For Money
Tamara POV
We walked into the Dean’s office, where the air thick with tension. Unease gnawed at me. I had no proof. I couldn’t bring myself to expose Sarah like that without solid evidence, but here I was, in front of the Dean, about to potentially ruin her future.
“What are we going to say?” I asked Matt as we walked there.
“Tell him what she did with you,” he growled, clearly still unhappy about the attack on me.
“Matt,” I said, stopping him. “This is not going to work. Last time the Dean gave me a warning that if I pulled another prank, he would expel me!”
But Matt wasn’t only listening. As we approached the Dean’s office, I saw Sarah hovering around. As soon as she saw me, at first she was surprised, then she stormed toward me. “You fucking wench!”
Matt let out a low growl as he shoved me behind his back. Sarah practically stopped in her tracks, feeling the aura of his alpha power. She flinched, her eyes wide.
“If you touch her, I’ll make sure that every bone in your body is broken. You won’t get out of the hospital for the rest of the year!”
Sarah backed away. “Sh–she complained about me to the Dean. And what evidence do you have?” she asked me.
I stepped out from behind Matt. “You sent those girls to injure me, didn’t you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “No, I didn’t,” she lied through her teeth. “What are you even talking about?”
I knew that Sarah would never openly admit to her crime. “If it is proven that you sent those girls to hit me, you will be expelled from the college and go to prison.”
Sarah crossed her arms across her chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. But, know this bitch, I will ruin your beachball carrier and every other carrier in your life. You are not just on my radar, but on many radars.”
Wow.
Matt’s anger was barely contained. “No Sarah,” he hissed. “You don’t get it. The thing is that you don’t mess with people like us. As for Tam, she doesn’t fucking need a carrier. Her parents, and her boyfriend, are so fucking rich that you can’t even fathom. Oh, don’t even talk about our reach in the political system of this country.” Then he stepped closer to her. Sarah trembled and stepped back, paling a little. “I’ll fucking put you six feet under the ground, and no one will ever come to know about it.” At this Sarah’s blood drained from her face. “So don’t you fucking mess with my Tamara. Again.”
I should have stopped Matt from threatening her, but a gush of pride swelled in my chest. The way he protected me was overwhelming. I swallowed the lump of emotions and took a deep breath in to calm my racing heart. And I knew that whatever Dean had in mind, Matt was with me.
“The Dean is calling you all,” his secretary announced, disrupting our conversation.
Matt caught my wrist and we entered his office.
Dean Smith looked up when we entered. He had and unreadable expression. “Tamara, Matt,” he greeted us in a low, authoritative voice. “Come in. Sit down.”
Matt nodded and guided me to a seat beside him. I sat stiffly, my fingers curling into fists in my lap, trying to steady my racing heart.
Sarah sat down two chairs away, leaning away from Matt, still recovering from the threat of his words.
“So,” the Dean began, folding his hands on the desk, “Matt’s complaint about Sarah is quite serious. You both need to explain yourselves.”
“They are both lying, Dean Smith!” Sarah snapped. “How can I sabotage my own team. I’ve been a part of this team for past two years. I’ve never missed a practice match, been very diligent with my game, Coach Dana likes me, and yet these two had the audacity of accusing me of sabotaging the game. I didn’t sabotage it. In fact, we won the game. Instead of being praised for winning a game, I am sitting in the office, facing wrong accusations?”
“But your contribution was nothing more than hampering the game,” Matt scoffed.
“Enough!” Dean Smith gritted.
“Is there any evidence that Sarah was trying to Successfully unlocked!e end, it’s the victory that matter.”
I took a deep breath, ready to speak up, when Matt cut in. were not accusing her without reason,” he said in a firm voice.”
We have evidence.”
I shot him a surprised glance. He was taking the lead in this, but I didn’t want him to make things worse for us without the proof to back it up. But he had evidence?
For Money
“What evidence?” the Dean asked, leaning forward, intrigued. “Because if this is a baseless accusation, there will be consequences for both of you.”
