Page 167 of Game Misconduct

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Maddox gives a single stiff nod.

He doesn’t look at me.

Not when the votes are recorded.

Not when the board begins to adjourn.

Not even when the wordsrelationship is overhang between us like barbed wire.

By the time I stand, my hands are trembling.

I curl them into fists and pretend it’s from anger.

But it’s not.

It’s grief.

And no one here will ever know the difference.

They let me keep the team.

They just made sure I couldn’t keep the one man who played like he believed in me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Maddox

The game’s on,but I couldn’t tell you who’s playing.

It flickers in front of me, colors blurring across the screen like it’s underwater. The sound’s off. Has been for over an hour.

The bourbon in my hand has gone warm. I haven’t taken a sip in a while.

The ice pack on my shoulder slid off a long time ago, dripping cold puddles onto the wood floor I haven’t bothered to clean up.

My phone buzzed at least ten times earlier. Peter for sure. Probably the league. Probably more press.

I haven’t looked.

My eyes are fixed on the corner of the room where the Owner’s Suite keycard sits. Right where she left it.

I don’t even know when she dropped it. I just saw it there when I walked in, and it’s been staring at me ever since.

It’s not just the symbol of what we were. It’s the last safe place she ever let herself have.

The thing is, I don’t regret what I said to her in that room or on the phone that night.

I meant every word.

And I really don’t want to regret the words I said in front of the board tonight either.

I stood in front of the board and gave them what they needed to hear.

That it was over.

That she didn’t break any rules. That the relationship was personal and private and terminated.

I did it to protect her. To keep her ownership safe. To keep her future intact.

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