It's Just A Job

James nervously walked down the halls of the underbelly of CONSOL. He made his way past the visiting teams’ locker room, the training rooms and the Pens’ locker room. It was the same route he took on game day, but today he would be making a stop that he normally wouldn’t be making. James swiped his ID card through the electronic reader, opened the door and walked down the hall. He turned and opened the door to Dan Bylsma’s office.

Dan looked up from his computer and gave James a nod, “so, first one here?”

“Yea, I kinda want to just get this over with.” James fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket.

“James, you’ve been through this before.” “I know it isn’t easy, but we’re here to figure out the best approach.” Dan Bylsma was a man of his word. He knew James would be labeled if things weren’t handled the best way possible. Not only was the events of last night’s game bad for James, it was bad for the team.

Ray Shero was the next to enter Dan’s office and after a few rounds of small talk about the games and Brooks’ condition, Ray turned to James and asked, “Are you ready to make this right?”

“Yea Ray, I am.”

“Good James, that’s good to hear.”

“Has anyone heard from Katherine this morning?” Ray asked Dan and James. Dan shook his head no and gave a side glance over at James.

“Umm, I talked to her earlier and she should be on her way.”

Ray and Dan both nodded, knowing that James would have been the one to talk to Katherine this morning. They both understood that there had been an attempt at a relationship but by the beginning of this season it had ended. Either way, Dan and Ray both new that Katherine had a soft spot for James no matter what had happened between them.

Katherine pulled into the employee parking lot at the CONSOL on two wheels. She was running late, no thanks to Paul and an unexpected, extra- long shower that morning. She hustled to get in the building, swiped her way into the Pens office area and ran down the hallway to Dan Bylsma’s office. As she was running past the training room, the door flew open when a freshly showered Bill Geurin stepped out in front of Katherine.

“Whoa, hold on?” “What is the rush this morning?” Bill grabbed Katherine’s elbow.

“Late, Bill.” “We’re both late!”

Bill knew Katherine meant business.

“Well then, let’s go see what kind of shitshow Neal has gotten himself into this time.”

Katherine and Bill walked into Dan’s office together, game faces on and ready to lay down the law. But when Katherine’s eyes met James’ she knew she was going to have a tough time with being the objective, non-reactive person she needed to be today. He had that lost look to him, a look that he used well to his advantage to get what he wanted; the look of a sweet, innocent little boy who needed help finding his puppy look. That same little boy look that worked on Katherine every time. She avoided looking directly at James again and instead said good morning to Ray and Dan. Everyone settled in around the conference table in Dan’s office and started to place the plan of action for James and his suspension.

“So, I watched the film again this morning and for as much as I would like to say it wasn’t blatant…” Katherine began to review the hit on Marchand.

“It wasn’t.” James said while staring a Katherine in disbelief.

“Really James, you’re going to sit there and tell me that you didn’t skate back into Marchard path?”

“Wait, you weren’t even there, so how can you even comment on this?” James said in an argumentative tone.

“I’m not commenting on the hit, I’m commented on your intent.” Katherine wasn’t going to take any of James’ attitude today, especially when she was trying to help him. She knew that the minimum he was going to get would be a 5-game suspension and if that happened, he could say good-bye to any shot at making the Canadian Olympic Team or being a contender for the Rocket Richard Trophy.

“And don’t get me started on the attitude you gave all of the reporters post-game.” Katherine was not going to be bullied by James. “And who gave the ok for you to talk to the media?”

All four men looked at Katherine. All four had nothing to say.

“Really, this one is the last person we need talking to the media after something like this happens.” Katherine said while pointing at James.

James was pissed. Here he was being raked over the coals by Katherine and the only thing he could do was to sit there and take it. He knew she was right. James was not the best representative of the Pens when things were going wrong. When James was scoring goals and winning games was when he was at his best with the media. Not after he put his knee into a rivals head.

“We all know the bad blood between us and Boston and last night was one of those games.” Ray decided to interject before Katherine reached across the table to slap James silly. “The hit was in retribution for a lot of things, so let’s just call it that.”

“I’m not saying it was right, hell both teams are out two players for injuries and probably two more players for suspensions.” Ray was on a roll now. “Bettman is going to start cracking down on fighting and before we know it, this game is going to be changed for all the wrong reason.”

