“Youwon’tbe starting,” she said coolly, her glacial stare sending a chill right through me.
“Excuse me?” I managed.What the hell’s she talking about?
She crossed her arms over her chest and pulled her shoulders back. “It’s come to the panel’s attention that youcheatedin the contest. You should not have won this contract. We have information that you stole from another contestant and destroyed her swimwear.”
But that’s between Katarina and Ingrid… it has nothing to do with me!I stared blankly.
Information? What information?It made no sense—
“You inflicted damage on another contestant’s belongings, which prevented her from competing. You are disqualified,” she told me matter-of-factly, as if her words hadn’t just shaken my world.
No, no… I CANNOT lose this contract!“No! That’snottrue. None of it is true. You need to check your facts!” A hot spike of heat prickled up my neck, my muscles tensing as a small crowd gathered, watching the scene unfold.
“Your contract and prize money have been officially canceled,” she informed me.
“But I…”
My jaw hung slack+, blood rushed in my ears as I stood there gaping at her.How is this happening?
“I did nothing, I swear!It wasn’t me. Ask the other girls who were there! They know.Please… I need this contract. I worked damn hard for this, and I haven’t done anything wrong—”
“Before you continue.” Veronica held the flat of her palm upward. “We have a witness. One of the other contestants, Katarina,saw youcutting up the bikini. She’s submitted a full report.”
“Not true,” I said with a shiver, shaking my head in denial.
“Miss Lawrence, this conversation is over. Gerard, see her out of the building and have her name removed from the guest register.”
The tired-looking security guard shuffled over. He tipped his head toward the revolving doors, gesturing for me to leave.
“Oh, and Miss Lawrence.” She stared down her nose. “We don’t tolerate this sort of behavior. We have a code of ethics inthis industry. You violated it. You won’t work in this industry again. Your name is ruined. There are no second chances.”
“Please.” My eyes welled up with tears. “I didn’t do it. I can’t lose this contract.”
“You should’ve thought about that before you cheated.” She glared at the security guard. “Gerard.”
“Let’s go, miss.” He smiled sympathetically. “I’ll show you out of the building.”
I walked shakily toward the door, wiping away the tears spilling down my cheeks.
***
Standing on the sidewalk, I stared up at the building, trying to make some sense of what had just happened.
Why would Katarina do this to me?I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone.Maybe there’s a way to fix this.
Katarina had been the one who’d cheated at the contest. I knew she liked to play games, but this? This seemed like too much… even for her.
There must be a reason she’d suddenly lie after all this time.
With a shaky hand, I pressed Call.It rang twice. “This is Katarina,” she said in a silken tone.
“Katarina, it’s Ivy,” I blurted out. “Why did you make a false report about me and say that it was me who cut up Ingrid’s bikini? Youknowit wasn’t me. Why would you say that?” My voice cracked as I tried to hold back the tears.
“Look, Ivy, I can’t say much,” Katarina said, her voice growing suddenly small. “But I will say that the man who contacted me wanting information about you wasverypersuasive—like, so persuasive that he left me with no choice but to make a statement about you. It was actually pretty scary.” She sniffed miserably.
What man? Who would do this? Surely Karson’s father isn’tbehind this?
“What are you talking about, Katarina? Why would he want you to lie about something I played no part in?”
