Just For Now

Strolling through the arena and into her new office the following day was a little unnerving for Addison. Her head was slightly throbbing, due to the quantity of alcohol she had consumed the night before, and she was afraid that the players might corner her and ask questions. More than that, she was afraid that she would see Claude again. She had made it her plan for the day to avoid every player on the team at all costs, even if it meant running as quickly as she could in her heels to the nearest utility closet and hiding until the coast was clear. It was an absurd idea, she would be the first to admit, but if it meant not crossing paths with a certain ginger she was committed to sticking with her plan.

She hadn’t been in her office for more than ten minutes before Jim cam barreling in with a stack full of papers in one hand.

“Good morning Addison!” he warmly greeted. “How are you this morning?

Immediately, she became suspicious. She had learned from previous experience that small talk from the boss always meant bad news.

“I’m fine thank you, how about yourself?”

“Great thanks! Anyways, I just wanted to tell you that we’re holding a press conference at twelve concerning the start of the new season.” Jim paused for a few moments. Wait for it. “I realized yesterday after you left that I forget to mention an important aspect of your job.”

Bingo, she thought.

“And what would that be?” she sweetly asked, but inside she was a ball of nerves.

“You pretty much make sure that every press conference flows smoothly. That’s sort of why I introduced you to the team yesterday, since you’ll be working with a few of them on a personal basis when it comes to these media gatherings. It must have slipped my mind to tell you.”

Addison wanted to laugh and cry all at the same time after Jim explained where to go around noon and left her by herself. Under any other circumstance this wouldn’t have bothered her. With Claude in the mix, however, she knew that nothing positive could come from it.

She had nothing to do until twelve, so she busied herself by playing solitaire on her laptop, writing out a shopping list of things she still needed for her apartment, and reading through the bios of most of the team to familiarize herself with the men she would be working with. When the time came for her to make her way down towards the locker room area her anxiety was starting to get the best of her. When she spotted Jim and a few other familiar faces she knew that she was in the right place.

It was a simple press conference. Addison directed the media where to go, where to sit and after everyone was situated, she thought that her job was done. That was easy, she thought as she walked back to report to Jim.

“Everyone’s ready for the management and players,” Addison leaned over and informed her boss. He nodded his head approvingly.

“Good,” he said, “Now you’ll make sure that the players and staff have everything they need before we begin and then you’ll stand on the side of the stage as the media asks questions.”

Jim then informed her minutes prior to the press conference’s start that not only would the general manager and team coach be speaking, but a few well-known and well-liked players would as well. He immediately noticed the worried look on Addison’s face after he further explained what she was to do and patted her on the shoulder.

“You can do this Addison, don’t worry. These things always go quick and you can leave once it’s over.”

Addison wasn’t worried about her capability to perform the task she was given, that was never an issue for her. She was more concerned with the players that she would have to interact with. Anyone but him, she silently wished. Jim ran off before she could question who the players were, but she received her answer when people began to pile onto the make-shift stage. Paul Holmgren and Peter Laviolette took the first two seats closest to her, followed by Danny Briere, Wayne Simmonds, and Max Talbot. Addison let out a short, nervous laugh when she saw the last player take his seat, ignoring the strange looks she received from her co-workers.

“Of course,” she muttered underneath her breath. She forced a smile onto her face as she approached each man and asked if they needed anything before the conference started, just like Jim had instructed. The closer she got to Claude, however, the more she wanted to abandon her responsibilities and run for the nearest exit.

“Mr. Giroux, do you need anything?” she tried to ask as professionally as she could. Claude hadn’t been paying attention and the sound of her voice took him by surprise. He cringed at the formalities and looked slightly to his left, where she was standing. With her right in front of him, he wanted to talk to her about how foolish he had been the day before. The chatter within the crowd, however, reminded him that it wasn’t the time or place to do that.

“No thank you,” he finally answered and with a curt nod of her head, Addison promptly walked away. She stood on the side of the stage and watched as the press conference began. Each person spoke for a maximum of five minutes and then took several questions. Before she knew it, it was over.

She let out a huge sigh of relief once everyone exited the stage and took it as her cue to return to her office. As she made her way out of the room and into one of the main hallways, she pondered what she was going to have for lunch. She was deep enough into her own thoughts that she didn’t notice that she had walked right past Claude. Although she hadn’t seen Claude, he had definitely seen her. He quickly excused himself from the conversation he was having with Danny and started following her. When they entered a part of the hallway that was virtually empty, he called out to her.

“Addison Leigh James.”

She came to an abrupt halt in the hallway. A wave of nerves instantly hit her when she heard his voice, but that was soon overridden by anger when she thought of yesterday’s events.