Page 49 of Never Your Girl

Here’s an idea—don’t fuck around at work.

“You’re late,” he says in a clipped tone. “I expected you an hour ago.”

“Sorry. Didn’t realize we’d set up an appointment,” I shoot back before glancing at the door as if I can see his secretary seated out front. “Kind of seems like I interrupted something important.”

Ignoring the comment, he points to the chair parked in front of the desk. “Sit your ass down.”

Instead of following the command, I stay put. I just want to get this over with as quickly as possible and get on with my day.

His eyes narrow when I don’t immediately fall into line, and he exhales slowly, as if trying to keep his temper in check. I’m surprised he’s making the effort. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t bother.

“Isn’t it enough that your unsavory activities have become public fodder, now you’re getting into fights on campus with your teammates? Is there no end to the humiliation you’re hell-bent on causing me?”

My jaw tenses. “It wasn’t a fight.”

“It looked moments away from becoming one. And for what?” There’s a beat of silence. “Some piece of ass?”

Anger surges inside me that he would refer to Holland that way. “She’s not a piece of ass.”

With a snort, he shakes his head. “Haven’t you figured out by now that they all are? Your mother was a perfect example. Couldn’t hack it and walked away, leaving me with a child to raise myself.”

My hands clench at my sides. As much as I want to defend my mother, I can’t. She wasn’t mentally or emotionally equipped to handle life with Dick. So, she took the easy way out and ran away as fast as she could. I can’t blame her for that. She should have taken me with her, though.

I remind myself that in a few months, I’ll be able to leave him behind too. Some days, it’s the only thing that gets me through.

“Have you forgotten that everything you do reflects on me? On this university? Perhaps you should give serious consideration to stepping away from the team. It’s become a distraction. An embarrassment.”

My eyes widen as his words whip around in my head.

Step away from the team?

They’re more of a family to me than he’ll ever be.

“No.”

He lifts a brow. “Excuse me?”

I straighten as tension fills my shoulders. “I said no. I won’t quit the team. Especially when we’re in the middle of playoffs.”

“Then maybe I’ll have a conversation with the coach myself. I’m sure he’ll see things my way.”

A disbelieving laugh falls from my lips as I shake my head. “You’d actually do that to me?”

His icy glare never wavers. “Yes, I would.”

My blood boils as the words shoot out of my mouth. “You do that, and I can’t guarantee people won’t find out that you’re screwing your secretary. What is she? Twenty-five or six?” I pop a brow. “Possibly younger?”

The room goes deathly quiet. I tighten my hands again to stop them from shaking.

Dick’s eyes darken and a muscle in his jaw tics as he rises from his chair with deliberate slowness. “Are you threatening me, you little shit? After everything I’ve done for you?”

The only thing he’s done is beat me down.

And I’m fucking over it.

I lift my chin and hold his stare. “I won’t quit the team.”

“You’ll do exactly what I tell you to do,” he barks, slamming his fist on the desk. The sound echoes in the room.

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