In the full heat of the sun, a shadow fell over me. I could almost not be bothered to investigate, but something told me to open my eyes. A man was standing on the deck of the pool, watching me. It was a moment of panic, of uncertainty. For obvious reasons, I didn’t like being snuck up on, and even more so when the sneaker-upper was an unfamiliar man. I took in his pressed slacks and crisp button-down shirt. If he was here to do me harm, he certainly was smartly dressed for the occasion.
The man pointed to his ears, and I popped my earbuds out.
“Who are you?”
No need for pleasantries until I knew what he wanted from me.
“Hey there. Quinn, right? Name’s Tucker Beckett.”
“Who?”
“Tucker Beckett,” he repeated again, pausing a moment as if I was supposed to know him.
I blinked.
“The bandAnyDayNow? I was their creator and manager. Made them international pop sensations. Tucker Beckett.”
That got my attention. I lifted my head up off the pool floatie and squinted into the sunlight. Now I knew who he was. This dude was a legend—and had more enemies in Hollywood than Katherine Heigl. Total prick. Rumor had it even his son, Bodhi Beckett, the head heartthrob in the boy bandAnyDayNow, hated him. What the hell did he want with me?
“How’d you get back here?”
“Your father invited me in.”
Of course he did. You’d think with all the horror movies my dad consumed, he’d have learned to never invite bloodsuckers into his home.
“Look,” I said, wanting to get rid of him as quickly as possible, “I’m not sure what he told you, but I’m an untouchable—Andrew Hollis owns me for the next ten years.”
“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. I know all about your contract, Quinn. That’s why I’m here. I can help you.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
Tucker pulled a handkerchief—a handkerchief—out of his pocket and used it to wipe the sweat off his forehead. “I’m a busy man, Quinn. No way would I waste my time here if I thought you couldn’t be saved.”
“From what I hear, you actually aren’t that busy.”
It was a low blow, I knew that, but he deserved it for coming in here acting like he owned the place. My comment was a nod to another rumor I’d heard about Tucker, namely that in addition to being the creator and manager ofAnyDayNow, he was also responsible for the band’s demise.
Tucker didn’t flinch. In fact, he bared a tooth or two. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”
Ah, challenge accepted. Might as well fire away. “I also heard you almost got your son killed in a wildfire.”
Those teeth flashed brighter. God, he was so confident. “I’m good, Quinn. But not good enough to control the weather. Now, come on over here. I can’t take you seriously on a unicorn pool float.”
Was he seriously already micromanaging me? What a douche.
When I didn’t comply, Tucker swiped the sunglasses off his eyes and sighed. “Please.”
I almost laughed. This little power struggle we had going on was the most fun I’d had since Jess on the couch with my hand up her shirt.
“Now was that so hard?” I asked, hand-paddling over to the edge. The pathetic splashing moved me one inch at a time through the water, even spinning me in a full three-sixty turn before my plastic blow-up bed hit the side of the pool. But that was only step one of the two-part extraction process. I still had to get off my floatie with as much swagger as possible. Wiggling around, I finally managed to finagle my way into a sitting position, but it was only a short-lived reprieve until the flotation device began to sink, plunging me sideways into the water.
Tucker didn’t say a word, didn’t even give a twitch. Who didn’t find people disembarking a pool float funny? Jesus, this dude was ruthless. But maybe that was what I needed. A shark. Someone so hated in the business he’d make me look good.
I hoisted myself up and out of the water, shaking out my hair.
“Are you done?” he asked, a smile finally materializing as he handed me my towel. “That was quite an encore there, Quinn… really just inspired.”
“Well, you know, it’s all in the dismount,” I said, swiping the towel over my wet skin. “So, Tucker. Explain how you plan to liberate me.”
