Chapter Nineteen

Amber stepped into the locker room at a nearby rink, where a group of young hockey players had been practicing. They were about to ship out to the Czech Republic, where they would be joining the other half of their team from Calgary, for the U-17 tournament. Many were playing on this level for the first time and were visibly nervous. Today she was meeting with the players for the last time, for them it was the last hurdle to go through before representing their country.

Before she left this room she had to sign off on each and every player, on their mental and emotional state, because a large part of this tournament was representing Canada and Team Canada had to trust that the players were going to handle themselves in a dignified 'Canadian' manner. If she didn't sign off on them, they didn't go. She had met with their coaches, trainers and done one-on-one interviews with them over the past week. She was sure that these young players didn't understand the pressure they could be facing and the effect nerves had on their bodies. What most of them didn't realize was that the different between a good player and a great player, was their ability to handle their emotions. Being calm and prepared was as important a skill as stick handling. A lot of time was spent with hockey players in the NHL preparing them for this but very little was done in the junior leagues. Hockey Canada hosted workshops across the country to prepare players but only a select group of coaches, probably those who had played at the upper levels, recommended it to their players. Amber could always tell who had been to these workshops, and of those who went, who actually listened.

She made her way across the room and greeted the coach. "So you think they are ready?"

"I guess we will find out," the coach shrugged. Coaches hated her – or not her – but her position. She could even cut their star forward or their best goalie if they didn't pass her test.

"Well I need to see…Ryan, Calvin and Howie…"

"Fuck, you've got to be kidding me…" the coach exclaimed.

"Relax, I just have a couple of things to go over with them, they aren't in trouble…" Amber stated calmly.

"Fine," the coach gave in. "I guess I can't say no…"

"It will only take a couple of minutes," Amber said while walking into a nearby office and putting her stuff down on the desk. She ran through her paperwork with each of the guys. It really was just a couple of lines they forgot to sign, nothing extreme. For the most part the guys were level headed and the coaches put the fear of god into them before she got here. She only had to cut one player before, and the coaching staff really wanted him gone anyway. Amber was going to head back to her office and sign off on every one of them today, so they could go and do what they all loved – play hockey.

She said goodbye to the trainers and coaches and wished everyone good luck. On her way out of the room, she overheard a couple of the guys whispering.

"You ask her… I double dog dare you!"

"No way man, you do it!"

"You guys are a bunch of pussies… you afraid of a girl?"

"Sorry guys, is there something you wanted to ask me?" Amber walked up to them and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Ummm… no mame…" one of the guys muttered, looking down at his skates.

"Good then, have a good trip…" Amber turned to walk away.

"We were just wondering if you really are fucking Sidney Crosby?" came from one of the guys.

"Excuse me?" Amber turned back around to face them.

"You heard me," the boy in the middle, the one who had called his friends pussies, replied. He clearly wanted to be the alpha dog in the room but was still trying to prove himself. "We heard the coaches laughing about it earlier…"

Amber was shocked and didn't know what to say. She stood in front of them staring and clenching her jaw, as to not say something stupid. 'How could they know? Nobody knew…' she thought.

"What the fuck man… shut up…" his team mate punched him in the shoulder. "You're going to get us all in trouble…"

"Whatever, what's she gonna do?" the smart ass said to his team mate, then turned his attention back to Amber and winked. "You know if you're into younger guys, we're always available…"

"Yeah? You're going to be really available… 'cause your hockey career is over…" Amber snapped and turned and walked towards the coach's office.

-.-

"I stand behind my decision," Amber said firmly. "We cannot let him go overseas and talk to women like that… if he talked to the wrong person over there like he talked to me, it could be a PR disaster. I thought that was what we are trying to avoid."

"I understand your position, but he's an important part of the team," her boss stated, looking across the board room table from her.

"Well then he should have thought twice and shut the fuck up," Amber snapped back.