I knew what he meant. False accusations could lead to disciplinary action, and it wasn’t something I wanted hanging over my head. I glanced at Sarah, who seemed like she had seen a ghost. She froze on her spot.
“Y–you are lying,” she said in a raspy voice. “You are fabricating evidence.”
I started to speak, but Matt’s grip tightened on my hand, a silent reassurance. His gaze was unwavering. He took out a slip of paper and said, “When the game was over, and these girls went to change in their locker rooms, I went to Sarah’s dorm.”
My mouth dropped.
“What?” Sarah shrieked. “How dare you? That’s invasion of privacy!”
Matt ignored her as he slid the paper to Dean. “She had tucked under her bed. She had obviously forgotten it.”
When Dean read it, his face turned ashen white, and then beetroot red. “What is this?” he shouted at Sarah as he showed it
to her.
The note was a payment receipt from a third–party business, with fifty thousand dollars listed. There was also a handwritten note at the bottom, barely visible: “This is for the last match. The Dolphins expect more next time. Don’t let them lose. Or you’ll pay the price.”
My heart stopped, as I stared at it in disbelief. Matt was so smart.
This was proof. Sarah wasn’t working for the team at all. She was being paid to throw games. The Dolphins were involved, and I had a sinking feeling this had been going on for a while.
Sarah looked like she would get a heart attack. “Th–this isn’t mine! Matt is trying to f–frame me,” she stuttered.
“Sarah’s been sabotaging us,” Matt said, his voice firm. “She’s been getting paid to make sure we lose against the Dolphins. They promised her money if she made us lose. And it’s been happening for a while now.”
“Why would you do this? Why would you betray us?” Dean Smith asked, feeling both confused and betrayed. “I’ve never seen anything like this in all my life. A student going against their own college, their own team?”
“I haven’t done anything!” Sarah cried.
Matt’s jaw tightened. “Money,” he said, voice hard. “She’s always been about the money, the luxuries. I went through her cupboard and ransacked her dorm. She has various designer watches, jewelry and comes in a sports Porche, which costs way too much for a scholarship student to afford. She is living above her means.”
“But why the Dolphins?” I pressed. “Why throw the games for them?”
The Dean was utterly shocked. “You have a sports Porche? Who bought it for you? As far as I know, your father is a plumber.”
“I–I… It–it… it is Lexi’s…” Sarah stuttered. “It isn’t mine.”
“Don’t speak lies and frame Lexi,” I snapped. “Lexi doesn’t have a car!”
Sarah started trembling as we cornered her. Dean shouted on her. “Speak the truth, Sarah, and I will consider if I shouldn’t send you to prison.”
“Noooo!” she shrieked. “Please, no!” Tears rolled out of her eyes.
Matt shook his head, his voice low. “She is part of something bigger. The Dolphins probably approached her when they saw how much potential this team had. They must’ve offered her money to make sure we never won against them. The Dolphins wanted to qualify for the country’s championship, and Sarah helped them. For money.”
“You sold out your own team?” Dean Smith couldn’t help but ask. “You betrayed us for what? So you could have a few more luxury items?”
Her eyes met his. “Dean Smith, this was- You don’t understand.”
He slammed his fist on the desk. “I understand everything!” he roared. “Had Matt never given this evidence to me, I would have dismissed his accusations and you would have gone on to sabotage our games in future. You are nothing but a viper. And I don’t want you in my college.”
“No!” Sarah breathed. “Please Dean Smith. There’s some misunderstanding!”
“Get out!” he roared. “I don’t want to see your face.” Dean Smith looked like he could explode.
For a moment I felt pity for Sarah, but my feeling was replaced by anger. Not only she betrayed her team members, she sent her minions to attack me and injure me to teach me a lesson.
Sarah was so shaky that she got up and walked out, wiping her tears. She didn’t have the audacity to meet my eyes.
Dean Smith thanked us and dismissed us as he started making calls. When we came out I felt this sense of resolution, and felt like this was victory.
For Money
“Hungry?” Matt asked.
And my stomach growled. “Yes!”
