Page 162 of Beauty
It takes effort not to roll my eyes. “We should make the deal. Noah’s worth it.”
Ezra scrunches his nose. “I don’t agree, and it’s my decision.”
“It’s the wrong one,” I grit out.
“Why do you care so much? Sparks fly during that dance on Friday night?”
I clamp down on my armrests, fighting the annoyance pushing to take over. “I care because he’s the best winger we’ve seen in a long time. Trading him would be a mistake. Maybe we should bring Gavin in here. Gethisopinion.” I pick up my phone. “It is his team, after all.”
“I saw you at Allure.”
The words make my blood run cold. And I think my heart stops right there in my office at Lang Field Corp.
The phone clatters into its cradle. “What?”
Completely at ease, he kicks back in the chair. “Yup. Saw you with our star winger. The one you’re so set on keeping. Willing to pay ten million just to get laid again? I woulda done it for free, ya know.” He waggles his brows.
Nausea rolls in my stomach. This fucking pig. “Excuse me?”
He angles forward, his elbows hitting his knees, and stares me down. “I saw you with him.” He tilts his head. “And notjusthim. If that’s what you’re into, I’m sure I could find a buddy to bring along.”
I clasp my hands in an effort to stop them from shaking. It’s no use. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” He leans back and shrugs like he didn’t just proposition me or call me a whore. “If that’s not your thing, we can make another deal.”
“Have you lost your goddamn mind?” I hiss.
He shakes his head. “Nah. I’m just the guy lucky enough to stumble upon the Langfield princess acting a certain way. Even got some grainy video.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and waves it around like it’s a damn prize. “We can call your brother in now if you want. Maybe ask him for his opinion onthat.”
I tug at my shirt, in need of air. This can’t be happening. Not again. I can’t put my brothers’ company at risk. I can’t lose everything again. Fuck.
And Noah? If that video got out? Forget his career. I have no idea how Jen would react. And one day Ollie might hear about it.
My stomach rolls at the thought. Fuck, fuck, fuck.What have I done?
“What do you want?” I ask, all my bravado gone. I’ll give him anything if it means keeping this information private.
And he knows it. It’s why he walked in here with so much swagger. He was always going to walk out of this conversation on top.
His slimy smile sends chills through me. “What I want is for you to back off. For the next year, whatever I say goes. I have plans for this team. We’ll get another Stanley Cup, and you and your little boyfriend and your freaky ways won’t get in the way of that.” His eyes darken. His tone does too. “Harrison is gone. I have plans to restructure this team. Push out the guys already past their prime. War will be retiring soon, and Brooks won’t be far behind him. If you sign off on every deal I make, then we’re good.”
I cycle through a thousand scenarios, but none of my options are good. If I tell my brothers, they’ll have my back. But that means giving them all the nitty-gritty details. That means letting them bail me out. And if I do, there’s still a chance Ezra will release the video. But staying in this position for another year? God, it’s like another damn prison sentence. No matter what I do, I lose. And Noah loses too.
But what choice do I have? “I want the videos deleted and a signed agreement that you’ll never so much as utter my name unless you’re talking to me.”
Ezra pushes up out of his chair. “You know, I thought it was a mistake when they brought you on as CEO. But in reality, this is perfect. If they’d hired someone who understands hockey, I’d have to fight them every step of the way.” He nods and strolls to the door. “I’ll have my attorney send over the paperwork.”
My stomach rolls. Another settlement. Another damn deal. Is this ever going to end? When do I get my damn happily ever after?
FIFTY-THREE
NOAH
Today is supposedto be a good day. A great one, even. A day I’ve been anxiously anticipating for a long, long time. Today I get to tell the world that Sienna Langfield is mine.
Okay, the world might be a stretch. But I get to tell her brothers. And Ollie. So yeah, I get to tellourwhole world.
We planned to wait a few weeks, but then, like it always does, fate intervened.
