“No. That night was incredible. You were the most beautiful woman at the club and I had no problem…” he trailed off and averted his gaze.Was he embarrassed?
Fuck!
“You had no problem getting a hard-on?”
He looked up but didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. I could read it in his eyes.
“And since you could get a hard-on with me, that it must be love. Is that what you thought? Is that why you asked me out relentlessly for weeks?”
“Yeah. Every time I see you, I’m aroused. And beyond that, you intrigue me with your intelligence, your strength of will, your straightforward attitude. I think about you all the time. I love you Reggie.”
There it was. The three words that caused so much confusion for so many people.I love you.
“Let’s table that for now, Dirk.”
“That’s not so easy. Once that cat is out of the bag, I’m not apt to put it back in.”
“Well, you’re going to have to for now. I’ve got one more question.”
“Anything, Reggie. You just have to ask.”
“What is Scarlet capable of? How far would she go to stay married to you or keep you from finishing ten therapy sessions?”
“Scarlet? She’s a wannabe starlet who won’t take acting lessons. Her modeling career is well deserved, but she doesn’t like to work jobs where they don’t treat her like a diva, so those have been drying up. I can only grease so many wheels in this town to keep her in work…”
“Is she capable of blackmail, and what kind of dirt could she get on one of the best real estate agents in the LA area?”
“No way. All of her plans for me to fund movie projects led to about a thirty million dollars of wasted money. She can plan a spa day or a vacation or an expensive night out with her friends, but not a scheme to blackmail someone who has money and power.”
I didn’t respond. I was sure that Scarlet was Richard’s blackmailer. If she couldn’t plan anything more elaborate than a spa day, though, then I suddenly doubted my conclusions. Even if it was Scarlet, I wasn’t sure what to do about it.
I decided there was only one thing to do.
“Do you have a picture of Scarlet on your phone?”
“Yeah, probably. If not, there is always her Instagram account.”
“Send me a picture of her. Text it to my phone.”
Dirk scrolled through his phone, pushed some buttons, and soon I had a text with two pictures of Scarlet. One was a face shot, and the other was a selfie of her in a bathing suit. Her nipples were erect and poking through the fabric.
“Does she often send you such revealing photos?”
“Those are tame, Reggie. She likes to inspire me during the day. So I have a lot of not suitable for work pictures on my phone. Fortunately, it has strong encryption.”
I quickly texted Richard with the two pictures, followed by a text.
Reggie: Is this the red head I shouldn’t fuck with?
“What are you doing, Reggie?”
“I texted Richard. If he confirms this is the red-head who has it out for me, then I think you’ll have to believe that Scarlet is more cunning than you thought.”
“And then what?”
“Then you need to help me figure out a way to stop her.”
Dirk didn’t seem to like that idea. I stood up and paced.
