“You as well.”
The elevator door opened, and Daniels stepped into the cab and was gone.
When Armi returned, he saw Hayden, head down, trudging to his desk. At his approach, Hayden put up his hand. “Please, can we talk later? Not now. But I need to tell you things.”
Confused, Armi cocked his head. “All right. Later.”
But that time never arose. He had to sit in on a conference call with the players’ union and then join Whitmore and Geiger on financials and new contract negotiations.
It was almost six by the time he escaped from the conference room, and he saw Hayden’s desk was empty. It was the first time since he’d started working that Hayden had left before him or before seven. Armi ran to his office, grabbed his stuff, and left. He called for a car to take him to Hayden’s apartment. The doorman rang and rang, but no one answered.
“I’m sorry, sir, but he’s not answering.”
“Armi? What’re you doing here?”
From the entrance, haunted eyes met his.
Armi decided the hell with keeping away. That was a stupid idea. “You wanted to talk, right?”
Hayden didn’t answer but also failed to tell him to leave, so Armi kept close to his heels as he walked inside. They didn’t speak until he sat opposite Hayden on the sectional sofa.
“Shane Daniels.”
“The interviewer fromOut in Sports. That’s what this is about?” He wasn’t wrong. Those remarks about Hayden had been deliberate.
“I—there are things I haven’t told you. About me.”
Armi clasped his shaky hands. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Did…” Hayden licked his lips, all that self-assurance gone, his face pale. “Did Shane say anything about me?”
“No. Why would he?”
Their eyes met, and Armi’s heart pounded at the absolute defeat and misery in those brilliant green depths.
Hayden hung his head, his gaze on the floor. “When I was in college, I was on a webcam, having sex. I got paid for it. Daniels ran the website.”
Armi’s stomach tumbled. “Why?”
“Money,” Hayden whispered. “My parents were on the verge of losing their house—my father’s company went bankrupt, and he lost his pension. Starting over at his age wasn’t easy—they’d rather hire people right out of school and pay them less. Now he works at a big-box store and has a weekend job at the mall.”
“I’m sorry. That must’ve been really hard on your whole family.”
“Any job I could get wouldn’t make a dent in my expenses. I couldn’t let them sacrifice their entire savings for my college tuition…” He jumped up from the couch, crossed the room, and stood staring out the window. A solitary figure Armi longed to hug. There he sat with all the money in the world, impotent to do anything.
“So you found another way.”
“I told them it was an acting gig I auditioned for. At first it was only me in front of the camera…jerking off or using toys…just stuff to get people to pay. I earned enough to make up for whatever the loans didn’t cover and then some.” He shrugged, his face flaming red. “I didn’t think I’d have to have sex with anyone, but Shane told me I’d get paid triple if I had sex on camera.”
“I’m so sorry.” He had no idea what else to say.
“I did it once and hated it, but the money was so good.” He covered his face. “The next time, the police raided the place where Shane had us perform. They caught us in the act, with the cameras going. I was seventeen, so even though I’d signed a contract, it was void, as I was underage. The college kicked meout, and Shane went to jail because he was selling videos of me on the Internet.” His voice caught, and all Armi could think of was Hayden trapped, forced to do something he didn’t want to, but not seeing a way out.
“What a bastard. I’m livid I did the interview with him.”
“My parents were called. It was the worst night of my life, having to tell them what I’d done. It was the only time I ever saw my father cry. I let them down in the worst way. After everything they’d done for me, all I did was disappoint them.”
“I’m sure they understood why it happened. It wasn’t your fault.”
