Playing the Game (The Renegades) (Volume 3) (4 page)

Opening her laptop, she settled in at her desk.
“Great. Looks like lots of work for me.” She whined as she skimmed
over the posts. She hadn’t expected to see Tyler’s name all over
social media. Apparently he was out last night drinking, and there
were lots of posts about him and a couple of girls.

How was she supposed to spin this? Then it hit her.
Make them look like exactly what they were, fangirls. Feverishly,
her fingers flew over the keys as she answered all of the
questionable posts, making it appear that Tyler was just
entertaining fans, and that fangirls always flocked to his side
every chance that they got. No one had to know what else
transpired. For now it just looked like innocent flirting and
selfies.

Sitting back and admiring her work, she smiled and
took a sip of her coffee. Her stomach growled, and she regretted
not eating before she left the house. This early morning schedule
was going to take some getting used to.

“
Paige.” Melanie knocked on her
door. “Time to go.”

“
Be right there.” She closed her
laptop and grabbed her papers and tablet, then pulled her jacket
down and made sure it was buttoned.

“
You look great. Stop
fussing.”

Once at ice level, they waited for the men to lay
down carpet for them to walk on. The carpet extended from the
Renegades’ bench out to center ice where a large table was set up.
The media was gathered in the first few rows of seats with their
cameras and recorders.

“
Okay,” Melanie said. “The guys
will skate out one by one to the table at center ice. Once there,
they will take off the jersey and autograph it with a permanent
marker. The media will take their pictures and we’ll let the
fanfare ensue for a moment. But then we need to get them off the
ice and the next one out; we don’t want to be here all
day.”

Paige just nodded. She was very familiar with this
tradition. The Renegades did this every year. They wore camouflage
jerseys for practice, and then had this media frenzy where they
signed the jerseys before putting them up for auction online. Fans
could bid for their favorite player’s jersey, and all monies raised
went to a different charity each year.

“
Okay, here they come.” Melanie
pulled her over to the table. “We’ll stand here and direct the
players. Ready?”

Paige nodded and looked over to see the team file
onto the bench. Some of them took a seat and others lounged on the
boards. The last one to come out was Tyler Kidd. She still hadn’t
met him face to face, the one player she had a mini-crush on. Her
heart pounded as the coaches stepped behind the bench as well.

“
Ladies and Gentleman of the media,
thank you for attending today’s event.” Melanie’s voice echoed over
the speakers. “This afternoon will mark the start of our online
auction for these special Renegades jerseys, worn this morning
during practice. Our Renegades will be raising money for the
Children’s Hospital. Okay, let’s get this started!”

Dominic, the back-up goalie, came out first. He
skated over to the table, then hopped onto the carpet. “Good
morning, ladies.” He flashed them a big grin.

“
Hi Dom.” Melanie said, as he slid
off his jersey, revealing a long sleeve fitted Under Armour shirt,
and set it on the table. The black material clung like a second
skin to every one of his bulging muscles. The female reporters
collectively sighed at the bad boy heart-throb. “Lucky number
two.”

“
Got that right. Hey Paige.” He
nodded to her.

Melanie pointed to his neck. “New tattoo, Dom?”

Once the jersey was off it was plain to see. On the
side of his neck was a fresh and red looking tattoo of a mean
looking tiger roaring.

“
Maybe.” He grinned before he
turned to the media and held up his signed jersey for
photographs.

“
You have to watch this one, Paige.
All the ladies have a crush on him.”

He flashed her a smile and winked. “For obvious
reasons.”

Melanie shook her head and laughed. “See? What a
flirt.”

He was very handsome, with a sort of had a boyish
charm. Combine that with his sticky sweet personality and he was
simply swoon-worthy. He posed and played to the cameras, clearly
loving the spotlight.

“
Alright super-model, time’s up.”
Melanie quipped. As he skated away she whispered to Paige, “That’s
one we don’t need to worry too much about. He tends to stay out of
trouble, or at least trouble anyone else can find out about. He’s a
good kid.”

