Hands Off The Ice King novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Hope’s POV

The man stared at me with wide, disbelieving eyes, and only then did I fully realize how this looked.

“Oh, it’s not what it looks→”

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“I have to give it to you, Levi,” he interrupted, sounding impressed as he nodded toward Levi behind me. “You have excellent taste. She’s gorgeous.”

Heat crawled up my neck. I shook my head quickly. “Levi and I are not-”

He cut me off again. “Do you know who I am?”

He already reminded me of Desmond. I didn’t know whether that was a good thing or not.

The confidence in his expression dimmed slightly when I slowly shook my head. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn place him.

“What?” he exclaimed, pressing a hand against his chest. “You don’t know me? I’m Matthias Robinson.”

“Ah,” I said after a second. “The one who fell off the runway during Fashion Week three years ago?”

Behind me, I heard Levi choke back a laugh, causing Matthias to glare at him.

“I’m thrilled that became my defining legacy,” Matthias deadpanned before looking back at me. “Anyway. What’s your name?”

“Hope.”

“And tell me, Hope, how exactly did you manage to capture my friend’s heart?” He narrowed his eyes playfully before something clicked in his head. “Wait. Hope?” His expression brightened. “You’re the new PT Desmond mentioned.”

I nodded carefully.

“He was right,” Matthias continued without hesitation. “You really are pretty. And your aura is very…” He waved his hand vaguely. “Light. Like one of those girls in perfume commercials.”

I let out an awkward laugh as he stepped closer.

“Have you ever considered modeling?” he asked. “My agency’s hiring. You’d do well.”

Before he could close the distance even more, Levi suddenly moved. One second Matthias was leaning toward me, and the next Levi’s arm slid between us like a barrier.

My breath caught slightly.

Matthias looked down at Levi’s arm, then up at him with amusement sparkling in his eyes.

“Ah,” he said knowingly. “Already jealous, I see.”

Levi ignored his comment and instead looked at me.

“Didn’t you say you had a meeting?”

“Right!” I nearly jumped, grabbing my phone from my pocket to look at the time. However, along with that, I saw that Beth had already sent me a text asking where I was.

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Chapter 32

“I have to go,” I said quickly. “We’re discussing the next practice games.”

Levi nodded once.

Just as I was about to leave, I remembered his challenge from last night. A grin spread across my face.

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“Don’t forget what you said to me,” I told him, pointing a finger in his direction. “I’m going to convince Dennis to bench you for the remaining practice games.”

“We’ll see,” he said simply.

I waved once before turning toward the door. On my way out, I caught Matthias staring between Levi and me with a look that looked both entertained and shocked.

I had no idea why.

I hurried down the hallway toward the adjacent building connected to the rink.

The first building housed the players’ rooms, rehab areas, offices, and training facilities. The second one-the bigger one- was where the real operations happened behind the scenes. Marketing. Sales. Sponsors. Media. The business side of hockey.

By the time I reached the conference room, I was slightly breathless. Thankfully, there were still a few minutes left before the meeting officially started.

Unfortunately, though, the moment I opened the door, every single head turned toward me. So much for sneaking in unnoticed.

I froze briefly at the entrance.

The smaller conference room already felt tense.

Coach Dennis sat at the center of the table. To his right sat Delaney. Beth sat on his left, typing something on her tablet.

Across from them were Aiden and a girl I didn’t recognize.

And wow. She was beautiful! She had shoulder-length hair that framed her features, and her striking eyes softened when they landed on me. She had the kind of smile that immediately made people feel welcome.

There was one empty seat left. Right between the two of them.

“Sorry,” I muttered as I hurried over.

Delaney’s lips thinned immediately.

“I thought this was an internal meeting,” she said. “Why is she here?”

The atmosphere became even more tense than before. Beth, however, smiled at me reassuringly before facing Delaney.

“Hope is our PT, Delaney,” she replied calmly. “Future decisions regarding the players directly involve her.”

Delaney sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Well, anyway,” she muttered, tapping her pen against the table, “Margaret told us to handle this ourselves. All she cares about is winning our first actual game against the Minnesota Thunders.”

She clicked the remote, and statistics immediately flashed onto the screen behind her.

“So,” she continued, “that brings us to Wednesday’s practice game against the Chicago Badgers. They aren’t a top-seeded team, but projections place them within the top five this season. Beating them-especially after all the recent articles-

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Chapter 32

would help stabilize sponsor confidence.”

She continued talking. And talking. And talking.

Within five minutes, my brain started drifting away.

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Beside me, Aiden quietly flipped open his notebook. Then, with complete seriousness, he started sketching a badger wearing hockey skates.

I bit down on a laugh. He noticed and subtly turned the notebook toward me. The page was filled with random doodles

“These are from, previous meetings,” he whispered. “Delaney likes hearing herself talk, so prepare mentally.”

I snorted softly. At the same time, the pretty girl beside me leaned slightly closer.

“You’re the new PT?” she whispered.

I nodded. “Hope.”

Aiden leaned across me. “That’s Lia. Head of sales. She handles tickets, merchandise, all the important money things.”

“I also carry this entire marketing department,” Lia added dryly. “Aiden’s good at editing, but not marketing.”

“And,” Aiden continued in a stage whisper, “she’s Desmond’s best friend.”

My brows lifted. Under the table, Lia immediately kicked him, making Aiden jerk in pain.

“What did you tell her?” Lia asked.

Aiden rubbed his shin and glared at her playfully. Meanwhile, Lia turned back to me with a sweet smile that contrasted violently with the assault she’d just committed.

“Don’t listen to him,” she said warmly. “I’m actually a very nice person.”

“I can see that,” I replied, trying not to laugh.

Honestly, I liked her immediately. There was something about her presence that made me feel at ease.

I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

She shook it gently. “You too.”

But before the moment could last longer, a slam on the table interrupted the moment. Delaney’s palm rested flat against the table, her glare directed at the three of us.

“Are you all even listening?”

Aiden immediately straightened in his seat while Lia looked down at her notes, avoiding her gaze. Meanwhile, Coach Dennis didn’t look amused either.

The room quieted instantly.

My heartbeat sped up. This felt like the moment to say what I wanted to say.

I decided to take this chance. I cleared my throat.

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