Nikki Worrell - The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions)

Amid sniffles, she heard, “I know that, Lacey.”

Great. Lacey had made her mom cry. She felt awful. This was probably why they distanced themselves from me , she thought. Lacey was the tough one (yeah, well people thought so anyway). She didn’t do forgive and forget. So she either had the right attitude about her brother’s death, or she was going to fall apart at some inopportune moment in the future. It could go either way.

“I’m sorry, Mom. Honestly I am. I really just called to tell you that I’m moving. Zoe said she’s going to fly out here and drive back with me so I don’t have to ship my car. She still has a couple of weeks before pre-season therapy sessions start with the players.”

Silence can be so awkward, especially when you know you’ve upset someone. It just leaves a sense of guilt that won’t go away. “Well, I need to go Mom. Give Dad a hug for me.”

“All right sweetie. Remember I love you, okay? Please call us when you get there. We’ll come see you.”

“Thanks Mom. I love you too, bye.”

Ugh , Lacey thought, that went well … crap .

The next day, Lacey had a preliminary telephone interview with Donna from the Scorpions organization They both thought she would be a good fit for the position. Donna was going to schedule an interview for her in two weeks with the Chief Financial Officer, whom she would be working directly under. The position was a mix of HR and Accounting, which worked for Lacey, as she was good at both. The more she heard about the job, the more excited she got. The salary better be enough to allow her to keep her one true love though – her car.

One of the reasons Lacey rented her cabin, rather than having bought a house, was because she wanted to spend her money on her dream car instead of a mortgage. Fortunately, she made a good living, but let’s face it – nobody could afford everything they wanted right away. So she chose her car over her home and never had regret.

Her 2010 black Audi R8 was the most gorgeous car on the planet. By using some of her inheritance as a down payment, she was able to buy that two-year-old beauty for a reasonable … well … she could afford it, okay? Yes, it was a bit elaborate, but good Lord … that baby had a V-10. That was 420 horses. They should call ‘em kittens because Rosie sure did purr. With her six speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive, she was great in the snow. Okay … not so much. But where her gas mileage was concerned … well, that didn’t need to be mentioned either. Yes, okay, she did have a beat up old SUV in the garage that she drove whenever it wasn’t sunny and warm. But sometimes a girl had to do what a girl had to do. As for the SUV – that wouldn’t be going with her. That vehicle would be donated.

Lacey had a decision to make. Her baby only got about fifteen miles per gallon in the city, but hey, she could get up to nineteen on the highway. So, did Lacey ship her car out there? Sell her? Absolutely not. Or should Zoe and Lacey cruise to beautiful California in her awesome Rosie? Yes! Option 3. Lacey added ‘save plenty of money for gas’ to her list of things she must have on their road trip. It would be fun. Really, how much trouble could two gals traveling across the country get into? Thelma and Louise anyone?

Right in the middle of checking lists, the phone rang. The caller ID said ‘unavailable.’ Normally those calls went unanswered, but since Lacey applied for a new job, she figured she should answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hey Lace. Are you packing yet?”

“Zoe, where are you calling from? Your number is coming up unavailable.”

“Oh, uh, well, I’m just … eh, doesn’t matter. So, are you packing yet?” Doesn’t matter? What does that even mean? That’s suspicious. Did Zoe have a new guy she was keeping a secret? And why wouldn’t she use her cell phone? Interesting.

“What do you mean, doesn’t matter? Why don’t I believe that? Whose phone are you using? Where’s your cell? What’s his name and is he wearing pants? Come on. Details!”

“Okay, well, maybe I’m at a friend’s house and maybe he’s in the shower. And maybe I can’t find my phone...or my panties...woohoo! This guy is a total neat freak, and I’m pretty sure that he put my purse away with my phone in it. Come to think of it, my panties have probably been washed, dried, folded and are in a drawer somewhere. You’d love him; he’s got OCD worse than you do. His place is so modern it’s almost sterile, but it suits him. This guy is prime beefcake. I love athletes. He doesn’t have an ounce of body fat on him, and he’s hard in all the right places, if you know what I mean. Did I mention how big …”

“ENOUGH! I haven’t had a man in … wow, I can’t even remember. You’re killing me. An athlete? What are you doing, Zoe? You can’t sleep with your clients.”

Sounding more defensive than Lacey had ever heard her, Zoe said, “Did I say he was a client, Lace? I meet a lot of guys that aren’t players. There are coaches, trainers, equipment managers, not to mention other men who aren’t even associated with hockey. Being an athlete doesn’t automatically mean they’re a hockey player.”

Not put off by Zoe’s tone, Lacey questioned her again. “So what’s his name?”

Zoe quickly replied, “It doesn’t matter. Bottom line is that you need to get laid, and I think you should start with a casual fling with one of the guys. They don’t take things too seriously, and they won’t spread your name around. Give a player a chance. You’re not held accountable to the ‘no client relationship’ rule. Honestly, hockey players are not the devils you make them out to be, and they have a lot of energy in the sack … so I’ve heard.”

Zoe was constantly trying to convince Lacey that relationships were just as hard outside of hockey. Well that didn’t make her feel warm and fuzzy either. Men cheated everywhere; it was what they did. So then you took a very hot man built like a Greek God and put him in a situation where women were carte blanche? Even good men would have a problem with that. Men just couldn’t be trusted to be in a monogamous relationship. Men couldn’t be trusted period.

“Okay, whatever. Next subject. Yes, I’m packing. I was trying to decide if I’d ship Rosie or not.”

“Hell no, you won’t ship Rosie! I’m only agreeing to drive back with you so that I can have a chance to drive her a bit. You promised. I wanna drive, I wanna drive, I wanna drive!”

“Zoe! Good Lord, how much coffee have you had today? Breathe...“ Lacey had tried teaching Zoe how to drive a manual transmission in her little Honda years ago. That Honda was the easiest car in the world to learn on … unless you were Zoe Millis. The girl ran marathons, was freakishly good at fixing stuff around the house and could probably build a car, but (and it’s a big but) she could NOT drive a stick shift. So Lacey just told her, “We’ll see.”

On the other end of the phone, Zoe could be heard pouting. “I know what that means; that means no, and I think you’re a weenie.”

“A weenie? Seriously Zoe? You just called me a weenie?”

“Yes, yes I did. You can’t make promises and then not follow through. It makes you a weenie. Speaking of weenies, you should see this guy’s. That man is fine. I gotta tell you about the way he uses his tongue on my …”

“Whoa! Okay, back to business. I’ve ordered the moving truck to be here on Thursday. That gives me three days to pack. I gave my notice at the office, and they said they were okay with Friday being my last day. They’re going to promote my top assistant to my position. She just finished with her degree. She’ll do great.”