A swing and a miss. I had no right prying into her personal life. This was a business transaction, as her pointed remarks reminded me, pricking my skin with regret as if they’d been knives. But a compliment lurked in there somewhere. She finds me attractive. I know it, and so does she. Our respective histories were irrelevant. For a second, I considered ditching the second half of the show and going straight to her place. Take care of that business she needed to be done, regardless of the real reason.
“You make a good point. Sometimes you just need what you need.” I lifted my glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
I downed my scotch in one gulp, just as the warning chime sounded. I swallowed, then nearly choked as I saw a figure walk toward me. Dark haired. Sexy. Smiling. No, not smiling. Leering.
“Why, hello, Reed. Fancy meeting you here. I’d never expect to see you at a musical so far from Duluth. It’s just not your… style.”
The face and figure I remembered, but I scoured my memory for a name. “Olivia?” I ventured. Shit. Now wasn’t the best time for this particular blast from the past.
“I knew you wouldn’t forget me. Or all those great times we had,” Olivia said, her lemon drop martini sloshing over the edge of her glass. “What a surprise to see you here. Don’t you have some Peewee team to coach somewhere? Even though you had the face for broadcasting, I can see why the networks wouldn’t want their reputations tainted with your personal issues.”
The sparkle I remembered in her brown eyes had become a booze-induced glow. Her hair lay piled in an elegant up-do, a few loose ringlets draping over her nude shoulders exposed by a strapless, sequined gown. She appeared to still be in the money judging by the outfit and the skill of her glam squad.
“Uh… no.” I clamped my stuttering mouth closed. I hadn’t coached since college and didn’t want to discuss my background in front of Laurie, lest she recognize me and tell me to fuck off before I got paid. The thought of over seven thousand dollars slipping away from me tensed my shoulders. “How long’s it been? Fifteen years? What brings you here, Olivia?” I asked, steering the conversation away from myself.
What did Sutton’s guidelines say about bumping into old lovers while on a date with a new client? Couldn’t remember, but it seemed impolite to have an impromptu high school reunion. I needed to cut this short and get her the hell away from me before my date with Laurie imploded.
“Oh,” Olivia scoffed and waved her free hand. “What’s a few years between friends? Bet we could pick up right where we left off. Like we’d never been apart.”
Her unsteady gaze drifted over Laurie, whose face seemed etched from stone. The Statue of Liberty couldn’t have looked stiffer. Olivia was being annoying but hardly obnoxious enough for Laurie’s tragic reaction. Damage control, Matheson. Now.
“Laurie Arnold, this is Olivia….” I paused, waiting for a prompt. Fuck. Really didn’t recall a last name. I’d had so much pussy between Olivia and now, I’d lost track. Shit. Sometimes after drunken benders, I’d woken up with some strange chick in my bed and hadn’t even known her first name before I ushered her out of my apartment.
“It’s Sheridan now. Olivia Sheridan.” Olivia looked askance and beckoned across to a nearby group of patrons. “Troy,” she snapped. An older, gray-haired gentleman turned and sauntered over at her command. “This is my husband, Troy Sheridan. Of Sheridan and Sloane.”
“Pleasure,” Troy said, extending his hand. I was certain I’d seen his picture before. In the dictionary under ‘distinguished gentleman.’ Wait. Wasn’t Sheridan and Sloane a personal injury law firm? Must have been the yellow pages. Olivia with the dead pussy and the sharp tongue... married to an ambulance chaser. True justice.
“Reed,” I said, returning the handshake. Irene had advised against using true surnames. “This is Laurie.”
Troy started to acknowledge Laurie when Olivia cut him off.
“A new girlfriend so soon after your divorce, Reed?” she interrupted. “I always thought you preferred brunettes to blondes. Or maybe… she’s only blonde on the surface? Carpet and drapes don’t always match. I hope you did a background check to make certain she’s not a back-stabbing bitch like your ex-wife. You can’t afford to lose anything else.”
I froze, horrified at Olivia’s rudeness and broadcasting of some personal factoids I didn’t need advertised. Mercifully, the house lights winked off and on, and the remaining crowd milled around us to re-enter the theater. I turned to grab Laurie’s hand, but she’d backed away from the table.
“Curtain time,” I said, moving toward her, anxious to put her mind at ease and soften the expression on her gorgeous face.
“Yeah. It sure is.” Her voice dripped with utter disgust, and before I could reach her, she bolted. I lost her in the slow-moving river of bodies, but she’d gone in the same direction we’d come in, toward the stairs that led to the main entrance. I hadn’t said anything wrong, so I couldn’t be responsible for what came out of an old high school sweetheart’s drunken mouth.
I cut a swath through the crowd and sprinted up the steps, just in time to see a glimpse of a sexy blue dress skip out the doors along with the money for Jess’s treatments.
Chapter Five
Harper
Blood pooled in my toes at the sight of Olivia standing there in her jewels and fancy gown. I’d hoped she’d moved away, or died, in the years since high school. At the sight of her, panic had consumed me. Then nausea. She’d been so evil to me, spreading the Bacon moniker like wildfire through the school. I’d cried for months. If we hadn’t been dirt poor, I’d have forced my mom to move so I could change schools.
