Page 82 of Out of the Shadows
We exchanged pleasantries in a perfunctory, somewhat detached manner, with a veneer of warmth that might as well have been absent. This was the attitude I’d anticipated from her father, but her mother surprised me. I had a warmer, friendlier memory of her, but she readily followed her husband’s lead.
I remained silent, watching Mr. Brentwood closely. My jaw ached with tension, but I had donned my usual tried-and-true mask. For the time being, I would play it cool. If he wanted a fight, I wouldn’t back down.
Not when it came to Hailey.
The lunch was painful — Hailey’s stilted conversation, her mother’s breezy ignorance, and her father’s thinly veiled disdain.
“So, Colt,” Mr. Brentwood began, swirling his wine as if he were sitting in a boardroom instead of his own dining room. “How’s football treating you these days? Must be exhausting, chasing a ball around for hours. Reminds me of when my dog was younger.”
I bit back the immediate urge to say something snide and leaned back in my chair, keeping my tone neutral. “It’s going well, sir. Busy season, but I’m used to it.”
“Of course, of course.” His smile was razor thin. “I’m sure all that ‘hard work’ will pay off soon. It must be nice to know you have a fallback with the family business if this … football thing doesn’t work out.”
Hailey stiffened beside me, gripping her fork tightly, but I put a steadying hand on her knee under the table. “It’s good to have options,” I stated evenly, meeting his gaze without flinching. “But I’m planning to stick with football for a while.”
“Hmm.” He shrugged noncommittally. “Well, I suppose you don’t need much in the way of brains for that.”
“Dad,” Hailey snapped, her voice sharp, but he ignored her and turned his attention back to his plate as if he hadn’t just insulted me.
I swallowed the fire rising in my chest and forced a small smile. “It’s not for everyone,” I said coolly, cutting into my steak. “Takes a lot of discipline and focus. But I’m sure you’ve had your share of challenges too, sir. It must’ve been tough breaking into your industry … late.”
His hand froze mid-cut, and Hailey’s mom chose thatmoment to interject with a laugh. “Oh, Colt, you’re just as sharp as your mother said! Hailey, you didn’t mention he was quick-witted!”
Hailey didn’t say a word, her gaze flicking nervously between her father and me. I gave her a reassuring squeeze under the table.Let him stew.
“Colt, a word in my office?” Mr. Brentwood was casual, but there was no mistaking the underlying command.Oh, so this is how it’s going to go. A seemingly innocent request I was expected to comply with.
Hailey’s wide, panicked eyes met mine, but I pushed my chair back, placed my napkin on the table with the pristine white tablecloth, and met his challenging gaze head-on.Bring it on, motherfucker.There was absolutely no one and nothing that would keep me away from her, aside from Hailey herself.
I followed him up a sweeping staircase into an office that oozed pretentiousness — an overly ornate gigantic mahogany desk with a shiny polished surface, a huge leather chair, and an air of staged importance. Everything in the room made it clear that it was all about appearing ostentatious and luxurious.
He sat down in his chair, eyeing me with a casual disdain, and for a moment, I almost thought he wasn’t going to offer me a seat just out of pettiness. His cold brown eyes studied me for a moment, but I assumed he didn’t like the way I towered over him.
“Have a seat, Colt.”
Silently, I complied with his request. People like him usually needed to fill the silence.
He stared at me for a long moment, as if expecting a reaction, but when I said nothing, he leaned back in his chair,scoffed, and tapped his fingers on the armrest.
Tap-tap-tap.
Tap-tap-tap.
“Well, let’s not beat around the bush, boy. You’ve fucked things up for me more than a little. I can’t stand it when that happens.”
“Oh?” I said with a raised eyebrow while surveying him across the ridiculously wide expanse of the table.
“I almost thought I’d have to resort to more severe measures, but then I … how do you say? Oh yeah, something practicallyfell into my lapthat made matters so much easier.”
His smug smile didn’t sit well with me, and my hands gripped the armrests so tightly my knuckles turned white. He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, then slid it across the table toward me. As he gestured to it, an uneasy shiver of foreboding trickled down my spine and settled heavy as a rock in the pit of my stomach. It was the exact same feeling I had on the field just before I was flattened like a pancake on the ground.
“Go ahead. Take a look.”
Reluctantly, I picked up his phone and looked at the screen.A video?I pressed play, and all the color drained from my face.
I’dseenthis video before. I’djerked offto it a few days ago when Hailey was too busy studying. I’dplayed a significant rolein its creation.
With trembling fingers, I paused the clip and fumbled with the phone, which almost slipped out of my hands.What the fuck?! How did Hailey’s father get our sex tape? How the hell was this possible?
