The Hockey Roommate's Filthy Desire novel Chapter 182

Two days passed by in a flash, and the morning the new nanny was scheduled to arrive, I stood by the kitchen island, slowly sipping my morning coffee.

I was eagerly looking forward to meeting the lovely, highly experienced blonde woman I had carefully selected from the premium childcare agency.

Her credentials had been flawless, and her calm demeanor was exactly what I wanted around my daughter. When the front doorbell finally rang, echoing through the quiet house, I set my ceramic mug down and walked over to open it with a welcoming smile on my face.

However, the moment I pulled the heavy wooden door wide open, my smile completely faltered.

Standing on my porch was an entirely different person.

She looked much younger, quite petite, and she had long, straight black hair framing a narrow face. She looked absolutely nothing like the mature, mid–thirties blonde professional whose portfolio I had thoroughly vetted and signed a contract for.

The young woman noticed my immediate confusion and shifted uncomfortably, offering a small, apologetic smile as she clutched the straps of her small duffel bag tightly.

“Good morning, Miss Aria. My name is Sarah Duncan. I know I’m not who you were expecting to see today. The manager at the agency asked me to personally explain that there was a major administrative mix–up on their system. The lady you originally picked and approved had actually been booked by another family a day prior, but our database hadn’t updated in time. Because of that, they had to send me as an immediate, equal replacement so you wouldn’t be left stranded without childcare.”

I let out a soft sigh, rubbing the bridge of my nose as a headache began to form. Even though the sudden switch felt incredibly strange, unprofessional, and a bit suspicious for a top–tier agency, I was running severely short on time.

The clock was ticking, I had a massive corporate schedule ahead of me today, and I really didn’t have the energy to drag myself all the way back to the agency’s downtown office to go through the entire interviewing and vetting process all over again.

“Alright,” I said, stepping aside and gesturing for her to come inside the house. “Please, come in. We will make it work.”

I called out for my housekeeper and instructed her to show the new girl around the entire estate, get her settled into her private quarters, and explain the daily household routines, since she would be living with us henceforth.

Before I left, I also introduced her to Amelia, who gave a shy little wave from the living room sofa while clutching her favorite stuffed animal. The new girl smiled warmly at her, which eased my anxiety just a bit.

Once the introductions were out of the way, I grabbed Amelia’s colorful backpack, escorted her to my car, and drove her straight to kindergarten before heading down to my executive office.

Despite the busy morning traffic and the piles of paperwork waiting on my desk, the unresolved mystery of David’s sudden aggressive disappearance was still weighing heavily on my mind.

When I arrived at the office building, his desk was still completely vacant, the chair pushed in neatly as if he hadn’t spent hours working there just days ago. His corporate email account hadn’t been active for over forty–eight hours.

Unable to shake the deeply unsettling feeling crawling in my gut, I decided to take matters into my own hands and reach out to him by myself, without using Chloe as a buffer this time.

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Chapter 182-

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walked into my private suite, shut the heavy glass door to ensure total privacy, and dialed his personal number.

The call rang for a long, agonizing time, the monotonous tones stretching my nerves thin before he finally picked up. He didn’t even give me a chance to breathe, let along say a proper hello.

“What the hell do you want from me now, Aria?” David yelled into the receiver. His voice practically boomed with raw frustration and anger, but beneath the rage, it sounded incredibly wrecked, hoarse, breathless, and punctuated by a painful

wince.

“David, breathe for a second,” I said, keeping my tone strictly professional, calm, and level. “I am calling because I haven’t seen you at the office in days, and your sudden departure is seriously affecting our department workflow. I want to know why you haven’t been around to hand over your files.”

“You want to know why?!” he barked, letting out a wild, bitter laugh that sounded incredibly unhinged and desperate. “Look at you, acting all clueless and innocent. You are the sole reason behind my entire predicament right now. My career is completely ruined, my body is broken, and it’s all because of you. Do not ever call my number again.”

I pressed further, my eyebrows knitting together in deep frustration as I paced behind my desk. “David, that makes absolutely no sense. How am I responsible for whatever is happening to your life? I’ve done nothing but support your position on the board since I arrived. Is this because of the dinner invitation?”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Aria, open your eyes and read the damn handwriting on the wall!” David snapped, his breathing sounding incredibly ragged, heavy, and pained through the line, as if it hurt him just to speak.

“Let me burst your little bubble right now. I wasn’t some independent, God–sent angel who just magically showed up at your corporate firm to help you out of the goodness of my heart. I was strategically planted in that company by your billionaire baby daddy. Julian Vance put me there to watch over you, guide your decisions, and protect you from the rest of the board and he paid me an insane amount of corporate money to do it! But I made the mistake of getting too close to you, and he completely destroyed me for it. He took everything. So stay the hell away from me.”

With that final, explosive sentence, a loud, aggressive click echoed through the speaker. He hung up the phone, cutting the connection completely before I could even utter another syllable.

I stood completely frozen in the middle of my spacious office, slowly lowering the vibrating phone away from my ear. My mind was spinning in absolute shock, and my heart was hammering violently against my ribs as his words echoed in my head.

I genuinely didn’t know what to feel at that exact moment. A massive part of me wanted to be completely furious with Julian for violating my personal boundaries, manipulating my corporate workplace, and secretly planting a paid spy in my inner circle to monitor my daily life and career.

It felt like an unforgivable intrusion.

But another, quieter part of me felt a strange, reluctant wave of gratitude. When I first arrived completely stressed, isolated, and overwhelmed by the nature of the business, David’s constant support and expert corporate guidance had been the exact anchor that helped me stand firmly on my own two feet.

He had helped me command respect from a board that wanted to see me fail. And to think Julian had orchestrated it all from the shadows, paying for my protection.

Either way, I couldn’t just sit there and let him think he could manipulate my life without consequences. I needed to establish firm, unyielding boundaries once and for all.

I immediately brought up Julian’s contact information and dialed his number before I could talk myself out of it.

He answered almost instantly, as if he had been waiting by the phone, his voice deep, smooth, and entirely too calm. “Aria. I didn’t expect to hear from you today.”

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