I’d been sure she’d recognize me. But then, whenever Reed was present, I was invisible. She hadn’t seen me then, and she hadn’t seen me now. Even though she didn’t call me out in front of Reed, she was still the same hateful, self-absorbed witch she’d always been. Due to my success, I could forgive but never forget.
Bad enough to be blindsided by the re-appearance of Reed Matheson in my life, but Olivia too? I felt like God had it out for me. Maybe I didn’t deserve any true happiness. Worse, she had the nerve to both insult me and come on to him in the space of a single sentence, all with her husband not five feet away. Her massive ego had overflowed the boundaries of decency.
My head spun, but my feet knew what to do. Everything around me blurred except the path to the exit. I’d made a huge mistake and had to put an end to it. My stilettos didn’t even slow me down as I sprinted up the steps and out onto the main street, gasping for breath in the early autumn air. It smelled like rain, and I scanned desperately up and down the curb for a taxi.
I spotted one a half block ahead and hurried toward it, my heels clattering against the concrete as I ran. I pulled the latch on the cab’s door and cast a furtive glance behind me before diving into the back seat. I saw Reed burst out of the theater door, looking in both directions. His eyes fell on me just as I ducked into the safety of the car.
“Pull away,” I yelled to the driver, slamming the door shut behind me and putting Reed Matheson permanently in the past.
From the rear window, I saw Reed take a few running steps after us, but halted as the car began to accelerate. An injured knee probably precluded a foot pursuit in any case. All the bad memories came flooding back, along with my tears. The two of them had hurt me all over again, without even knowing it. But as my thoughts cleared, I recalled Olivia’s words. She’d also hurt Reed with her cutting remarks about his ex-wife. She didn’t care about anyone but herself.
Despite my pain, I felt awful for Reed too. It dawned on me how badly his ex and his agent must have ruined him if he was willing to sell his body for money. Surely professional athletes had some kind of insurance or pension to fall back on? I had more money than I deserved, yet so many others struggled just to survive. In a way, my success stemmed from that struggle, but I’d built MediGo to fill a need, to help those who suffered from pain and illness by connecting them with practitioners, resea
rchers, and support groups.
I sighed and pushed away my tendency to save everything and everyone. Reed Matheson’s misfortune was none of my concern. I shrugged off the invading ghosts of the past. They were history and always would be. Only the future mattered, and my immediate future included a one-on-one meeting with Ms. Irene Sutton, to tell her exactly how I felt about her matchmaking skills. When my chosen date had canceled, she should have called me and waited until he was well enough again to see me and do his damn job.
***
I called Julie first thing the next morning to tell her I wouldn’t be in the office until later. I think I shocked her even more with another announcement about being late than I had by actually leaving early the previous day. I couldn’t even use the pretense of having gone on a bender, as she wouldn’t have believed me. My career persona as an uptight, single, workaholic with no personal life of note was in serious need of an overhaul.
I took the elevator to Irene’s office, ready to ream her out for her poor choice of escort and threaten to take my business elsewhere. Of course, I hadn’t the foggiest idea where that would be. I’d struggled to find Irene’s business on the down low. She didn’t know my true identity because I’d only had to provide proof of funds. Money talked, and everything else walked. Regardless, I couldn’t afford the spotlight of a sex scandal, it would ruin my company and our stellar reputation for helping others.
When I entered her office, she seemed out of sorts. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and a pile of crumpled tissues littered her usually pristine desktop.
She straightened and became all business as she saw me.
“Oh, Laurie. Excuse me, I wasn’t expecting you. I trust everything went well last night?” She quickly tossed the used tissues into her wastebasket. Part of me wanted to make it personal and ask her what had caused her distress.
“It did not. In fact, it was a disaster. I felt I needed to tell you personally. I’m not convinced your company is the right fit for me.”
Irene looked panic stricken and started wringing her hands. I appeared to have added to her anxiety over whatever had caused her so much emotion.
“Oh dear, I’m so terribly sorry. We have an excellent customer satisfaction rating. I’ll rectify the situation immediately. Tell me what happened.”
I glanced down at my shoes for a moment. It was my own fault just as much as Irene’s. As much as I’d love to spin a yarn and blame the whole damn thing on Reed, he’d really behaved like the perfect gentleman. He really tried.
“I didn’t say anything yesterday because I know you had to supply a replacement on short notice. At the time, I didn’t think it would be a problem, but…”
I sighed and looked up at her face that registered genuine concern. She’d slipped on her glasses to disguise the puffiness around her eyes, and I suddenly felt sorry for the woman. Nearing sixty, her glam team had done an excellent job. However, a pervasive sadness showed through her façade. I sensed she was just as lonely as her clients.
“Reed went to my high school. He didn’t recognize me because I’ve changed a lot since then. I thought it would be fun, a lark, pretending to be someone else. He was very popular at school.”
