“I bet you have.” His eyes narrowed as he looked me over, like something was puzzlinghim.
“What is it?” Iasked.
“I haven’t met a lot of guys like you. You’re easy to talk to, and that’snice.”
“You’re pretty easy to talk to as well, Dax Munro. So what would happen if I said yes today, for instance? What if I just plunged right ahead into this deal we’re talking about? What would that looklike?”
He took another drink of his beer. “First things first, I’d call my assistant and tell himI told you so, since he didn’t think I’d be able to work this out. Then I’d get on the phone with Hacksmore, to whom I’d be sayingI told you sowithout using thosewords…”
“Hacksmore… So that’s the name of the guy I’d be working for? I thought you said I needed to sign an NDA before you told methat.”
“I did, and we should, but I don’t know… For some reason, I have the strange feeling you wouldn’t use that information against me, and maybe I kind of wish you would to taint this nice-guy image I have ofyou.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I can be bad too, but only when people need me tobe.”
He glanced me over like he was taking in the truth of mywords.
“But anyway, you were saying? You’d be braggy to Hacksmore andthen…”
He shook his head. “Oh, yes. Then I’d be getting a signed contract for us to get this going. I say we’re looking at a couple of weeks, maybe a month while we’re coming up with the larger picture. Then we’ll be calling you out for shoots, and you’ll start making the rounds and appearances at some parties to be caught by the paps, ofcourse.”
“And I have a year ofthis?”
He nodded. “Then, if it all goes well, you’d be up for a contract renewal, which you could take or leave at thatpoint.”
“A lot toconsider…”
“Take your time. You gotta do what’s best for you and yourfamily.”
Yes, I did. My family would always come before any sort of financialarrangement.
But Dax had given me a lot to consider. Although, as I sat there with him, I found myself considering it more seriously than I figured I would…in part, at least, because I didn’t think Dax was the kind of sleazy business guy who would try to screw me or my family over. He didn’t seem to realize it, but he really was a goodguy.
“Okay, come on,” I said, taking a deep breath. “How about I drive you back to thehotel?”
“I can just Uber. No need for you to go all thatway.”
“It’s fifteen minutes. I made you stay here in Fever Falls for a few nights. It’s the least I cando.”
7
Dax
Funny what a dinner could change.
Now that I knew he was considering the deal, a part of me wanted to chase him away from it. Not that I would have—if he signed that dotted line, it was on him—but even after our conversation, I knew perfectly well it was one thing to hear about the consequences of fame and fortune, yet another to experience it, to see exactly how it could destroy a person. My business was knowing what people liked, and they would eat Jace Kruse alive. He was everything depicted in that photo and so muchmore.
As he drove me back to the hotel, we chatted about superfluous topics that had come up during dinner. He gave me the dirt on Keegan, making sure to bring up a few embarrassing stories from theirchildhood.
We reached the hotel, and he pulled into the porte cochere. He stopped not too far from the valet, and I took a breath. “So what are you thinking right now?” Iasked.
He waited a beat, pressing his thumb against his cheek. “That maybe we could discuss this more in yourroom.”
His gaze drifted down my body, and I figured he was talking about more than the deal, but that wasn’t a problem for me. “Yeah, that soundsgood.”
He headed around to the parking deck, found a spot, and then I guided him into the lobby and up to myroom.
“Holy fucking shit!” he said as he entered. “You got the fucking penthouse for a one-night visit? Damn, if I’d known you were paying premium for this, I wouldn’t have made you stay as long as Idid.”
