Their Punching Bag Became The Storm novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44 Choose the Tools

‘What the hell is Ryan doing?‘ Whitney thought, completely thrown. She yanked her hand back. “Get lost.”

The rest of the group was busy laughing and joking around, paying Emily no attention at all. She stood off to the side, awkward and stiff, her face flushed with

embarrassment.

Finally, her little fan club crowded around her, one on each side. “Emily, don’t worry about it. If they can’t see what you’re capable of, then let’s go all out and make them regret it.”

Emily swallowed her anger and managed a helpless, wounded smile. “I guess I haven’t done enough for anyone to believe in me yet. I’ll work harder and make sure Whitney sees how much I’ve improved.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! We believe in you,” Kayla said, pumping her fist. “We’ve heard all about you. You competed for Roynfort University and won the swimming championship.”

Emily’s expression softened a little, and she offered a modest smile. “That’s all in the past. Let’s not bring it up anymore. Thanks for believing in me, though. I won’t let you down.”

Her whole attitude was a complete turnaround from yesterday.

Kayla caught on fast. Emily was switching up her strategy, trying to win people over again. Whatever image Emily wanted to play now, Kayla, ever the loyal follower, would back her up without a second thought.

Emily felt her fighting spirit surge. She was dead set on crushing this afternoon’s challenge, restoring her reputation, and proving to everyone that she could outshine

r Whitney.

Seeing the two sides had already split into teams, Darian stepped in. “Since you’ve divided yourselves up, let’s have a little competition. The winning team gets first pick of the fishing gear provided by the crew.”

A curtain behind him dropped, revealing the items on display.

There were five pieces of fishing gear in total, varying in size and purpose. The team that got to choose first would walk away with three of them.

Everyone was fired up and ready to compete.

The outcome was never really in doubt.

Emily’s team included two who’d been carried off on stretchers not long ago, two women who liked to talk tough but lacked actual ability, and Jason, who was only

Chapter 44 Choose the Tools

marginally useful.

On top of that, the five of them had zero chemistry and kept butting heads. Losing was pretty much a given..

Whitney’s team won first pick. She handed the decision over to Henry, and the others were perfectly fine with that.

Henry looked over the options, discussed it with the group, and selected the sea fishing kit.

He was an old hand at fishing, so compared to all the gimmicky gadgets on display, a proper sea fishing kit was the smart move.

Emily’s eyes lit up with excitement. The moment Henry finished making his choice, she stepped forward and pointed at the board behind Darian. “I want that electric sailboat.”

The board showed a sailboat big enough for about eight people. Emily had been eyeing it from the very beginning.

She had fully expected Whitney’s team to grab the sailboat first if they won. But they didn’t. ‘Seriously? Are they stupid?‘ Emily thought.

The whole competition came down to total catch weight. She mused, ‘How many fish can you possibly catch with basic fishing gear? Take the boat out on the water, and your chances multiply like crazy.’

Whitney glanced at Emily and saw right through her.

She smirked, revealing nothing, then raised her hand and pointed at another drawing. Then I’ll take the other boat.”

It was technically a boat, but nothing like the sleek electric sailboat Emily had snatched up.

On the drawing, it was a tiny wooden rowboat that fit two people at most, and they had to row the thing themselves.

When Whitney picked the little wooden boat, Emily’s fan club burst out laughing. Emily batted her lashes, glanced at the two remaining tools, then turned to Whitney with a grateful smile. “Whitney, are you going easy on me?”

She grinned and quickly claimed one of the remaining items, a massive, oversized fishing net.

Then she blinked again. “Hmm… Whitney, looks like you’re stuck with the raft–building kit. You probably don’t know how to put one together, do you? So that kit’s basically

useless.”

Emily let out a dramatic sigh. “Honestly, even if you could build a raft, it’s not like you

TE

Chapter 44 Choose the Tools

could use it out on the open sea.”

She tilted her head, putting on her sweetest, most innocent face. “Whitney, you won’t blame me, right? +figured since we already have the electric sailboat, the giant net makes more sense for us.”

Whitney could tell in an instant that Emily was mocking her. She thought, ‘Emily wants to say that first pick means nothing if I don’t know what to choose. She believes I am lose from the start.’

Whitney only smirked, the corners of her lips curving with quiet amusement. “No worries. I wanted the raft kit all along.”

Emily assumed Whitney was bluffing to save face, and a rush of satisfaction swept through her. ‘Finally, I’ve got the upper hand, she thought.

Once the selections were made, Darian had everyone suit up in life jackets, non–slip shoes, and non–slip gloves. After double–checking that all the safety gear was in place, he let them go their separate ways.

Since most of the afternoon’s livestream would take place out on the water, the production team deployed drones again, giving each guest their own camera feed across ten separate livestream rooms.

The crew even brought in two nationally certified lifeguards with extensive sailing experience, stationed at the shore, ready for emergencies, which made everyone feel a lot safer.

Emily led her teammates straight onto the boat, eager to head out. She watched as her loyal followers hauled the oversized net aboard.

She grinned, brimming with confidence. “Don’t worry, guys. With this boat and this net, we’ll wrap things up fast this afternoon. One toss and we’ll pull in a few hundred pounds of fish, easy.”

Kayla’s eyes sparkled as she cheered Emily on, singing her praises.

Meanwhile, Nora couldn’t help but feel a twinge of nerves after hearing all that. She grabbed Whitney’s hand. “Whitney, is that net of hers really that good?”

Whitney glanced over at Emily, who was striding onto the sailboat looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

She smirked, a sly, playful glint curving her eyes. “If this were a normal fishing trip, with some experienced fishermen and a bit of luck on your side, sure.

“She could probably scoop up a few hundred pounds in one go.”

But Emily seemed to have forgotten this wasn’t a real open–sea expedition. They were required to stay within the safe zone. That fancy sailboat and her giant net weren’t going to do her much good.

Chapter 44 Choose the Tools

It was a shame Ernily hadn’t figured that out yet.

Whitney smiled. “Sit back and enjoy the show. No need to rush.”

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