Page 14 of Hard to Fake

These guys are my family. Whether we’re winning or not, that won’t change.

It can’t.

3

BROOKE

Kodiaks Drop Early Season Game to Miami. Is This the Start of the Down Slide? Hoops News Has the Scoop.

* * *

Brooke: Shower and get your sorry asses through media. We’re going out.

Jay: Did you see the L? Last thing we need is a club night.

Clay: I’m hitting the gym.

Brooke: Come on, Chloe. Back me up.

Chloe: It’s not the worst idea.

Chloe: (That’s off the record. As a friend, not in my official capacity as Kodiaks head of PR.)

Jay: Obvs. It’s the BearFam chat, not the management chat.

Rookie: You’re only in here because Jay used to bang you.

Chloe: 1. I am a member of the Kodiaks organization, and you’re a second-year rookie, so I pull rank.

2. I used to bang Jayden. Not the other way around.

Rookie: I’m so in love right now.

Brooke: Finish your workout, shower off your gross AF selves, and get downtown.

Jay: No club. We’ll meet up at Mile High.

* * *

The Kodiaks loss is all over the news.

It’s a blow, but the team is taking it extra hard for so early in the season. They’re champions, and everyone expects them to win, including themselves.

The game looked like a close one, and I hate seeing my brother in a bad mood. Plus, I want a night off from thinking about my own problems.

Earlier today, I opened my laptop computer to look at my bank account for the first time in a while. It couldn’t be that bad. I’d probably saved a lot. Maybe I could get by for a year without my mom topping me up.

My stomach sank as I read through the numbers.

Without my mom’s help, I’d run out of money in less than thirty days.

I’d closed the tab and opened a new one, searching for information on my sorority sister Elise’s brand.

She’s a visionary. Her company makes clothes that are high end but insanely wearable and at price points more women can afford. They’ve expanded internationally at an unprecedented pace since Elise graduated two years ahead of me. Rumor has it she declined an offer to sell her business for five hundred million last year.

I love fashion. It’s my decoration and my armor.

Nova is a super talented artist, but it’s hard to carry a painting with you when you get on a plane or even through a tough day.

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