Good to know. At least that was one less player to
worry about. She knew he had a little brother that was knocking the
socks off of the pee-wee world, so it seemed that legacy would be
around for a while.

“
Next up is Sam Morris.” The
scruffy, sun-streaked haired player skated to the table and signed
his jersey. His smile lit up the arena as he entertained the
cameras.

“
They love you, don’t they?” Paige
asked him.

“
That’s ‘cause he’s a surfer boy.”
Melanie teased.

“
Whatever.” He shook his head in
amusement before skating away, not even waiting for them to tell
him his time was up.

“
He’s not a big media guy,” Melanie
said quietly. “Make sure you keep an eye on him in the locker room
when they swoop in. He gets overwhelmed from time to time, so you
may need to back them off.”

“
Got it.”

Matt Jasper skated up before he was announced and
signed his jersey before setting it in the pile. “Ladies.” He
nodded to them, waved to the cameras and skated away.

“
Also not much of a media guy?”
Paige asked.

“
Not really. It depends on the day.
Sometimes he’s wild and you can’t shut him up. Other days he’s
quiet and keeps to himself.”

Kaden skated out to the table with his goalie mask
still on top of his head, and his leg pads still on. She knew he
was a tall and thin guy, but he looked so bulky in his gear.

“
G’morning Melanie, Paige.” He took
off his mask, and laid it on the table before sliding off his
jersey. His hair fell into his face and the swooning from the
females in the audience was audible.

“
What’s the deal with our goalies?”
Paige teased Kaden. “I’m surprised they don’t melt the ice when
they’re out here.” The Renegades had the two best looking goalies
of any team, and those guys knew it.

Next skated out Kris, then Tanner, and the rest of
the team. Then finally, Tyler Kidd.

“
I know you’ve all been waiting for
this guy; here he is. Tyler Kidd!” Melanie cheered.

Tyler skated over to them and pulled off his jersey.
“Aren’t you ready for this thing to be over yet?” He joked to
Melanie.

“
Yes, because standing behind a
table and watching your muscles bulge under those skintight shirts
while you smile and primp for the cameras is such a hard job, right
Paige?” She nudged her.

Paige’s face started to burn and her mouth went dry.
She hadn’t been this close to Tyler yet, but she didn’t want to
look like a fool. Melanie was strong and bold; she needed to be
too. She smiled. “Really? I hadn’t noticed any muscles.”

Tyler’s eyes stayed on her and he moved in front of
her. “Is that so?”

She refused to look at his chest. Even though his
fitted shirt stretched tighter across those gorgeous muscles with
every breath he took. “Yes. I’m not into hockey players.”

A grin crept across his face. “Not very
adventurous.”

Melanie waved her hands in front of Tyler’s face,
breaking the stare he had locked on Paige. “Cut it out Ty. Sign the
damn jersey so we can go eat. I’m starving.”

Tyler blinked, and bent to sign the jersey. When he
straightened, he glanced at Paige one more time before posing for
the media.

“
All right, that’s enough your
majesty.” Melanie shook her head. “Off you go. Paige, let’s box
these up and take them up to our office.”

Tyler hadn’t budged from where he was standing. From
the corner of her eye, Paige could tell his eyes were on her as
they piled the jerseys into a box. Her heart pounded at his close
proximity.
Why is he still here?
They put the last jersey
down, but before either one of them could pick up the box, he
grabbed it off of the table and carried it off the ice alongside of
them.

“
Thanks Ty,” Melanie said. “It’ll
have to go up to our offices, so if you want to set it by the
locker room, we can collect it later. I’m starving; we need to meet
up in the Club area for lunch.”

“
Nonsense.” Tyler smiled, his eyes
flicking over to Paige and setting her heart racing again. “I’ll
take it up now.”

“
Tyler, that’s sweet, but I need to
go to the dining area, I’m already running late.”