"Someone's PMSing…" one of the older men at the far end of the table laughed. It was all Amber could do to contain herself from going and ripping off his face. It was not the first time that she had heard that line and been forced to keep her cool in the boys club that was the hockey world.

"The entire purpose of Hockey Canada signing off on these kids, is to prevent someone like that from travelling and creating a situation in which Team Canada looks bad," Amber stated calmly. "It has nothing to do with me."

"Nothing to do with you? How can you say that?" Mark chimed in. "You're sleeping with Sidney Crosby! The kid wasn't lying or saying anything that isn't true…"

"And what would have given him that idea? Oh yeah, you read through my private phone messages!" Amber yelled down the length of the table to her evil co-worker. After the kid ran his mouth in the dressing room, a full out investigation was held into where the rumour had started. It didn't take long for it to get traced back to Mark. Amber had never felt so stupid. She couldn't believe that she had ever trusted him, what was she thinking?

"We will deal with him after," her boss said sharply. "What we are here to discuss, is whether you should continue with us or not…"

"What?" Amber said in disbelief. "What I do in my private time, does not affect my work."

"Except that in this case, it does. Sidney Crosby is a high profile Canadian player. A lot of people will say a lot of nasty things about your relationship – if in fact you are in a relationship - and for much the same reason that you declined the U-17 player, we feel we need to look at your position here," her boss explained. "We simply cannot - and will not - be associated with controversy. Mr. Crosby has caused enough of a tangle with international hockey this year. The last thing we need is for the media to pick apart any apparent relationship with a member of our staff and issues that that may bring up."

"There are no issues," Amber pleaded.

"Amber, you know well enough that the media doesn't need there to be an issue for them report one."

-.-

*buzz*buzz*

Amber looked up from her pillow briefly, then laid her head back down.

*buzz*buzz*

"Ugh…" Amber reached across her bed and grabbed her phone, half tempted to throw the bloody thing into the wall.

"What?" she answered sharply.

"You haven't answered any of my calls or texts… I was beginning to worry…"

"Sid, I really can't talk right now, I'm not in a very good mood…"

"What's going on? Maybe I can cheer you up?"

"Nope, I am pretty sure that you might be the last person who can cheer me up… I just got fired…"

"What? Why?"

"Yeah, well that's the great part… for sleeping with you…"

There was a long pause.

"I don't understand… what do you mean?"

"Well my asshole co-worker read my text messages from you and then told everybody he could, which in turn lead to me fighting with some puck ass, mother-fucking, over entitled 17 year old prink, who's father happens to be a huge financial contributor, who then threatened Hockey Canada if they didn't fire me, he would pull his funding… and thus I am now unemployed. Still think you can cheer me up?" Amber added sarcastically.

"They can't do that…"

"Oh yes they can…"

"So… what are you going to do?"

"I don't know… probably apply with some of the Euro leagues. As much as I hate them, Russia offered me a contract last year. The idea of working for the Russians makes me slightly sick to my stomach…. I was going to see if Germany or Denmark needed some help, I have some contacts there…maybe go work for the joke of a Mexico team… at least I'll stay warm…"

"But then… you'll be far…"

"That is the thing about European Leagues… they aren't in Canada…"

"I'll never see you…" Another long pause. "Or, hey… you could move here… "

"Sid, I need to work."

"No you don't. You can come here and move in with me. This solves all those questions that you didn't have answers to…"

"Sid, stop."

"No! Come on Amber. Here me out… I know you don't think so, but this is actually perfect! I felt bad for making you have to leave your job, but now you don't! You can come here and …

"And what? Be a trophy wife. That's not who I am!"

"I didn't say that…"

"That's what you meant…"

"NO! Actually, I was going to say that the team is getting on my case for not having a real manager, apparently they don't think my dad is cutting it, I don't want to tell him that, but you could come and be my manager. You threatened if I got you fired in Vancouver that you were going to be my manager, so now you might as well follow through on your threat…"

"Sid, I can't just…"

"Yes, you can," he cut her off. "Everything will work out, you'll see…"