not someone I’d picture as Cannon freaking Price’s wife. The guy was ruthless on the ice and grumbly off of it.
Though, to be fair, I wouldn’t go anywhere near Langley’s Viking of a husband either. These women had serious guts to be able to wrangle those two. Either way, it was only my first month on the job, and while they’d been more than welcoming, we hadn’t reached the stage of silent conversations yet.
I really hoped I earned the chance to make it to that level.
Being a game day event coordinator was an all-time high, and doing it for the Reapers? One of the hottest NHL teams to take the ice? Beyond a dream come true, even if my brother had been traded to the team I now worked for. I swear Caspian was more overprotective than our parents, and I had thought graduating college would give me some distance to stand on my own. Him being on the team…well, that was a problem for later. Right now…
“But you have a history with them, right?” Persephone asked from where she leaned against the wall in Langley’s office.
“Maxim is Caz’s best friend. I’ve known him for around two years. And Sterling…” Another warm shiver danced over my skin as our heated argument at Scythe last week raced through my mind.
“I only recently met Sterling,” I finally answered Langley.
Langley nodded, settling into the leather chair behind her desk. “This could be a great angle,” she said, the gears churning behind her eyes. “As you know, this year’s main charity organization is Ronald McDonald House. We’ve been mapping out strategies to ensure we uphold their family-oriented mission statement and how the Reapers can represent that image off the ice. Having brothers on the team and running promo spots to showcase that would go a long way to showing the nation what the Carolina Reapers truly stand for.”
“They didn’t look like the kind of brothers that knock back beers on Saturdays,” Persephone said, gracefully taking a seat in the empty chair next to mine.
I barely held back a laugh. Whenever they were within ten feet of each other, they looked one wrong blink away from an eruption. And Sterling wasn’t the asshole Maxim had said he was. “That’s an understatement.”
“Everyone has family drama,” Langley said, waving us off. “This is a business. I want us to earn a ton of donations for Ronald McDonald House this season. If highlighting the famous brothers loosens investors’ pockets, then it’s a win.”
I nodded, seeing her point. I couldn’t help but admire her—she was practically a legend in the public relations game. And even though I wasn’t gunning for her job, I was gunning for her approval. And I wasn’t the only one. Asher Silas had hired two game day event coordinators, and only one of us would be kept on for next season. Sean Cook was straight out of college just like me, but without the familial ties to the industry. Having Langley’s approval at the end of this season would go a long way in Silas’ eyes, especially when I proved my worth without my brother’s name attached to mine. Which I would do.
“Do you think you could get them to cooperate for promo spots?” She asked me, and I blinked a few times, wondering if she’d intended the question for Persephone.
“Me?”
Langley laughed. “You know them better than we do,” she said, motioning to Persephone.
“Sterling was traded before I got a proper chance to truly know him,” Persephone said. “But I know Cannon is so thrilled he’s back.”
“Can you do it?” Langley asked, and the weight of the question punched me in the chest. The panic was nothing like when I’d been trapped in that elevator, or any other small, confined space. That panic was ice-cold and debilitating. This panic? It crackled with an adrenaline-fueled challenge.
Because that’s what this was.
A massive, fuck-all of a challenge.
Getting two brothers who hated each other to smile pretty for the camera? Locking myself in a closet seemed an easier feat.
“I’ll make it happen,” I said, hoping like hell I was telling the truth.
Langley and Persephone smiled at me before they shared another silent, secret look.
“Good,” Langley said. “Keep me posted on your progress with them.”
I nodded and pushed back from my chair, heading toward her door. She’d given me a chance to prove myself as the new employee on the docket, and I sure as hell wasn’t about to let her down.
Even if it meant I had to tie the