Page 47 of Worth the Risk
I had no idea just how bad it could be, until I see Coach Woodward smile at me. The smile is full of malicious intent, and I know.
They know.
They know about me and Luca.
“Picked the wrong player to fuck around with, Ms. Beauregard,” Woodward says with a creepy chuckle.
“Excuse me?” I say sharply.
“Santo. You could have fucked any of them. They’d all have been willing. A Georgia peach like you with that tight ass? All of them would have done it. But no, you had to go for Santzy. The one fucking troublemaker on the team. But, honestly, I’d like to thank you. I’ve been waiting for a reason to kick his miserable ass off the team, and I just got it,” Woodward sneers.
My uncle’s head swivels toward Woodward. “That was not what we agreed upon, Coach.”
“I don’t fucking care what you think you agreed to, Davenport. This is my team. That piece of shit needs to go,” Woodward shouts.
The GM steps forward. “Coach, this isn’t the time nor the place. Explain to Ms. Beauregard why she’s here.”
Coach Woodward grins, a leering smile that highlights his sinister eyes. “You’re going to set Santo up, my dear.”
“I will do no such thing!” I shout. My entire body shakes as I stare at these three men. The GM looks back at me with a stoic expression. My uncle won’t meet my stare, and Coach Woodward looks on victoriously.
“If you want to keep your job, Ms. Beauregard, you will. If you want to have any job in any sport in this state, you’ll do exactly as I tell you to,” he snarls.
“This is absurd! There’s nothing in the employee handbook that says we can’t date. I looked. Why are we being punished?” I cry. “And why do you hate him so much?”
Woodward glowers at me. “Not your concern. He’s a bad seed, and he’ll take the entire team down with him. His contract was up at the end of the year anyway. You just managed to speed up my plans.”
I look at the GM, who stares back at me. “How can you do this? How is this even legal? Are you seriously asking me to set him up?”
I see the GM’s expression falter for a quick second as he glances at Woodward, and I know Woodward must have something on the GM. There’s no way any of this is legal. If the NHL found out about any of this, all of them would be out of job. But why is my uncle here?
Before I can open my mouth to question him, Woodward speaks up. “Your uncle knows why he’s here. If he can’t keep you in line, he’s out of a job too.”
“Too?”
“Yes, Ms. Beauregard. If you don’t do exactly as I say, you’re fired. And if Santo gets even the slightest hint that any of this is going on, I’ll bury both of you,” Woodward says gleefully. He steps toward the door, stopping next to me and placing his hand on my shoulder. He leans down so his mouth is next to my ear. “Did you enjoy your Boston visit, my dear? I certainly enjoyed the video I got from Santo’s room. You are quite … bendy. I’m sure your family would love to see the video if it accidentally goes viral across social media, should you choose to go against me.”
His fingers slip dangerously low on my collarbone as he squeezes my shoulder tightly. A wave of nausea overtakes me as he and the GM walk out of my uncle’s office.
“I’m sorry, Hannah,” my uncle says hoarsely.
“Why did you let them do that?” I whisper, angry tears collecting in my eyes.
“He told me what he’d do if I didn’t help him.”
“Oh, really. And what was that?” I ask as I swipe the tears from my cheeks.
Uncle Bennett sighs. “He told me he has a video of the two of you, Han. I can’t let that get out there. It would ruin you. I saw you in Boston. I knew you were there. I just didn’t realize Woodward would set Luca up like that, and you’d be caught in the crossfires.”
“You knew I was there?”
“I saw you at the game. I think you were leaving, maybe to come back here?”
“I did leave. At the start of the second period,” I murmur. “No one knew I was going to Boston. How did Woodward know? Luca didn’t even know until I knocked on his door.”
“He had the cameras set up to see if he could get any videos of Luca. I guess he figured he’d leak anything, if anyone came to the room with Santo. Then you showed up, and Woodward realized he could use you to his advantage.”
Great. If I hadn’t gone to Boston, none of this would be happening.