Her eyes flick up, and I suddenly feel as if she’s cataloging every detail about me. Of course she is. I bet she’s been doing it since the moment we met.
I regain focus, continuing, “My client… a musician… he’s been making headlines a lot lately. Mostly for the wrong reasons.”
She leans forward, resting her elbows on the table. Her eyebrows rise as if she’s suddenly more interested.
“He got into a fight at an awards show last week,” I continue. “It’s been on every gossip site for days. And he used to be best friends with this actor. I mean, they were inseparable.”
Arden gives me a confused look. “And that’s relevant how?”
“Well, they’re not anymore. The actor claims he has video proof of something bad the rock star did. Something that’ll go viral the second it hits the internet. He’s trying to ruin my client’s career.”
Arden’s eyes narrow thoughtfully.
“And if that video gets out,” I add, “his entire team is screwed. Including me.”
She sits for a moment, staring straight ahead, her gaze drifting past me to some unknown point in the distance. Then her eyes go wide.
“Wait.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. “Please tell me you’renottalking about Jaxon Wilde.”
I blink at her. “Did you hear anything else I said?”
She ignores the question completely, leaning forward with both palms flat on the table. “Jaxon. Fucking. Wilde?”
I sigh, rubbing my temples. “Yes, congratulations. You cracked the case.”
She leans back again, looking like she’s just won the lottery. But then her eyes go dark. “Okay… but how am I supposed to help?”
“I just need access to the actor,” I say. “We have a history. There’s no way he’s letting me anywhere near him. I need someone to get close to him, gain his trust, and get access to his devices so we can delete the video.”
She nods once, then tilts her head. “I’m not sure I actually want to know, but what’s in the video?”
“Jaxon isn’t positive, but he thinks it’s a video from a drunken night at a club a couple of years back,” I start. “An underage girl got mixed up with them, which is not unusual for this actor. He finds them everywhere he goes and loves to take advantage of their star-struck nature.”
I pause, watching her reaction turn from vague interest to fiery rage.
“So, I guess the actor got some footage of Jaxon with this girl that could paint him in a poor light. He didn’t give me any details. I’m actually not sure if he remembers. He claims it’s a setup.”
She nods again, taking everything in.
“And what if he’s lying?”
“That’s beside the point. He’s my client. He pays me to keep his reputation clean. It’s not my job to figure out if he’s being truthful.”
Her brow furrows, and she stares down at the floor. I guess she didn’t like that answer, but it’s the truth.
When she finally looks back up at me, I still see a flicker of interest in her eyes. “How much?”
I laugh, a wicked smile creeping across my lips. “See, that’s the thing. I already paid you.” I reach into my jacket to pull out the watch she stole from me two days ago.
Her expression doesn’t change, but I catch a subtle shift in her body language. She tries to hide a sharp inhale. Her grip tightens around her coffee mug. Her throat bobs once, hard.
Those blue eyes flick over the watch, then to my face, like she’s running the math on every mistake she’s ever made.
I continue, “Consider it settling the debt you created when you decided to take something personal along with this.”
She looks down at the table again. Is that guilt darkening her features, or confusion? I let her sit like that for what seems like an eternity before I finally speak again.
If this doesn’t convince her, I’m not sure what will. “Come on, you want more than this, don’t you?”
