“Can I just blow you so you canchill the fuck out?”
“Maybe I should grab an STD testkit on the way so you can more fully grasp the concept of consequences.”
“Trust me: I get that afterJamaica,” I say, remembering the unpleasant month after my exotic butincredibly fun summer vacation.
“Obviously you don’t.”
“You can’t let things like thathold you back. Everyone gets a little clap now and then.”
“Most people get a little clap,not applause. You’re the first person I’ve seen make headlines for giving it toother guys.”
“As far as everyone knows, thatwas just a rumor…one that Debra did a pretty good job of squashing, I mightadd.”
“Oh, Tad…only you would considerthat a triumph.”
“Got to look on the positiveside.”
“You should just be appreciativeof the positives you don’t have to worry about.” He glances across the hall. “Shit.Twelve o’clock.”
Twelve o’clock for me is the men’slocker room door. “You mean six, you moron?” I ask, whirling around to seeKiernan and a posse of men in suits heading this way.
“Double shit.”
Kiernan has a foul expression onhis face as he passes me and opens the locker room door. “I figured you’d tryto get smart with this meeting,” he says, his face bright red as it usually is.“So I decided to bring the meeting to you.”
A guy in a suit and a pair ofsunglasses glances at me briefly before looking straight ahead and followingthe small team into the locker room.
Debra passes me. With her hair inan up-do and her eyebrows arched behind her signature Prada glasses as sheoffers a disapproving glare, she looks as annoyed as I’ve ever seen her, whichis pretty much a constant state for the girl who looks like she should be asorority girl rather than a high-profile publicist.
“Just shut up and listen or I’llslice off your dick,” she says.
“Oh, Deb. Good to see you again,too.”
“Don’t think you’re going to charmme this time. I just spent a month spinning straw into gold after that Jamaicavacation, and if you play your cards right with this feds shit, I can get youon Michael & Kelly, Ellen, Oprah…”
“Oprah’s not on anymore.”
“Exactly. So now you understandhow important it is for you to shut your mouth and go along with what Daddysays. Because if you fuck this up, I will rip off your dick and make you suckyour flaccid cock like a strawberry milkshake.”
“And here I thought you were goingto be upset.”
As she heads in, I turn to Darren.“Did you rat me out, you little wuss?”
“Yeah. That’s totally whathappened. It’s not that your dad has gotten good at intuiting your avoidanceschemes at all. Nope. Just me being a dick.”
I give him a nasty smile to lethim know I’m not amused, then head in after Kiernan’s team.
Two
Bryce
What am I doing here?
In a suit and tie and wearing apair of Maui Jim shades that are way too expensive to be on my face, I feellike a clown. Roeder purchased the getup because he said the Roarkes wanted tomake sure I maintained an image that would be up to their high standards. Godforbid that Tad Roarke be caught in a pap picture standing next to a bodyguardin a T-shirt and slacks. Although, if they need a guy that’s polished andwell-groomed, it’s just a matter of time before they realize they’ve got thewrong guy.
Kiernan Roarke is nice enough.He’s the one I have to impress today, not his asshole son who seems to make thegossip blogs every other week for his promiscuity and outlandish behavior. He’sa PR nightmare the Dallas Cowboys have had to put in his place several times tokeep him from totally fucking up their PR—something that’s given their sponsorsfits on more than a few occasions. Fortunately and unfortunately for Tad, thismost recent issue isn’t something he’s responsible for.
We settle in two blueleather-cushioned sofas adjacent to one another.
