Matt: “Dude, he flew down to see her.” [Mattshifted in his chair and the set became his living room.]
Letterman: “Really? So the romance isn’t over?”
Matt: “Who knows? Harlow’s smart. I don’t think she wants to be with a man who broke up with her by locking her out of their penthouse. Cole wouldn’t even let her go up to get her things. Security escorted her out and left her on the street. What a putz.”
Matt, what did you just say? He tried to replay it in his mind but the lights, the audience, Dave’s voice jammed his concentration.
Letterman: “He locked her out? Dang. So Harlow’s in Sea Blue Beach. Are you two an item?”
The audience leaned into thequestion, tugging on the actor, Matt Knight.
Matt: “No, no, we’re just friends.” [He winked at the crowd.] “For now. But yeah, she’s doing great, getting on a diet plan, working toward being the new CCW It Girl.”
Dude, what are you doing? Stop talking. Take it back. Say you’re joking. Call cut!
Letterman: “So the Billionaire and the Beautycouldget back together, but the Bad Boy might give him a run for his money.” He turned to the audience. “Remember you heard it here first!”
Matt: [pushing a big laugh from his gut] “Haha, no, no, we’re friends. Y’all, I’m just kidding ... about everything. Made it up. Ha. I’m an actor, I lie for a living.I don’t know anything about Harlow’s life. Nothing at all.”
The audience deflated. Letterman’s expression hardened. No one believed him.
Matt: “So, are we doing Stupid Human Tricks or what?”
His adrenaline shut down so fast he couldn’t move. It was Booker Nickle all over again. Only worse, if possible. What was wrong with him? He’d patted his chest and promised her no one would ever know.
He just told millions of people Xander Cole treated her like toilet paper on the bottom of his shoe. Tomorrow it would be in the newspapers. Harlow, I’m sorry. He pictured her sitting on the window seat, so vulnerable and honest. Sorry wouldn’t be enough. He’d betrayed her. Fool. Stupid. The studio began to spin. His skin was on fire.Fix it. Fix it.How, how, how?
While he sat there in a pit of panic and self-loathing, someone shoved a pair of skates at him and pointed to the obstacle course. Matt tried to focus, but he felt like he was going to implode. Somehow, he managed to speak.
Matt: “Dave, what are we doing? Last time I did a Stupid Human Trick I almost broke my nose.”
The audience aah’d with sympathy as he removed his shoes and tugged on the skates. Anything to distract from his big, fat mouth. Why did he do it?
He managed not to kill himself during the Stupid Human Trick—which involved skates,ping-pong balls, a bungee cord, and Velcro—though death might have been mercy.
Afterward, he cornered the producer and begged him to cut out the Harlow segment. “She’ll be humiliated. Please don’t air it. Please.” The guy smiled, promising to give it a look.
Matt sat like death-warmed-over through a dinner meeting Cosmo set up last minute with the producers of a spy-thriller in development. Why didn’t he blow that secret instead of the one about Harlow?
On his way back to the hotel, he rehearsed a groveling apology, but nothing—no words—came close to fixing the damage. So, he resigned himself to the truth: Harlow Hayes would probably never speak to him again.
HARLOW
The rink had been closed for thirty minutes, but she remained at the ticket booth, flipping through a book that had arrived from Dad in the morning mail.High Output Management.He’d stuck a note inside.
Har,
Take a look at this. I think you’d like it. You’ve got a business mind. Let me know what you think.
Love, Dad
“You hanging out for a while, Harlow?” Spike quietly set a hot dog and Diet Coke on the booth. “The dog’s all beef.”
She smiled. “You spoil me.”
He winked and nodded. “We all need a bit of spoiling now and then.”
Nora also stopped by on her way out. “I left the sound on for Tooz.” She motioned to Harlow’s book. “Aren’t you going home?”
