The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (165 page)

Parker spots my uncertainty and comes right over.  “Miss Fletcher, you have one minute with Mr. McGuire.  If you have something to tell him, I suggest you do it quickly.”  He turns his back to me and converses with someone using his headset.  I take a deep breath and step in front of the camera. 

After a few cautious steps, Evan spots me, gets up from his seat, and meets me on the floor.  He pulls me close to him and speaks quietly in my ear, careful not to be overheard.  “Did he call?”

I nod my head.

“And?” he asks.

“Your mother was right,” I tell him.  He wraps a pair of strong arms around me and squeezes.

“She usually is,” he whispers, holding me tight.  Parker interrupts our moment to guide Evan back to his seat.  The second part of his interview is about to begin, and now he has important news to break.  I’m glad he gets to do it here with his friend, Joey. 

“Knock ‘em dead, Chief,” I call as he walks away.

Another crewmember finds me and offers me a seat in the shadows where I can sit, listen, and watch.  As they come back from commercial break, Evan and Joey are talking.  Both men are smiling and Joey offers Evan a handshake.  I wonder if he’s told him.

“So Evan, I know you’re a big star off the field too.  Women can’t seem to get enough of you.  Between your ten-stories-tall underwear campaign throughout Manhattan, your sports drink and men’s clothing endorsements, and your recent appearance in
People Magazine
’s Sexiest Man Alive list, you always seem to get plenty of attention.”  Joey gets the audience whipped into a frenzy.

“Yeah, well, a few more years on the football field and this face won’t be getting so many offers.  I figure I should take advantage while I can.”  I love how he can listen to someone rattle off a list like that and still remain humble.  He amazes me.

“You know, I get a lot of attention from women too.  I don’t like to brag, but whenever I take off my shirt, women start yelling at me too.”  There’s a few catcall whistles from the audience.  “Only they’re screaming at me to put it back on,” he kids. 

“I get my share of negative attention too.”  Evan is segueing into the real topic.

“Speaking of which, there’s been a lot of talk recently of your history with entertainment reporter Laci Keilani before she died.  Is it true that you used to date during your years in Houston?”

“Dating is a very nice word to describe my previous social life.”  Evan pauses and takes a sip of water from the mug sitting on the desk.  “I’m not entirely sure if the popular definition matches with my history.”

“Okay, if you weren’t dating, then how would you describe it?” Joey asks.

“Um, well, I’ve been called a skirt-chaser, a lech, playboy, and a Lothario.  I don’t know what that last one means, but I’m pretty sure it’s not good.  Adam and I met Laci when I was a backup quarterback for the Texans.  She interviewed me after a playoff game.  She was beautiful, confident, and smart as a whip.  I was immediately attracted to her.”

It’s so hard to hear Evan say those things about another woman.  But they’re just words.

“How long did your relationship last?” Joey asks.

“Back then, I didn’t do
relationships.
  I did casual.  I did parties.  I did one-night stands.  My friend Adam and I met many women over the years, and from time to time we both found ourselves attracted to the same woman.”

“So is it safe to say that you both
knew
Laci on some level?”  Joey is very cautious with his wording. 

“Yes, it would.  And that’s not a reflection on Laci.  She was an amazing woman whose life ended entirely too soon.”

Joey flips through his index cards, obviously internally debating with himself how far he wants to push the questions.  “It would appear that you have found yourself in another media circus recently.  There are all kinds of rumors circulating about Laci having a child and that either your or Adam might be the father.  Is any of it true?”

“Laci did have a child, and unfortunately for all of us, she never put the father’s name on the birth certificate.”  Evan’s tone has changed.  When the cameras are rolling, he’s almost always charming and pleasant.  But right now there’s an indignant bite in his words.  “Adam and I can handle whatever media attention comes to us.  We put ourselves out there in the public, and losing our privacy is a part of that deal.  But having that poor child and his family chased, hounded, and stalked at all hours of the day and night is inexcusable.”

“I couldn’t agree more.  Ever since my daughter Maisy was born,” Joey asserts, “I’ve bent over backwards to protect her from the press.  I hate to bring up such a private matter, but I have to ask one more question.”

“You want to know if I filed a paternity suit,” Evan guesses. 

“I think we’re all more than a little curious.  Would you be willing to share the results with us here tonight?” Joey asks.  “Maybe once the truth is out there, things will quiet down.”

“I just got word during the commercial break that the test results are being given to all the parties involved, and by the time this airs, we’ll all know the truth.”

“And?  Do you know the results?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.  I hope and pray that when the press finds out that I am
not
Kai’s father, they will leave him alone, once and for all.  The Keilani family has been through enough with the loss of their daughter.  Adam and Laci’s family need time to come to terms with the news and figure out where to go from here.”

Joey asks Evan to clarify. “So are you saying that Adam Cooke is the father?  Is it official?”

“Yes, I am.  Adam and I spoke at length before coming here today.  He knows that the results will become public at some point.  No matter what the results were, we agreed to share them tonight with you, Joey.”

“I’m sure everyone here agrees with me when I offer my congratulations to both families.”

The audience breaks into applause.

“We’re going to take a break, and when we return, your fiancée Juliette is going to join us.  I hope you’ll stay a little longer,” he asks Evan.

“Of course.”

And when the band starts playing their music, signaling the beginning of another commercial break, why does their song sound more like a funeral march?

A Loose Cannon

P
arker leads me behind the stage and down a narrow hallway.  Cindy Lou is waiting for me there, behind the curtain.  A few quick sweeps with her makeup brush and styling comb, and she pronounces me ready.  Parker tries to go over a few tips with me, but my ears begin ringing loudly, silencing all other sounds around me.  All I can think about is how the moment that curtain opens, I’ll be in front of a crowd, cameras, and the entire late-night television-viewing world.

