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I’d been right. Itwastoo good to be true. The career had worked out, but at what cost?

I should’ve stopped there—I doubted Vuk wanted to hear the whole, sordid tale—but now that the floodgates had opened, I couldn’t prevent the rest of the words from pouring out.

“He said they’d offer a bonus if I signed with Beaumont. The bonus alone was enough to pay for months of rehab. They also paid for my headshots, transport to casting calls, everything I needed to get started. I’d heard of Beaumont, and all my research suggested they were a legit agency. One of the best, in fact. Plus, I was so desperate to help with the bills that I didn’t review the contract as thoroughly as I should’ve. I saw a few red flags, but Hank assured me they were standard for the industry, and we didn’t have money for a lawyer. So I signed with them. It wasn’t until years later that I realized how predatory the contract really was. Plus all those headshots and costs they so ‘generously’ covered for me? They took those out of my paycheck. Even when I started getting bookings, I was in debt to them for two years.”

I’d been so naive to think they’d paid those costs as an investment in my career. Beaumont never did something out of the goodness of their hearts.

“Things changed when Jordan chose me to be the face of Jacob Ford. That was my breakout campaign, and I was booked solid after that,” I said. “But even after I got out of debt with Beaumont, I had issues with late payments and random fees. I would’ve left ages ago, but my contract also included a clause that held me liable for a significant amount of money if I tried to terminate without ‘just cause’ as determined bythem. The penalty would’ve wiped out my savings, and I was also scared Emmanuelle would blacklist me if I left on bad terms.” I let out a humorless laugh. “I guess I should’ve done it anyway since I ended up in pretty much the same place I was trying to avoid.”

She’s not going to blacklist you.Vuk finally spoke. Intermission was drawing to a close, but he didn’t seem so concerned with the game anymore.You have more power than you think. Don’t let her intimidate you.

“I’ll try,” I said with a weak smile. “I told my parents Beaumont and I parted ways, but I kind of…glossed over the details.” Hopefully, they never found out the ugly truth. “If the lawsuit news hits the major outlets?—”

It won’t. I’ll take care of it.

If Vuk were anyone else, I’d call bullshit, but he exuded such confident authority, he could tell me he’d bring down the moon and I’d believe him.

“Thank you. For sharing this with me…” I gestured around the community room. “And for listening.”

His face softened.Anytime.

Our gazes broke apart when the dark-haired woman called the next game into session, but the warmth from our conversation lingered.

It was funny how talking about the hard things with Vuk always made me feel better afterward, not worse.

We stayed at the center for another hour. Neither of us felt like going out after bingo night officially wrapped, so Vuk had Sean drive us to my apartment. He walked me upstairs while his security chief waited in the car.

“You should come in,” I said. “For a nightcap.”

“If I come in, I won’t leave,srce.”

“I’m okay with that,” I said shyly.

We hadn’t had the “so what are we?” conversation yet, and he’d never stayed over at my place. But there was no better time to start than now, right?

To my disappointment, Vuk shook his head. “As much as I’d love to spend the night with you, I have a meeting with Singapore in half an hour. It’s about our expansion there. I’ve already pushed it back once; the board will kill me if I postpone again.” He gave me a rueful smile. “I’ve been neglecting the company. Lots of distractions lately.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Are you calling me a distraction again?”

A shadow passed over his face, but it disappeared before I could say anything. “The best kind.” He leaned down and gave me a lingering kiss. “I’ll see you Tuesday?”

That was the date of our next shooting lesson.

I nodded. We said good night, and he waited until I safely entered my apartment before he left. I heard his footsteps fade as I slumped against the door, my lips still tingling from his kiss. I couldn’t suppress a huge grin.

Even though he couldn’t stay over, tonight had been incredible. Seeing a new side of Vuk and hearing him open up about his family, even a little, was better than any fancy date or expensive gift.

I basked in the afterglow for a minute longer. Then I turned on the lights, tossed my bag on the couch, and was about to head for the shower when the hairs on my nape prickled.

Something was wrong. I felt it in my gut.

The warmth evaporated from my skin. My pulse accelerated, and I almost unlocked the front door so I could easily escape into the hall if needed. But what if there were intruders outside, waiting for me to do just that?

Instead, I pulled up Vuk’s number. I kept my thumb over the call button while I listened for strange noises.

Dead silence.

Nevertheless, I crept into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. I inched my way through the apartment, my heart racing. A quick check of the closets, bedroom, bathroom, and even under the sink revealed nothing out of the ordinary. The windows were closed, and everything was where I’d left it.