Page 36 of Blindside Sinner

There’s a piercing pain behind my eye that tells me I’m going to have a gnarly tension headache soon. “The stuff you had me get yesterday? Your three-page list of bullshit that you simplyhadto have?”

“The shit he—” Colin’s face twists as he laughs loud enough to have the whole hallway watching us. “Oh my God, I can’t believe she fell for it.”

My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”

Beck grins as all the boys guffaw like hyenas. “I didn’t need any of that shit. Just needed you out of my hair. I wonder what Viv is going to think when she hears you abandoned me all day yesterday, though? Especially with how much fun Colin and I had in your unfortunate absence.”

With that bombshell dropped, he struts away with his asshole friends like he didn’t just obliterate any semblance of calm I have left. Because he’s right—if Vivian knew I was gone all day, that he’d been alone to wreak havoc on the hotel and the city without a chaperone, I’d be more than fired.

I’d be fucked.

That rat bastard.

The lack of sleep means I’m more than annoyed—I’m straight-up livid. I’ve surpassed spitting fire and moved straight onto spewing bone-melting lava. Especially when all Adrian and Dixon do is turn around with apologetic winces while the other two assholes yuk it up like they’ve just heard the funniest shit since the knock-knock joke was invented.

Beck has done a lot of underhanded shit since we got saddled together. But jeopardizing my future again for a petty little prank is beyond unnecessary.

I’m trying to keep my cool, but the deep breaths I’m taking don’t work. Why can’t Beck just let me do my damn job? Especially since it isn’t my fault that I’m here in the first place.

He’sthe one who’s on thin ice with his team for being a dumbass.

He’sthe one who’s such a wreck that I was assigned to babysit.

He’sthe one that Vivian can’t stand being around, which made me the only option.

None of that is my fault, but I’m being made to be the bad gal—and I’ll be damned if it isn’t driving me nuts.

Calm down, Sloan. He’s a manchild trying to get his way. Just put your head down and do your job. Don’t react. Don’t let him get to you.

Easier said than done, but I’m committed to making it happen. I refuse to let Beck win.

I can’t afford to.

My phone’s weight in my purse is a reminder that it’s not like I really have a choice. If I leave, I won’t have the money to pay the Bloodhound. And I’m not willing to pay in flesh of any kind.

In a battle between an asshole puckboy or a literal mob boss, I’ll take dickhead hockey players any day.

That helps settle me down. With my head on straight again, I make my way into the ballroom for the press conference. The Final Five are seated at the table with sports drinks and water bottles littering the surface.

Beck smirks at me when I walk in, his face lingering on the hot spots of my face where I’m sure my temper is still showing in swaths of red.

“Glad to see you calmed down in time for the big show,” he remarks.

I plaster a false grin on my face while I pass the time thinking of ways to drive him insane. Give his phone number out to the puck bunnies? Shave his eyebrows? Shaveoneeyebrow?

“What’s wrong, baby? You still mad?” I roll my eyes and move away, but Beck grabs my elbow and hauls me closer. “Come on, Sloan. I’m doing you a favor. Cut your losses and find something else worth your time. Or is your self-esteem really that low that you’d stick around when you know I can’t stand you?”

“You don’t matter enough to me to affect my self-esteem, Beck. This is a job. You are a job. Nothing more and nothing less. Don’t flatter yourself into thinking your opinion matters to me.”

Woosh.The little bit of levity in Beck’s face vanishes under a wave of contempt so strong it nearly sends me to my knees.

Oh, the pretty boy doesn’t likethat. Not one bit.

One thing I’ve learned in life is that there’s power and then there’spower. The kind of raw, primal energy that some people seem to naturally possess and wield like a weapon. Beck has the latter. He usually lets it out on the ice, but right now, he’s sending the full force of it at me. Telling Beck Daniels that he doesn’t matter is practically a cardinal sin in this world.

Too bad I’m already a sinner.

Thankfully, the press conference starts before he can say anything else. I’ll admit, it’s fascinating watching Beck work. The moment the cameras start rolling, the rage is gone, disappearing under a carefully constructed mask. Beck’s lips quirk up in a flirty smile and his eyes shine with mirth.

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