Stepping closer to the curtain makes my breathing rapid and shallow.  I can feel my pulse pounding in my temples. Between the high heels and my legs shaking, I’m afraid I’ll trip and make a complete fool of myself. 

And then I hear Joey calling my name as the curtains open, and I feel myself, as if in a dream, moving forward and making my way to center stage. I grab Joey’s outstretched hand as he pulls me in for a welcoming hug.  Over his shoulder, I spot Evan waiting for me on the sofa.  Awkwardly, I put one foot in front of the other until I’m sitting next to Evan. 

“Juliette, before I say anything else, my wife Maggie wants me to remind you that you still owe her a shoe-shopping trip.  What is it about women and shoe shopping?  I don’t understand how you can make an entire daylong experience out of it.  It boggles the mind.”  The audience politely laughs along with him.

My mouth is now as dry as sawdust.  I swallow hard and try to find something amusing to say.  “Um, please apologize for me.  I’ve been a little tied up with Evan’s games, running a restaurant, and being questioned by the police and all.”  This gets a big laugh from the audience.  Evan places his arm across the back of my chair, and I can feel his strength pouring into my veins.  My breathing slows down just enough that I can think clearly again.

Joey begins the interview slowly, easing me into it.  He starts with a safe topic – my restaurant.  “Now, I know you’re a professional pastry chef and I’ve had the pleasure of sampling your famous cheesecake, but is it true that you’re also a bartender?”

Thank goodness he starts with a question I can answer easily.  “I am, although I much prefer the title mixologist.  Did you know that the right drink can enhance a dining experience and the wrong drink can ruin an entire meal? That’s why two different people can have two completely opposite opinions about the same meal. There’s a science behind pairings, and at Rush we take that mission very seriously.” 

He goes on to ask if I ever get any strange drink requests.  I rack my brain for something appropriate to say on television.  “Well, Joey, I don’t think I can say some of the names here on television.”

“No, we definitely don’t want that – this is a family show.  Can you think of just one unusual drink order?” he pushes.

“Last week we had a bachelorette party come through the bar.  They wanted to do shots of Slippery Panties,” I tell him.

“That’s can’t possibly be a real drink,” he challenges me.

“Unfortunately, it is,” I correct him.

“The hardest part of your job must be trying to figure out who’s drunk and who’s just plain stupid,” Joey remarks.

“Oh, I’ve had my fair share of stupid,” I tell him.  “Not just at work, but in my personal life too.”

“Are you referring to anyone in particular?” Joey asks.

Here we go.  I swallow hard.  “I guess I’m mostly thinking about myself.  I stayed in relationships much longer than I should have.  I got myself mixed up in circumstances that could have been easily avoided.  I was very young and extremely stupid.” 

I keep my legs and arms crossed to keep them from shaking. My stomach seems to have its own pulse.  Evan tries to reassure me by squeezing my shoulder, but it’s no use.  I’m in the deep end of the pool now.

“I think I speak for most of our audience when I tell you that we can all relate to that.  But your last relationship went beyond what most of us would consider typical relationship drama.  Isn’t that right?” 

I look over at Evan and he nods, urging me on.

“Way beyond,” I tell him.  “My college boyfriend, David, turned into my worst nightmare.  He was a computer engineering and design major, so there were always lots of computers and devices scattered around his room.  He took advantage of my trust and set up one of his video cameras to record some of our more intimate moments.”  The audience gasps.  “I had no idea.  I never, ever would have consented to participating in anything like that.”

“How did you first find out?” Joey asks gently.

“It was a little over a month ago.  It was becoming clear that Evan would be making it to the playoffs, and I thought everything was perfect.  I should have known better.  My ex sent me a package – an envelope, actually – with a copy of pictures I never even knew existed.”

“Take us back to that moment when you first saw those images.  How did you feel?”

“I felt so betrayed.  This was not some random guy.  This was someone I thought I loved.  I still can’t believe he would do something like that to me. This was not something I planned.  It wasn’t something I wanted to do.  I was ashamed, embarrassed, and horrified.”

Behind the cameraman, I can see the audience listening intently to every word I say.  Their faces are filled with empathy, not the judgment and malevolence I feared.

“Do you know why he sent them to you?” prompts Joey delicately.

“I do.”  I reach over and take Evan’s hand in mine.  “He knew I would do anything to keep this out of the news.  I thought Evan needed to keep his mind on football, at least until after the season ended.  I tried to hide it from everyone, so I agreed to give him money to keep it quiet.”

“Oh, no,” Joey sympathizes.  “Forgive me for asking, but why didn’t you just report it to the police?”

“Believe me, I wish I had.  But he threatened to release the tapes if I did.  I naïvely thought that if I did what he asked, he would go away and no one would ever find out.”  I take a long, deep breath.  “It’s beyond humiliating.  There are no words to describe the shame and horror I feel just talking about it now.”

“I’m curious, Juliette.  Why now?  Why here?  What makes you willing to discuss this openly with me tonight?” Joey asks.

“As you know, David is now missing and presumed dead.  The police brought me in for questioning, and when they released me, the press was everywhere.  By remaining quiet now, it would be like I was admitting to the lies and theories being printed.”

“There’s been a lot of speculation about your involvement.  Of course, the police aren’t saying much, but is it safe to assume that you were questioned about David’s disappearance?”

“Yes, I was.  They searched my house too.  I told them everything I know, which isn’t much.  I have no idea what happened to him.  All I know for sure is that I had nothing to do with it.”  I try to hold back the emotions that churn just below the surface, but a lone tear slides down my cheek.  I reach up to quickly erase it, and Joey hands me a tissue.