Page 146 of The Pucking Wrong Rookie

Everett would respect my choice. He might be stern and scary, but he’d never hurt me. Everything was going to be fine.

And Logan was going to be so happy when I gave him the news.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside, the cold, sterile atmosphere hitting me immediately. Everett sat behind his oversized mahogany desk, studying some papers. He had the same cold, calculating look on his face that he always did when he was in business mode.

“Everett,” I said, my voice stronger than I felt inside. “I need to talk to you.”

He didn’t respond right away, continuing to flip the page of whatever file he was looking at. It was annoying that he always did that, making sure I knew who was in charge.

The silence stretched, my nerves buzzing, but I forced myself to keep going.

“I’m done,” I said, the words coming out in a rush. “I’m not doing it anymore.”

That got his attention. His eyes flicked up, cold and unreadable, the corner of his mouth twitching like he was fighting off a smirk. “Doing what?”

“Working for you,” I said, my voice faltering.

“You’re done?” he repeated slowly, his tone mocking. “And what exactly do you think that means, Sloane?”

I swallowed hard, trying to hold my ground. “It means no more clients. No more selling my body. It’s over. I don’t know what I’m going to do…but it’s not going to be this. Not anymore.”

There. I’d said it. The truth was out, and my heart felt like it was about to burst from my chest, it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Logan had changed everything for me. I wasn’t going to be trapped in this nightmare anymore.

But my uncle—he just laughed. A short, sharp bark of laughter that made my skin crawl.

“You think you’ve fallen in love. That’s what this is about, isn’t it?” he said mockingly, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe the audacity. “With who? That hockey player?Logan York?”

I clenched my fists, trying to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach. “Yes. I—I love him, and I’m leaving this behind. It was mychoiceto start, and it’s mychoiceto quit.”

The wordchoicefelt different as I said it, though. The last few weeks with Logan—away from Everett—had made me actually start to think.

Maybe…Logan was right.

What if that first night hadn’t been my choice? What if Everetthadmanipulated me?

He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over his stomach, and that mocking grin stretched wider across his face. “You’re a fool, Sloane. A naive,stupidfool.”

My heart stuttered in my chest, but I didn’t move. “I’m not a fool. I’ve just figured out what I want out of life.”

“And you think that’s him?” His voice turned crueler. “You really believe someone like him can love you? That this is some fairytale ending for you?”

My insides twisted at the sneer in his voice, but I didn’t back down. “I know it is.”

Everett leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as the smirk dropped from his face. “He’ll get tired of you. And then what will you do? You have no skills, no education, no money. You’ll be out on the streets or struggling in a miserable apartment again. It’s going to hit even harder after you’ve been living like a plush pig for the last few years.”

The words hit me like a kick to the ribs, and I took a deep breath. Because his words were familiar.

That was what he’d said before.

That was what he would sayanytimehe could feel me faltering. Scaring me about the past had been his favorite and most effective tool to convince me to go along with whatever he wanted.

And even though Iwasstill terrified about ending up back in the miserable ruins where I’d started life…something about Logan lessened Everett’s effectiveness.

It wasn’t Logan’s money either. It was his steadiness, and that I could feel his love for me in every word he said, everything he did.

There was also the fact that I should have some money left over after all these years of work—even after my expenses.

“You can pay me what I’ve earned over the years or let me sell the condo. I’m sure that’s enough to get me by if something were to happen,” I told him, proud of how my voice had leveled out…and I sounded more confident.

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