Page 102 of The Roommate Remodel

“Tell me you don’t know,” I say slowly. “Right? You. Don’t. Know.”

She takes a step, holding out her hand. “I can explain...”

My stomach drops. “You knew?”

“I wanted to tell you,” she pleads, still reaching for me.

I immediately recoil, devastated she didn’t tell me. I’ve worked tirelessly to gain her trust back, only to have her keep this secret from me.

The last few weeks have been the best of my life. All this timeshe was hiding something that could destroy the team and my future?

I narrow my eyes. “I don’t want to know why you kept this from me.”

I turn to leave as Alex watches this moment unfold, a smile playing on the corners of her lips. This is exactly what the Ice Queen wanted. She’s the chess master in this game, playing us against each other.

Jaz grabs for my sleeve, trying not to let me walk away. “At least give me a chance to explain.”

I rip my arm away so fast, she looks shocked. “I don’t want your explanation. I don’t want anything from you.”

Then I turn my back to her, heading toward the rink. “I need to finish my game.”

TWENTY-THREE

Jaz

As soon as the door slams shut after Brax leaves, I turn to Dawson with my heart in my throat. The poor guy looks devastated. How am I going to face the rest of the team?

“I’m sorry about this,” I mumble as I force back tears, keeping my back to Alex. I won’t let Alex see me crumble, but Dawson is different. I’m invested in every guy on this team and would do anything for them.

Dawson puts a big, gloved hand on my shoulder and squeezes it gently, like he’s already forgiven me.

“He’ll get over it. He can’t stay mad at you.” He doesn’t bother looking back before he lumbers to the locker room.

I lock eyes with Alex and cross my arms. “You got your way. You wanted to drive a wedge between Brax and me.”

She lets out an annoyed sigh. “Look, he’s the one who confronted me. I naturally assumed you had told him.” She says it likeshe’sthe victim here and not me. “It wasn’t until you walked in that I realized hedidn’t know.”

I drop my arms and approach her. “I kept your secret because you let me believe I had a chance to turn this around.”

She looks at me like I’m a naïve child. “You really believed that? I thought you were smarter than that.”

I narrow my eyes and pin my fists to my sides so I don’t accidentally punch her. Maybe these hockey guys are rubbing off on me. “I worked hard to get more fans here to see this amazing team. And you’re going to tear it all down.”

“And build something better,” she finishes. “I won’t fire you if you agree to my terms.”

“What kind of terms?” I ask, hoping she doesn’t see how desperate I am.

“If we hold a big press conference at the end of the season to make the announcement, you can stay on staff and help me orchestrate this transition. You’ll need to convince Brax and Dawson to stay quiet. As long as our fans don’t find out before then, things should go smoothly.”

Is this her offer? For me to stay quiet and help her sneak out the back door when the time comes?

This whole thing feels so gross.

I’ve already disappointed Brax and the team by keeping secrets from them. But I refuse to be her puppet any more.

I jut out my chin. “You won’t need to fire me, because I quit.”

Her mouth falls as the locker room door bursts open. The team pours out, ready for the final period as I slip down the hall.

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