“Now, son,” Stanley murmurs. “This sort ofaskwould come with other benefits as well.”
“What?” My voice comes out hoarse.
“Cross.” Jason picks up the briefcase at his side and balances it on his knees. “We know you want to fight Fox–we can make that happen. You lose one fight, and you can cement your name in the MMA world going up against Fox.”
“It’s asking a lot,” Stanley says. “You see the boy’s hesitation, Jason, don’t you?”
Jason flicks the clasps on the briefcase and opens it. He takes a second then swivels it around to show me.
Stacks of cash. Bundles—or whatever they’re called. A fucking ton of them. It’s more money than I’ve seen in my life.
“H-how much?”
Jason smiles. “Twenty thousand dollars.”
My eyes widen.
“That you can take today, Cross,” Alex adds.
I gulp. Twenty thousand bucks could solve my living arrangement with Wallace. It could be a fund to get the fuck out of Shadow Valley. Or, better, it could be the cash to get my mother out of this relationship if it ever turns sour. I don’t know if it will–she’s historically not chosen the best men to date–but I’ve got to protect her.
Which means accepting this deal, even if I’ll never be able to look at myself the same ever again.
[ 4 ]
SCARLETT
“Come in, come in!”An older woman with crescent glasses perched on the tip of her nose places her hand on the small of my back to usher me into her office. “Take a seat, Scarlett.”
Once she is back in her chair, she quickly begins typing on her computer, and the next thing I hear is something being printed from behind her. She spins in her seat, pulls out the piece of paper, and smiles.
“Your schedule.” She slides it across her desk. “Very ambitious class choices, but given your background at Yale, I think you’ll do just fine.”
I smile and glance at the course load. It’s heavy but doable.
“Though, may I make a suggestion?”
I glance up at my academic advisor. Her expression is cautious at best.
“Sure?” My agreement comes out like a question.
“Tutoring.” She clasps her hands together on top of her desk, appearing pleased with herself.
“Tutoring?” I repeat.
Didn’t she just say that I’d dojust finewith my course selections?
I clear my throat and try my best not to offend her. “I think I’ll be okay, but if I need help, I will look into tutoring.”
Not.
A wheezy laugh leaves her. “No.” She shakes her head. “I thinkyoushould tutor. With your test scores and impeccable GPA from an Ivy League like Yale? Some of our students could really benefit from having a tutoring session with you.”
I see myself in the reflection of the glass cabinets behind her desk. My smile looks painful, which is exactly what it’d feel like to tutor my peers at Shadow Valley.
“It would be a good way to meet some of the students, maybe make a friend or two? Your father said–”
I perk up at the mention of my dad. “My father?”