It didn’t make sense to come all the way back after
lunch and collect the box, not when Tyler had so kindly offered to
help. Besides, shouldn’t they be encouraging him to be more
accommodating? Paige cleared her throat to sound as professional as
possible, even though her knees were shaking. “I’ll go with
him.”

“
It’s settled then. We’ll meet you
in the dining area, Mel.” Tyler turned to Paige. “I’ll be right
back, I have to go change into my shoes.” He disappeared into the
locker room.

Paige glanced around, but Melanie had already gone.
Her heart beat quicker at the thought of being alone with Ty. She
had difficulty keeping her shaking hands hidden when he was near
her, and hated how tongue-tied he made her. He was just a hockey
player and she knew that, but he was
the
hockey player in
Pittsburgh. Should she wait, or go and try to catch up with Mel?
But before she could talk herself into leaving, Ty returned.

He was too handsome for his own good, and that made
it hard for her to breathe. His shaggy hair kept falling into his
face, making him look cute and boyish. But it was his eyes, burning
hazel and intense, that made her stomach clench as he came towards
her.

Puffing out her chest, she took in a deep breath. She
couldn’t allow him to see the effect he was having on her. Guys
like him fed off that, and she was not about to give him that kind
of power. “Ready?” she asked.

“
Lead the way.” He smirked as his
eyes ran over her.

She strutted down the hall feeling his eyes still on
her, and warmth ran through her. The social media had been alive
with mentions of his antics, and she knew he was trouble, but that
didn’t mean she didn’t like his attention. She didn’t say a word
until they reached her office. “Just put them in here, thanks.”

“
Nice office.” He looked around.
Putting the box down on the floor, he sat on the edge of her desk.
Looking lazily at her with a small grin he said, “So, tell me about
Paige.”

With a huff she put her hand on her hip. “Well, she’s
hungry. So, get your ass off my desk and let’s go meet the rest of
the team in the dining area.”

“
All business. I like it.” He
growled as he followed her out of the office.

This one was going to be trouble. And Melanie said
Dom was the flirt?

“
Well, thanks for the help Tyler.”
She smiled at him as she met Melanie at the door of the
Club.

“
Anytime. And I mean that.” He
smirked.

“
Go eat, Romeo.” Melanie narrowed
her eyes. “That boy has no idea what he wants out of life, and
that’s a shame.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
C’mon, let’s go sit down.” Melanie
directed her to a corner table. As soon as they sat down, the
waitress brought bread and salads, and filled their glasses with
water. “Tyler is a mess. He’s making a bad name for himself around
the league and doesn’t realize that will follow him. He’s a good
guy, but he needs to be saved from himself.”

Paige knew of his reputation. He’d definitely been
coming on to her earlier, but she knew it was a bad idea to think
too much about that. She wasn’t going to let him ruin this job for
her.

“
We’ll have our hands full tomorrow
night because they’re sitting him. We’ll need to announce it and
play it off that he’s ill before the media gets wind.”

“
Why are they sitting
him?”

Melanie took a deep breath. “They’re sick of his
attitude. You would never know with that sweet-as-candy act he was
giving us earlier that last practice he was starting fights with
Patrick Dubois. Ben’s tired of it all, and sometimes with Tyler the
only way to get through to him is to go extreme.”

“
That’s pretty extreme.”

“
Well, Tyler brought that on
himself.”

“
But why would he fight with a
teammate?” Paige asked.

“
Well, Ty and Pat have a troubled
history. The woman Ty was dating ended up cheating on him with
Patrick.”

Paige stared at her. Why would any woman in her right
mind want to cheat on Tyler? “Had they been together long? Were
they serious?”

“
Ty seemed to think so at the time.
But, you know, I never thought he and Gia would be permanent. They
never seemed to have any real chemistry, if you know what I
mean.”

“
Do you know her?”

“
I’ve met her a few times, but this
is mostly what I’ve heard from the guys. But Ty never seemed to
care about spending much time with her. And from what I’ve heard
about her, she wasn’t right for him at all. Obviously she was a
perfect match for Patrick though, because now they’re
married.”