Page 59 of Puck King
Everleigh tapped her lip and looked to the ceiling. “You and my brother were just a little too good at ‘pretending’ to be in love.”
If my face was on fire before, it was now bubbling lava.
“Yes,” Eveleigh said. “You two were supposed to ease into it. If we let this continue, it could be worse for Colton’s image. This is damage control.” She patted the folder. “It’s risky letting you continue with the physio position, but even though it might not seem like it, I do have a heart. If you’re that concerned with money, I think I might have a solution.”
I didn’t like the way the King family worked things out. I didn’t know what she meant, but I knew it wouldn’t be in my favor. “What did you have in mind?”
Everleigh leaned back in her chair. “If you agree to walk away from your relationship with Colton and the physio contract for good, and if you agree to never see my brother again, I could probably get you the rest of the money, seeing as you seem to need it badly.”
Punching another woman had never once entered my mind until that moment. I balled my fists at my sides and took a deep breath. “Now you’re offering to pay me to walk away from Colton? Your family doesn’t make any sense.”
She raised her eyebrows and looked amused. “We’re a hockey family. Colton performs best when he doesn’t have any distractions.”
I looked to my feet and wanted to scream. Without knowing it, she was forcing me to choose either my family farm, or her brother. Tears welled in my eyes, but I’d be damned if I let them fall in front of Colton’s evil sister.
Taking a deep breath, I met her steely blue eyes with mine. “I’ll take the money.”
“I thought so.” She narrowed her eyes and the hair stood up on the back of my neck. “Colton isn’t who you think he is.” Everleigh’s voice seemed nonchalant. “He loathes gold diggers.”
“I’m not…” I gasped, but realized there was no point in arguing.
“Colton is part of this family, and I will protect him at all costs.” She stood and pressed her hands into the desk. “I’m so disappointed, Alison. I thought you were different.”
Iwasdifferent. But I’d been pushed into a corner, and like Everleigh, I had to put my family first. “I’m just thinking about my family,” I whispered.
“And I’m thinking about mine.” She pointed to the door. “We’ll have the final amount wired to you, and will courier you everything from your office. Don’t you dare reach out to my brother. If you do, I’ll tell him about how you chose the money over him.”
“I know Colton. He won’t believe you.”
Everleigh strode to the door and opened it. “You don’t know anything about Colton.”
“I know that he’s not what the media say he is.”
“For a grown woman, you are remarkably naïve.” Everleigh shook her head. “Colton is everything they say he is. Did he tell you he didn’t cheat on Brittany?”
He’d said exactly that, and I’d believed him. “He did,” I managed to croak.
The footsteps of the security guard’s shoes echoed through the concrete hallway. “He lied. I covered it all up. He’s exactly who they say he is.”
My knees felt weak and I was actually grateful that the security guard hooked his hand under my elbow as he escorted me to the office to get my coat, or else I wouldn’t have been able to walk on my own. My world had just been flipped upside down. It was only when the cold afternoon air whipped my cheeks, and the heavy metal door of the stadium clanged shut behind me, that the tears finally fell, burning fiery tracks down my cheeks.
The King family were monsters, and I had fallen in love with one of them.
Twenty-Seven
Colton
My fatherand I were different. He thought that making me take a break from Alison was going to help me focus on hockey, only it was doing the opposite. I knotted my tie and smoothed my hands over my shaved head. If we continued playing as well as we had been, hopefully I’d have the start of a sweet flow when I held the Cup over my head.
I had a town car pick me up and as I sat in the back seat, I checked my phone one more time to see if Alison had responded to my text.
Nothing.
I sighed and slipped the phone into the inside pocket of my Hugo Boss suit. Instead of asking Everleigh to reserve tickets for Alison, I had called the box office myself. But when I checked in with the box office before Coach’s pre-game speech, the tickets still hadn’t been claimed.
Coach’s speech seemed like white noise and it wasn’t until the room went silent that I realized he’d asked me a question.
“Are you even listening, King?” Coach sounded irritated.
