“In all fairness to Thaddeus, he did summit Everest, but that was after the accident.” I nodded big, attempting to rally Thad’s number one fan.
Jerry looked to Thad for confirmation, a sliver of hope that Thaddeus the Great was not a complete sham.
“It’s true.”
“So why did you lie?”
Thad sighed. “I don’t know. It sounded better on my resumé.”
“Youhiredme.”
“True, but I wanted you to take the job. I needed you, and I thought I needed to look impressive because I knew for a fact that at least ten other companies were trying to recruit you.”
Jerry smiled, his face flushing a bit as he fluttered his eyelashes. “I’m touched.”
Thad shook his head. “Great. Fabulous. Wonderful. Now can we get to work? I have to tell you about Lake’s reason for landing in jail.That’swhat will make your testicles explode. It’s the biggest breakthrough I’ve ever had and it’s going to change the future.”
By the timethe two geeks finished feeling me up—fitting me for Jerry’s climbing robotic leg—and testing the thought-to-action of Thad’s rebel baby, my battery was dead. I’m not sure how we got to the hotel, but I think Thad may have tossed me over his shoulder, palming my ass with all eight fingers. One minute I was swaying by Jerry’s door waiting for them to stop their endless ramblings and the next I was waking up in a big bed. The red numbers on the digital clock read: 11:30.
I sat up wearing nothing but my bra and panties.
“Pervert,” I mumbled.
The dimly lit street lights below cast a hazy glow along the edge of the curtains where they didn’t meet the wall. I hopped over to the desk to grab my phone then hopped back in bed.
Five hours of sleep gave me enough brain function to want to call a certain dimpled boy in Minnesota.
“Having trouble adjusting to the time change?” he answered on the second ring.
“I’m so screwed. I don’t know which end is up. I just woke up, but the rest of Beijing is turning out their lights for the night.”
“How was your flight?”
It sucked, but the voice on the other end of the line erased all that.
“Long and strange.”
“Strange?”
“Yeah. The day I got arrested and Everson’s guy bailed me out then returned my car? Well, the kid who brought the car back handed me this notecard that read: CHAPTER ONE. Then on the plane I found another notecard in my carry-on that read: CHAPTER TWO. I think I’m being stalked by a writer. Is that crazy?”
“Undoubtedly.”
I grinned, running my fingers through my tangled hair. Cage’s voice had true personality. If words could smile, then his did.
“Enough about me and my literary stalker. Tell me what you’ve been doing.”
“Let’s see… I exercised this morning, helped out at youth camp, and then I spent an hour on the phone with my mom. My sisters have a birthday coming up, and she wants me to fly home for it, but my schedule is crazy and taking a shit is frowned upon at this point. Leaving town? It wouldn’t be good.”
“Omaha?”
“No. They live in Portland.”
“Hmm, I didn’t know you had sisters.”
“Half-sisters, twins. My mom remarried after she and my dad divorced.”
“How old are your sisters?”
