Page 69 of Botched

“Completely,” Nathan answers. But he doesn’t stop me when I stand and hobble to the other side of the desk, wrapping my arms around him. This man made my dreams come true. He deserves nothing less than a hug. “You had a question?”

The hug breaks and I look down at him. I’d forgotten all about that when the contract was in my face. Good to know I’m easy to appease. “Right. Why is the feud with Micah being dropped?”

“As Theo and I discussed the other night, actions have consequences. It’s about time he learns that, and all things considered, he’s getting off lightly.”

It’s not hard to put two and two together. Hext is the ‘break in case of emergency’ option for Nathan. Reliable, beloved, a respected veteran. “Theo’s dropping the belt?”

“That’s on a need-to-know basis right now, Aurora.”

I thank him, grab the contract from his desk, and leave. Nathan’s a busy man. He has a company to run and a show to put on. He doesn’t need me in his office, asking a thousand questions that I doubt he’d answer.Actions have consequences. So what the fuck did Theo do?

There’s no need to storm into the locker room again; I catch Theo in the hallway. He smirks when he sees me, before he can open his mouth, I blurt out, “What did you do?”

The smirk stays on his face. “Gotta be more specific than that, Roo. I doa lotof things.”

Why does he insist on giving me a headache? “Why are you dropping the title? Nathan told me.” More or less.

“I can’t be champion forever.”

“Get more specific, Abrams. What. Did. You. Do?”

Theo takes a step closer, backing me up against the beige-painted brick wall. His eyes darken as he looks down at me, our gaze meeting. “You already know what I did, Aurora. I leaked my pictures on purpose, and I guess Nathan grew some balls and decided to take charge of his company for once. About damn time, honestly.”

“I didn’t ask you to—” That was weeks ago. Why is Theo just now being punished? Did it really take Nathan that damn long to come up with a plan?

“Didn’t say you did. I gotta go talk to Micah. See ya in a bit.”

Theo leaves me there, letting that information soak over me.

He’s dropping his title because of me. Because of my shit. He didn’t have to get involved and he did. Now it’s cost him.

Way to take the wind out of a girl’s sails.

Chapter Forty-Six

THEODORE

Aurora’s mad at me.

I know, I know. What else is new? She’s always mad at me.

I can’t stand it now. Now that we’re…whatever we are. After our conversation in the hallway, she was different. Quieter. She didn’t make snarky comments or light up much. When I texted her after I got back to my room, fully planning on making up for leaving her wanting last week, I got no response.

Like any logical person who hates being ignored, I stormed to her hotel room. My fist slams against the pale-yellow door a few times. “Roo? We need to talk!” I call through the wood.

It takes a second but the door swings open, revealing Aurora. She’s in a T-shirt and shorts; Juliette is standing behind her.Shocking. I’m surprised Hext isn’t hiding in there too.

“You don’t have to yell. That seems like a littlemuch,” Aurora says.

“It’s dramatic as fuck,” Juliette chimes in, unhelpful as usual.

I choose to ignore her obvious attempt to provoke me. “You weren’t answering my texts. We need to talk.” My eyes dart toJuliette who has her tattooed arms crossed over her chest. “Alone.” I’m sure everyone’s favorite homewrecker has a home to wreck somewhere.

She rolls her eyes and gives Aurora a side hug. “Way to make a girl feel unwanted, Abrams. No wonder Rory’s scared of you.” As she pushes past me in the doorway, she punches me in the shoulder.

Once she leaves, I step inside and close the door behind me. My gaze lands on Aurora, who’s refusing to make eye contact. “You’re mad at me.”

“I’m not. I mean, I’m now annoyed because you’re making a scene.”

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