Page 45 of The Pucking Wrong Man

Me: Well, I could save a cat.

Ari: No. Absolutely not. There cannot be two of you.

Me: Two...?

Ari: Two of you worshiping Golden Boy. It’s high time someone worshiped me.

Linc: ...

Walker: ...

Me: ...

Me: Did I do that right?

Ari Lancaster removed you from the chat.

I huffed, but then a second later, my phone pinged again.

Lincoln Daniels added you to the chat.

A grin stretched across my face.

Me: Thanks, Daniels. You’re a man above men.

Ari: SIMP!

My phone started buzzing as Ari raged about “Golden Boy’s betrayal of the Circle” or something else equally incoherent, but I was distracted as Anastasia came down the steps of the dance studio. Straightening off the wall, I took a step further down the alley so she wouldn’t see me.

Fuck, she was beautiful. That tight spandex thing she was wearing should be illegal. What was that outfit called again? A leotard?

I was a big fan of leotards, I decided.

But I nearly ground my teeth down to dust when I noticed a group of guys following behind her.

I saw them also notice how good her ass looked.

One of the guys called out her name and she stopped and turned toward them. I slid to the edge of the building so I could hear what they were saying.

“Are you sure I can’t just pick you up on Saturday?” one of them asked, a tall, thin asshole-looking dude.

This wasn’t the first time I’d seen him talking to her.

Dallon. That was his name.

I’d searched the Company’s website to find out who he was the first time I’d seen him staring at her outside. He was one of the principals of the company—one of the leads, so to speak.

I wanted to kill him.

Gritting my teeth, I glared at him even though he wouldn’t notice me over here. He was leaning against the railing, staring down at her from a few steps up. I stiffened, creeping even closer, dread clogging my throat. There was a buzzing sound in my head as she smiled at him.

Her going on a date before my game was not part of the plan. How had I messed it up this badly?

It was a question I found myself asking far too often lately.

“I have a few errands I need to run beforehand, so it’s just easier to meet you,” she said, shifting back and forth and biting down on her lower lip like she did when she was nervous.

And yes, I already knew that about her.

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