Read Online Blindsided: A Sports Romance by Ava Kendrick - Free Book Online Page B

up working at the Greenboro Court.
    But it’s not Luca that delivers the blow. Marcus shuffles some papers on the desk. He clears his throat. “Rose, I won’t tolerate solicitation in my hotel.”
    My mouth falls open. It’s worse than I could have imagined. Marcus; the guy I’ve worked for since I was a kid; he thinks I’m a hooker?
    “Excuse me?” I gasp.
    He won’t meet my eyes.
    “Marcus,” I say in a panic. “You can’t be serious. What on earth are you talking about? Have you spoken to Mr. Thorne?”
    Marcus shakes his head and looks at me like I’m a simpleton. “Really, Ms. Allen. You should know better than to think we’d approach a guest in such a delicate matter.”
    I want to scream; to protest. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve been working the night shift and seen Luca discreetly give the nod to the night security guard to allow a cluster of hookers entry to our hallowed hotel.
    And now this?
    I turn to him, feeling miserable that I can’t bring up his hypocrisy—I know I can’t, because if I did it would only look like I was trying to justify myself.
    “It’s not true, Marcus,” I say as calmly as I can, even though I can feel the tears begin to sting my eyes. “You have to believe me. This is crazy!”
    But he just shakes his head.
    And that makes me freak out even more.
    “Rose I’m afraid—”
    “No. Wait. You can’t do this. I want to speak to an attorney.”
    “Rose this isn’t a court of law. You have a casual contract and your services are no longer required.”
    “But you can’t. I… I…”
    I stare into Marcus’s eyes. There’s nothing there. No need to do the same to Luca—he’s been practically whooping ever since I entered the room. He knew what was coming.
    “Marcus,” I say as calmly as I can. “Surely you realize how bad this is going to look. You’re terminating a single mother based on the word of one guy. You’ve got no proof.”
    We face off across the table. Hope flutters inside me when I see him falter, but then it vanishes again as quickly as it formed.
    “Don’t threaten me, Rose.”
    I shake my head. “I’m not threatening you. I’m trying to make you see reason.”
    “I’m well within my rights—”
    “You’re firing me with no justification.”
    “You have a casual contract.”
    “So does Geri. And I don’t see you firing her.”
    He flushes. “I haven’t caught Geri soliciting clients for sex.”
    “You haven’t caught me doing that either,” I hiss. I want to stand up and walk out; to tell them to go fuck themselves. But I have more to think of than just me. I may not be willing to beg, but I’m willing to suppress my temper and act as meek as a pet dog in order to keep my job.
    “Rose. This is final. I hope you understand.”
    “You’ll be hearing from my attorney,” I snarl.
    Marcus has the decency to pretend to look intimidated. We all—all of us in this room—know that I can barely afford food, let alone an attorney. And that’s even truer now than ever.
    “You hear me? You can’t just fire me based on some crazy accusation Luca just made up on the fly.”
    Marcus shakes his head.
    “I’ve worked here for seven years. Name one time I didn’t work a double shift when I was asked to.”
    “Rose.”
    “No, go on. And this is crazy. You’ve got no proof.”
    Okay, okay. I know I said I wouldn’t beg. But I’m beginning to realize the implications of this. “I’m not a hooker. If I was, you’d have tons of evidence of me sneaking into guest rooms.”
    “We don’t need tons,” smirks Luca. “We’ve got this one.”
    “What’s this got to do with you, Luca? Huh?” I turn and look pleadingly at Marcus. “Please. Don’t listen to him. I don’t know why he’s trying to feed you this bullshit, but it’s not true.”
    Marcus shrugs. “I saw the tape.”
    “So?” I’m getting tired of this. It’s like I woke up in an alternate universe this morning because none of it is