“If James shows remorse during the phone interview, I think I can get Bettman to knock it down to a 3-game suspension.” Katherine stood her ground on this. She knew that the NHL’s Commissioner Gary Bettman would accept James’ apology as long as James was sincere. Katherine had the opportunity of working alongside Gary during the lockout and this gave her an insight and understanding of his point of view on most of the negotiations. She knew how his mind worked when it came to the players and it was her job to make sure the players understood the fine line they needed to walk when dealing with NHL heads.

“James, follow Katherine’s lead on this tomorrow.” Dan spoke up, “Katherine, do you mind sitting in on the phone interview?”

Katherine looked over to Ray and Bill. They had been her mentors for the past year and she couldn’t help but wonder if she was ready for this. Ray gave her an approving nod. “You got this one kiddo.”

With renewed confidence, Katherine turned to Dan, “not a problem Dan, I’ll be there tomorrow.”
James felt relieved. He knew that even with everything that had transpired between them, that Katherine would always have his back.

There was a knock on the door and Jennifer Bullano peaked her head in.

“Hey Katherine, when you have time, can you swing down to my office.”

Katherine was fuming at Jenn and her decision to allow James to talk to the media last night. After the Boston series last year, Katherine thought for sure that Jenn had learned her lesson when it came to James, the media and his attitude.

“I think we’re all done her Jenn, so Katherine is all yours.” Ray said as he stood up and pushed himself away from the table. Dan moved away from the table and back over to his desk. Bill patted James on the back and they all moved towards the door as Katherine was gathering her purse and briefcase.

“So, tomorrow at 11:00 am?” Katherine asked Ray.

“Yes, Bettman will call me and I’ll have the call transferred to your office.”

“Thanks Ray, thanks everyone.” James pulled his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. “I want to do what is best for the team and for me and I know Katherine will be a big help with that.”

Katherine smiled at James. She wanted to put her arms around him and tell him it was going to be ok, but in the back of her mind, she knew that was exactly what James wanted her to do.

Katherine was making her way down the hallway to Jenn’s office when she heard James speak up, “Kat, do you have a minute?”

Katherine stopped and turned to James. He had a look of relief in his eyes and Katherine smiled as he walked towards her.

“Hey, I just wanted to say thanks.”

“Just doing my job James, you know that.”

“Yea, but it means a lot to me having you in my corner, even though you were a little rough on me in there.” James scratched at his beard and his eyes locked onto Katherine’s eyes.

There it was, that patented James Neal look. The same look he gave Katherine when they first met; the look that got her to stay to have a drink with him; the same look he gave her when he was in the hallway of her hotel room; the look he gave her the morning she left the cabin on Balsam Lake. She hadn’t seen that look in months, not since the night at Acadia when she looked over at him after she had been dancing with Beau, the first night that Paul had walked her home.

“How is Paulie doing?” James said as he reached out and touched Katherine’s scarf. “Is this new?” “I bet he’s driving you nuts.”

“Actually no, he’s been a pretty good patient. “ Katherine turned to walk away. “He’s going to the doctor’s on Tuesday for a bone scan, so hopefully there is some good news.”

“Going there tonight?” James started to walk with Katherine.

“To Paul’s?” Katherine kept walking as James followed. “Nope, not tonight.” “It is carb-Sunday with Beau and Rob.”

“You guys had some strange traditions in Wilkes Barre, eh? James snickered at the weekly tradition that Katherine, Beau and Rob started when they were all with the Baby Pens. They were all in a strange city and instead of take out or going out to eat all the time, they decided to dedicate one night a week to staying home and cooking. It gave Katherine someone to cook for and it gave the guys a reason to eat well. James got to experience Katherine’s cooking while they were at the lake and it was memorable. James could still taste the one dinner of short ribs that took Katherine all day to cook. He could still remember the way she moved around the kitchen like she had been a chef in a previous life and how much she loved it. His heart ached a little when he wondered if she was cooking for Paul now.

“Well, you probably have some shopping to do and you gotta meet with Jenn.” “What time do you want me in your office tomorrow?” James said while cramming his hands into his pockets.

“Just be there around 10:30.” “Bring me coffee and we’ll strategize.

Katherine turned to walk down the hall when James spoke up again.

“Kat,” James reached out and grabbed her hand. “Does he make you happy?”

“Yes James, he makes me very happy.” Katherine withdrew her hand like she had just burned it on something hot. She turned and continued to walk down the hall.

James stood there in the empty hall way. He didn’t consider Katherine’s confession as a defeat, but rather as a challenge.

Notes