Page 68 of Now Streaming

The PA shook his hand, then looked at it like he may never wash it again.

“Right, Hayden, yes. They’re asking for you in the conference room. For both of you.”

The PA pointed across the way toward an open door. Even from here, Hayden could see Dylan looking like the cat who ate the canary, full of himself, as if this was his victory. Hayden looked forward to disabusing him of that notion.

Keeping Min’s hand in his, they made their way toward the conference room, stopping a few times as other streamers came to congratulate Min on her win. There were several people just staring at him, which would normally make Hayden’s skin crawl. But right now, with her hand in his, Hayden found he just didn’t care.

Once in the conference room, Dylan clapped Hayden on the back and shook Min’s hand as if he wasn’t the biggest douchebag alive. Brad was already at the table, smiling and standing to shake both their hands. Hayden and Min sat across from him at the table, and Hayden had a sudden flash of the first time he met Min, sitting at a table much like this, agreeing to this tournament because he had been such an ass. He looked at her then, seeing the same moment in her eyes. And Hayden had to admit, even then, he probably would’ve done whatever this woman had asked of him. They had been rivals for years, and he had been an idiot to not realize there was something behind their chemistry. He had a lot of time to make up for.

“Truly amazing game,” Dylan started. “The streaming numbers are in the millions. We broke records today, thanks to you two.” He clapped his hands together with glee, his eyes darting back and forth between Hayden and Min as if waiting for them to celebrate with him.

Min leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. Glaring.

“If you’re going to tell me I can’t keep the money, I’m ready to fight you in court.”

Hayden’s head whipped toward her at that. “Wait, what? Why would you not get to keep the money?”

“Dylan here told me before the game that due to the new pictures that were leaked of us, any win I managed would be tainted and would launch an investigation into the tournament as a whole.”

Brad turned at that, his face paling. “Dylan, did you really say that?”

Dylan’s smile didn’t falter, but there was a panicked gleam in his eyes. “I was merely warning Ms. Hayes of the possible repercussions from the unfortunate recent pictures. I wanted her to be as prepared as possible.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

Hayden felt pride fill him as Min called Dylan out on his crap.

“You told me that DeathsHead was the draw and that in order to keep him as the winner and score a sponsorship with him, I would either need to step back or just give up the money. You also implied that the company never had any intention of letting me win, thanks to the pictures Alex had leaked.”

Brad didn’t seem to know who to believe, but there was enough suspicion on his face for Hayden to think that he suspected the answer. Hayden sat back, enjoying watching Min destroy this man.

Dylan tried to backpedal. “I’m sorry if that’s what you thought I was implying—”

“Save it for your deposition. I know you’re the one who told my ex where I was staying. My guess is you encouraged him to do something to distract me from the competition, maybe even drop out. Stupid of both of you, really. Alex should’ve warned you I’m too stubborn to quit.”

“Look,” Dylan tried. “I’m not going to lie. Bleeding Sword was very excited about the possibility of a long-term working relationship with Mr. Phillips.”

Hayden snorted. “For the record, I wouldn’t go into business with you or your company for anything. Not after seeing how little you did to help with the fallout of those stupid pictures. And definitely not after hearing how you spoke to Min.”

Dylan’s eye twitched. Hayden knew he was going to blow, it was just a matter of when. Brad, meanwhile, cleared his throat, trying to get control of the situation again.

“Dylan,” he finally said. “Can I ask you to step out and give us a minute?”

Dylan’s head whipped around to glare at his colleague. “I am a vice president at this company, Brad. I should be included in all the important meetings.”

Brad didn’t even raise his voice. “I’m also a vice president, Dylan, and I believe that any positive outcome from this meeting will not come if you are present in the room. So. You need to give us a minute.”

Dylan looked ready to breathe fire. He sat for a long moment, staring at Brad. For his part, Brad stared back, not backing down. Finally, Dylan stood up.

“We’re going to talk about this.”

“We sure will,” was Brad’s only reply as Dylan stormed out of the room. Once the door was once again shut, Brad exhaled and turned back to them.

“Ms. Hayes, I must apologize for my coworker’s conduct. It was never discussed on our end that you wouldn’t be able to keep your prizes should you win, not even after today’s unfortunate news cycle. If you’ll still have us, Bleeding Sword would love to sponsor you for the next year. And of course, the prize money is yours.”

Min didn’t let anything show in her expression. “I’ll think about it.”

Brad nodded. “That’s all I can ask.” He then turned to Hayden. “Mr. Phillips, I want to apologize to you as well. The company is going to work to track down who leaked the information of our initial meeting. It’s obvious that’s the only way someone would’ve known to be in place to capture your photo.”

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