When Landon spots me spying, he slides over to the glass and taps on it, beckoning me outside. I’m sure I turn white. The biggest business meeting of my short career and it’s being crashed by three of Kam’s teammates. If he put them up to this, I swear . . .
I turn back to my bosses and smile uncomfortably. I decide to ignore the spectacle outside. I’ll deal with it later, but it turns out, pretending it’s not there is easier said than done.
There’s another tap on the window, and then a muted “Laney! We need to talk to you.”
That embarrassed smile is plastered to my face. This is a fucking nightmare.
“Maybe you should see what they want, Laney,” Tom suggests. I glance back; the crowd is getting bigger and my frustration is growing just as fast.
“Maybe I should. I am terribly sorry, I’ll just be a minute.” I hope.
I speed walk through the restaurant in the four-inch heels my mom let me borrow. I wonder if anything like this has ever happened at one of her business meetings? Probably not.
I burst out the front door into the chilly February morning, grateful the jumpsuit came with a matching blazer.
“What in the hell are the three of you doing here?” There is a fake smile on my face and real pissed off tone in my voice.
“Laney, we need to talk to you,” Telly informs me.
“Right now? While I’m with my bosses?” All four of us look through the window. Tom and Joe are watching our every move. Rodney smiles and waves, and they both return the gesture. I want to scream.
“Look, we really needed to talk to you.” Telly puts his arm around me and starts walking down the street.
“Hey, guys! We’ll finish autographs in just a sec, but we need to talk to this pretty lady first!” Rodney voices from behind me. A police officer approaches just as we make it to the corner. “Officer, a little help, please,” Telly requests. “We’re not trying to cause a traffic jam, but we do need to have an important conversation in private.” The officer nods with understanding, and I hear him announce something to the following crowd as the four of us duck into a hotel lobby. Inside, there are several different hallways leading to street exits. They seem to know exactly where they’re going because they steer me down one that is tucked away and empty.
“Been here before?” I ask briskly.
“Couple times. You can book by the hour.” Rodney provides way too much information.
Someone, please, save me.
“What do you guys want?” I cut right to the chase. “Did Kam send you?” Because I’m gonna kill him.
“No, he didn’t send us, but he did tell us what happened. And we want to set the record straight,” Telly explains.
“There’s nothing to set straight. Kam cheated on me. It’s all over social media. At your bachelor party.” I shoot laser beams at him.
“That’s just it. He didn’t,” Telly immediately shoots back, as if I’d believe him.
“Of course, you’re going to say that. You’re his boys. You would do anything for him,” I argue adamantly.
“That’s exactly right,” Rodney jumps in, realizing just how self-incriminating that statement was. “What I mean is, yes, we would do anything for him, and that’s why we’re here. Not to cover anything up. To uncover the truth.” He is very proud of his backpedaling.
“What the hell are you talking about?” My patience is running thin. I’m stressed, I’m tired, and I’m heartbroken. I just want to go back to my mom’s and drown myself in a gallon of ice cream. The last thing I need are these jokers making my life more complicated.
“Kam didn’t cheat. Yes, we went to a strip club Saturday night, and yes, some of the guys went home with a girl.”
“Or two girls,” Landon adds.
Dear Lord.
Telly fires a death stare at Landon before he continues. “Regardless of how many girls the other guys went home with, Kam had zero interest in any of them. He sat in the corner all night just sipping on beer. No lap dances, no nothing.”
I cross my arms and glare at Telly. Does he think I am a complete idiot? “Telly, there is a hickey the size of a black hole on Kam’s neck. Do you honestly expect me to believe that bullshit story?”
“Yes!” all three of them answer, andI lean back warily.
“We expect you to believe it, because it’s the truth. Kam doesn’t know we’re here, and he’d probably kill us if he found out, but we wanted to tell you in person that it’s all Landon’s fault.” Rodney throws Landon right under the bus.
