I tried to imagine her moving into my place. She’d probably kill me in my sleep. “We’d have to live together.”

“That’s the idea.”

I worked to imagine her as a roommate. It hadn’t bothered me to give her the code to my house and let her pick up my tux. When she looked around my place after the police had destroyed it, she reacted perfectly, with a mixture of sadness and anger. Her outward display of emotion had done much to soothe my own. But inviting her to live full time in my place was a lot different from having her visit.

“What do you think?” Krista watched my face.

The Charlie I knew was independent and feisty. I couldn’t believe she’d sign up for this. “Did she agree to this?”

Krista winced. “Not yet, but I think I can convince her.”

“How?”

“I think she needs money. I’m not sure why, but I think if we offered her enough, we could convince her.”

I knew she needed money. The person she owed money to had zero scruples. What kind of asshole would send a complete scumbag to pick up money from a woman in the middle of the night? That gesture was made to intimidate and create fear. Whatever mess she was in might blow up and make my situation worse. But I kept that fact to myself. I had promised Charlie not to involve Krista, and I would keep that promise.

“I don’t think she’ll agree to this.”

“Leave that to me. I want to know if she’s someone you’d be willing to go through this with.”

I ran a hand down my face. Charlie had never been on my radar as a potential date. We were about as opposite as they came. “I don’t know.”

“She’s already in the know about this situation. She understands what’s at stake. We wouldn’t have to involve anyone else in this. Plus, she knows a lot of the players and their wives, and she knows the culture. She could handle this.”

The thought of the two of us pretending to be in love was laughable, except I wasn’t laughing. “No one will buy this.”

“You’d be surprised.”

I shot out of my seat to move to the window. I tried to imagine pretending we were together. Charlie was cute with her wide brown eyes and messy curly hair, but she had always just been Krista’s PA. I wasn’t sure I could think of her as anything but that. “What would we tell people?”

She hummed. “You’d tell people you had an on-again, off-again relationship that you kept private and quiet because of her position here. And that you both realized you were in love.”

I snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

“People have secret relationships all the time.”

“She’d have to move in with me?”

“Charlie is respectful of people’s boundaries and space. I think out of anyone, she’d be the easiest to live with.”

“What about asking Mark if I could sit the year out?”

“That will never be on the table. Trust me on that.”

“What did Mark say when you told him I was engaged?”

“He seemed cautiously optimistic. Mica, I really think this is your best chance.”

I stared, unseeing, out the window. Did I have a choice? I wanted to keep my home and keep my team. This situation might blow up in our faces, but I needed to give it a shot. “Fine.”

Krista stood up and moved to stand beside me. “I need to know that you can do this. You need to sell this, Mica. Take the lead on this.”

I looked down at Krista. “How do you expect me to do that?”

She sighed. “Charlie, in the two years I’ve known her, has never had a relationship. I’m not even sure she’s had time to go on a date.”

That shocked me. I tried to imagine Charlie dating anyone, and I drew a blank. Still, how did anyone not date for two years? “Really?”

“You’re way more experienced than her. So, you’d have to be the one to step up and sell your relationship to the world.”

This whole situation was too bizarre. The idea of trying to be publicly romantic with Charlie felt wrong on so many levels. I had no idea how we’d make it work. “Got it.”

“And behind the scenes, I’m going to need you to take care of her.”

That statement alarmed me. “What does that mean?”

She pinned me with a look. “We’re asking her to give up her home, move into your place and deal with a lot of scrutiny from your corner of the world. Be respectful and mindful of how much that will cost her.”

“Is that your nice way of telling me not to be an asshole?”

“I’m suggesting you two try to figure out how to become friends. Otherwise, it will be a long year for both of you.”

I sighed, but didn’t answer. I didn’t need any more friends.

“You think you can pull it off?” she pressed.

“I can try.”

“Your future depends on it.”

I hated this plan so much. “Now what?”

“Now we talk to Charlie.”