After securing me a cup of coffee, Caleb takes me up in the elevator to the managers’ offices on the fourth floor. As we ride up, my phone dings with an automated message. My two missing bags are currently in route to Jacksonville! Who cares if I’m still feeling nervous? I’m holding a coffee, and by the end of the day I’ll have a full wardrobe again.
I take a sip of the liquid heaven as the elevator doors open, revealing a long hallway dotted with doors. Skylights let in bright sunshine and the floor has a cool, custom paint job that makes it look like water. The walls are painted in the Rays colors—a teal base with accents of white, navy, and burnt orange.
Caleb shows me through the first doorway on the left that opens into a small waiting room. There’s no receptionist, just a series of four more doors that lead to offices.
“This is the Operations Managers’ suite,” says Caleb. “Vicki is in here.” He knocks on the first door to the right.
“Come in!” a woman’s voice calls.
Caleb swings the door open. “Hey, Vic.”
“Oh, hi honey.”
I peek around him to see an older black woman in lipstick and pearls wearing a stylish business suit.
“I have your missing doctor,” he says.
“Oh, good gracious,” Vicki cries, getting up from behind her desk. “Oh, Doctor Price, you come here, honey. I heard all about your nasty flight delays.”
I don’t even realize my legs are moving before she’s got me in a fierce hug, enveloping me in her floral perfume.
“What a way to welcome you to Jacksonville. I swear, it’s almost not worth flying anymore.”
I laugh, hugging her back. “Yeah, it was brutal. Two of my bags are still missing. Caleb was great though,” I add. “He picked me up from the airport and got me settled at the apartment.”
She lets me go, giving him a stern look. “Did he behave?”
He rolls his eyes. Apparently, I had his grump persona pegged.
“He bought me tacos,” I reply.
“Good boy,” says Vicki, patting his cheek as she moves back towards her desk. “Submit your receipt if you need a reimbursement.”
He huffs, hands in his pockets. “I think I can spring for a few tacos, Vic.” Then he glances at me. “Well, Doc, you good? I gotta…” He gestures with his thumb over his shoulder.
“Of course,” I say quickly. “Thanks again, Caleb. Really.”
He gives us both a nod and ducks out.
“Well, sit down, honey,” says Vicki, shuffling papers on her desk. “We’ve got a few more things here for you to sign. And I have an update from the dealership. We should have your car ready by this afternoon. They’ve been playing hardball with me on lease prices. I finally had to sweeten the deal with a few season tickets.”
“Oh good,” I say with a mix of relief and dread. I hate driving. That’s the one drawback to Jacksonville so far. The city is massively spread out, so driving is my only real option.
“And the apartment works for you? No complaints?”
I still, my cup of coffee halfway to my lips. I haven’t decided if I want to share my balcony story with anyone yet. Caleb knowing feels like enough of a humiliation. “Umm…yes, it’s perfect.”
“She’s here?” comes a loud voice from the hallway.
I glance over my shoulder to see a tiny woman with perfectly styled blonde curls rush through the main door of the office suite. She’s got bright blue eyes and a wide smile. Like Vicki, she’s dressed in business attire, her stylish black heels clicking as she walks right in, dropping her massive bag to the floor. Okay, she has fierce Elle Woods energy, not me.
“Are you our new Barkley Fellow?” She’s got a thick southern accent. Georgia maybe? Alabama?
I stand, offering out a hand. “Yes, hi. Doctor Rachel Price.”
She looks at my hand and laughs. “Oh sweetie, here in the South we hug.”
Before I know it, I’m being squeezed for the second time in as many minutes.
She lets me go. “I’m Poppy St. James, head of PR for the Rays. And can I just say that I am so excited to have our team participate in the Fellowship program this year? I mean, who doesn’t love good press? And when I learned that you were going to be our new Fellow? Well, I just about died!” she adds, placing a hand over her heart as she flashes Vicki a smile.
My own smile begins to falter. I think I know where this is going.
“I mean, it’s enough that you’re gorgeous and so deeply talented,” she adds, emphasizing each word. “But then I found out about your family. I mean, nothing goes with hockey quite like rock and roll, right?”
Just wait for it…
“Say, do you think your daddy might be interested in coming out for a game this season?”
There it is.
My smile is officially fake. But this is the life of a celebrity’s daughter. The second people make the connection, I cease to exist. I become merely a conduit through which people seek to reach him.
“Umm, you know, I’m not really sure of his schedule,” I hedge.
“What are you two talking about?” says Vicki, clearly confused.
Poppy glances around me. “Oh, you hadn’t heard? Our talented new Barkley Fellow has some added star power. Her daddy is Hal Price from The Ferrymen!”
Vicki blinks. “Is that a band?”
Poppy gasps. “A band? Vicki, they’re only one of the biggest rock bands of all time! The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin—they’re in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for heaven’s sake!” She turns back to me, her hand on my arm. “I swear, when I told my brother, he nearly fell out of his chair.”
“That’s great,” I say, still wearing my patient smile.
“Say, does he ever play the National Anthem? You know, like Hendrix? Oh, wouldn’t that be amazing, Vic?” She all but squeals with excitement. “The Ferrymen in our arena! Can you imagine?”
“That would be really great,” Vicki replies.
“Yeah, you know, I can ask,” I say, knowing this won’t end until I say something.
Poppy has her eyes on her phone as she reaches inside the massive purse she dropped by the door. “Sorry, I’ve got like three press events stacked up this morning and I’m trying to hunt down Claribel. I wanted her to get a few pics of Rachel in action—oh—do you mind if I call you Rachel?”
“Poppy honey, breathe,” says Vicki with a chuckle.
Poppy stands still and closes her eyes. She takes a deep, cleansing breath and opens them again. “Thanks, Vic. I needed that. I’m sorry, I’m just a big ole mess these days. It’s all this stress leading up to the first game day.”
“We’re all a little on edge,” Vicki assures her.
Poppy smiles, stepping forward with a folder in hand. “I promise I’m not always like this. I can be normal. You’ll see. Hopefully once the season starts, we’ll all find our rhythm.”
“Of course,” I reply. My esteem for her is rising again. I can appreciate her for being honest. She’s being totally neurotic right now, but at least she knows it and she’s sorry.
I take the folder from her. “What’s this?”
“That’s a schedule for some upcoming public relations events,” she explains. “With a new team, we can’t leave it to just the players to help put the Rays on the map.”
I tug out the top paper and scan it. Holy shit. It’s a blocked schedule going day-by-day for the next two months showing all kinds of events from a meet and greet at a hospital to something next week called Fin Fest. There’s hardly a day not accounted for, including some weekends.
“I’m attending all these events?” I say, glancing up at her over my list.
“Yeah, don’t you think it’ll be great?” she says with a smile. “We’ve got the coaches hitting the town too, the players, even staff. Like I said, it’s all hands on deck. I really hope you’re a team player because we mean to win this game.”
“Which game?” I say, returning the paper to my folder.
She finally glances up from her phone. “The game. The only one that matters.” She narrows her eyes at me, lips pursed. “Sports at this level is never just about the sport, Rachel. It’s about everything else. Our most important game this year won’t be played on the ice. It’s about winning the hearts and minds of the people of Jacksonville. We need to let the hockey world see that the Rays are here to play and we’re here to stay.”
