Page 80 of The Worst Pucking Deal

Once again, I get the urge to whisk my wife away, but I know I can’t do that. Not unless I want to kiss both of our careers goodbye. For a second I contemplate asking why Fabian is here, but what’s the point? He’s a sponsor and it’s not the first time one of those is at a meeting.

My jaw tightens as I take in his arrogant demeanor, the way the fucker’s gaze lingers on Lucia with a predatory hunger sends a surge of protectiveness coursing through me. I resist the need to confront him here and now, knowing that I need to keep a cool head in front of our team management. But one day… one day I’m going to make him fucking regret ever touching my sweet bunny.

Taking a deep breath, I steel myself for the reason we’re here. I might have a good guess, but there’s no chance I’m speaking first. They summoned us, so they can do the talking.

Tom’s voice cuts through the tension like a knife. “What the hell is this, Sawyer? Why did you two get married?” His tone is accusatory, his eyes drilling into us with a mix of anger and disbelief.

I bristle at his words, instinctively pulling Lucia closer to me, as if shielding her from the storm brewing in Tom’s office. “It’s none of your business,” I snap back, my voice laced with defensiveness.

But Tom isn’t backing down. “None of my business? It is literally my damn business,” he retorts, his frustration palpable. “You two are the faces of this team, and now you’ve gone and pulled this stunt without even consulting us.”

I exchange a tense glance with Lucia, silently urging her to stay strong beside me. “Your contract didn’t stop us from getting married,” I reply firmly, trying to keep my voice steady despite the rising turmoil within me.

Tom’s eyes narrow, his gaze flicking to Fabian before returning to us. “Maybe my contract didn’t, but I never took you as someone who was okay with being a goddamn home wrecker.”

I bristle and narrow my eyes on my GM. “No one is fucking cheating, and you already know I didn’t know that woman was married.” My nostrils flare and I squeeze Lucia’s hand harder, hating that my past is being brought up around her, but happy to use her presence to keep me grounded so I don’t do something stupid like punch Tom.

Running a hand down his face, Tom looks at Fabian, who gives him a curt nod. “So you didn’t know?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Know what?” I throw back.

“Do you want to tell him or should I?” Fabian says smoothly, not looking away from my wife. “What will it be, little wolf?”

“N-no,” Lucia stutters, taking a step back. I watch as she closes her eyes, rolling her shoulders back before opening them. As I look into her green eyes, I recognize her PR persona. The one with a stick so far up her ass you can practically see the tip when she yawns. Well… fuck. She obviously knows what’s going on, which means she lied to me. I asked her point-blank if there was something I should know, and she. Fucking. Lied. To. Me.

“Are you threatening my wife?” I ask, eager to keep the attention off Lucia. “Because that would be really fucking stupid.”

“No one is threatening anyone,” Tom cajoles, spreading his arms out wide. “But there are things we need to discuss. The day after the sponsor event, I received an email from Fabian with some very disturbing news,” he admits. “I had to bring him in to address it. The longer we talked, I realized it was a discussion we should all have together. Normally, I would have wanted to do it right away, but with your away game it wasn’t possible.”

I look at Lucia, but she’s completely rigid at my side. Even though she’s looking straight ahead, I get the sense she isn’t really seeing anything. “So?” I ask, doing my best to sound like I’m unbothered while mentally trying to work out what the hell Tom’s talking about. “What was the news?”

Speaking up for the first time, Jo says, “It seems Lucia was married before.”

She what? It takes all my control to keep my expression neutral and not look at my bunny, but it becomes hard when her next inhale is an audible gasp. I open my mouth, but snap it closed when Tom glares at me. “Everyone sit down. No one is leaving until I get to the bottom of this, so you might as well make yourselves comfortable.”

Tom sits down at the head of the table, with Jo on his right and Fabian on his left. Since I don’t think I can stop myself from punching the smug bastard if he’s within reach, I sit down on Jo’s side, leaving a few seats between us. Lucia follows me, but she doesn’t look up as I pull the chair out for her. She just robotically takes her seat while keeping her eyes on Tom.

I don’t like how pale she is, or the vacant, haunted look in her eyes. Or the way her hands tremble. She should have told me whatever it is Fabian has on her, and about her previous marriage to… fuck if I know. I ignore the voice in my head that’s already put two-and-two together, because there’s no way Lucia wouldn’t tell me if Fabian is her ex husband.

“Right, where is it…” Tom pauses, rifling through some papers on the table before shoving a picture toward me. My eyes narrow as I see it’s a picture of Lucia and Fabian on their wedding day. Judging by how young she looks, it’s not recent. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it’s over ten years old, which would make her… eighteen at the most. Fuck.

Lucia whimpers beside me, and I feel another surge of anger rise within me, directed squarely at Fabian. Snarling at him, I demand, “What the hell is this? Is it even real?”

Fabian merely shrugs, his smirk widening. “I take it you didn’t know,” he says, brushing some lint off his suit jacket. “I thought she would have told you by now. Since I disclosed it to Tom prior to signing the sponsorship paperwork, it never occurred to me that Lucia wouldn’t be as forthcoming.”

I resist the urge to lunge at him, instead turning to Tom with a steely gaze. “You knew about this?” I demand, my voice low and dangerous.

Tom nods. “I knew they’d been married, yes. What I didn’t know is that when your arrangement with Lucia began, she was technically still married to Fabian.”

“So you didn’t find it weird when he pretended not to know her when you introduced us at the sponsor event?” I scoff, shaking my head.

“That was their business,” Tom clarifies, though he does give Fabian a look of… I don’t even fucking know.

Lucia

As Tom’s words hang heavily in the air, I feel a surge of panic rising within me. My hands tremble uncontrollably as I struggle to process the implications of what he’s just revealed. Married to Fabian when my fake relationship with Sy began. The truth hits me like a sledgehammer, shattering the fragile facade I’ve been desperately clinging to.

But my fear isn’t for my safety; it’s for the precarious bond I’ve forged with Sy. I know I’ve made a mess of things, and the thought of losing him sends a wave of despair coursing through me. I glance at my husband, searching desperately for any sign of reassurance, but all I see is a coldness in his eyes that cuts me to the core.

---