Irene forced a smile and nodded. “Yes, I’m sure he was. He’s still a very good looking man. A former pro athlete. He’s very new to the business, so I apologize if he said or did something unprofessional.”
“It’s not that. I just couldn’t go through with it. At intermission, we happened to bump into someone else from school, someone who… just underlined what a mistake I’d made in thinking this process would be right for me. So, I left.”
“I see,” Irene said, nodding. “Again, I do apologize. I don’t want to lose you as a client, Laurie. You’re a very successful woman, and I sincerely want to help you. Referrals are the main source of new business for us since we can’t use a normal advertising platform. Allow me to arrange another escort for you, no additional charge.”
“Thank you, but I’m not interested in a freebie. I do want you to keep the fee for last night, though. It wasn’t Reed’s fault, and I trust you won’t tell him what I’ve just told you.”
“Of course not, and it’s very generous of you to honor the agreement.” Irene recovered her smile, no doubt glad to hear her profits wouldn’t suffer over the incident. She held up a polished index finger. “I have someone else in mind since your original choice is still regrettably ill. Just a moment.”
She went to her computer screen and brought up a photo. This had better be good, I thought and sucked in a breath at the image that displayed. A dead ringer for David Beckham, and just as muscled. I ogled the expanse of pecs and washboard abs in the full-length shot, not to mention the attractive bulge in his boxer briefs.
“Do you like him?” she asked.
“He looks very… gifted.” I cleared my throat. “Why is he not wearing clothes? Most of the other photos I saw had men dressed in designer suits.”
“Cody is a special case. He’s a former underwear model. You might have seen him in ads or catalogs for Under Armour and Saxx. His career ended because of a scar on his back. Weightlifting injury. Like most young men in their twenties, he didn’t plan well for his future. Spent all his earnings on drugs and women. He’s clean now but poor.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, not quite believing his equipment existed in real life. Maybe he modeled for ‘MyPackage,’ too. He appeared to have a great one. Hopefully, it wasn’t just for show, or fake. “He’ll do. Make it happen, Irene. You know I want to, um, lose my physical impairment as soon as possible.”
“I understand. I’m sure Cody will take excellent care of you.”
Mission accomplished, no harm no foul. I headed back to my own office. This Cody might take care of my physical needs, but twinges of guilt began to filter in over Reed and the fiasco of last night. I had no way of contacting him, except through Irene. Did I owe him an apology? I didn’t think so. He would get his money, even though I’d run out on him, not the other way around. It sounded like he needed the cash. Besides, memories of the friendship we once shared—and the way it ended—were beginning to haunt me. Could I separate my past feelings for him from the present? I wasn’t so sure.
Chapter Six
Reed
I had no time to analyze my emotions. Laurie Arnold had rejected me on my first try as a professional escort. As if I didn’t already feel like a failure—as an athlete, a husband, a father, a provider—without sucking at paid fucking too. I shoved it out of my mind, as I had more important things to worry about.
Jess was allowed home today, and I hurried to the Mayo to wheel her the hell out of there. In spite of the exceptional care, my sick little girl belonged at home with her father. Dr. Nielson had ordered the first round of treatments the week after next but said it wasn’t medically necessary to have Jess remain there in between. I was just as happy to have my little girl home and give her some semblance of normalcy, even though things were far from normal.
The doctor hadn’t needled me about the bill either. True to her word, she’d given me until the end of the month to come up with the payment while still getting us an appointment on the busy Mayo oncology schedule. Irene had called to say I would be paid in cash this week, despite the fact that my first assignment had basically imploded. Hopefully, it hadn’t ruined my chances of getting another. Score another point for Laurie. Whatever had caused her to flee, she hadn’t taken it out on me.
“Hi, Angel. Ready to go?” I asked as Jess and her hospital volunteer met me at the discharge desk. My heart filled my throat at the sight of her. My beautiful daughter sat in a wheelchair, putting on a brave face as though nothing was wrong. She was more of a champion than I’d ever been in my whole career.
“Hi, Daddy!” Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “I’m ready. Can we stop for ice cream on the way home? Fudge Brownie?”
“What,” I said, with mock surprise on my face. “Has Uncle Milo been holding out on you?” Anything
she wanted to eat was fine with me. Her appetite had waned as the disease progressed. Whether ice cream or roast beef, I’d give it to her without any hesitation. She needed to gain weight any way she could.
She laughed as the volunteer engaged the brakes and helped Jess to her feet. “He hasn’t been here yet today. Besides, I want to eat ice cream with you, at home.”
I smiled and engulfed her small hand in mine, enjoying the warmth of her soft skin. “Sounds good to me.”
Jessica talked a blue streak all the way to our shabby apartment as if she were headed to the Taj Mahal, about the doctors and nurses and friends she met in the hospital, as though they were a natural part of her life. It pained me to think that instead of parents and schoolmates, her circle of influence consisted of other sick kids and medical staff. What kind of companions were those for a six-year-old? As much as it bothered me, my chest still swelled with pride over her efforts at making the best of things and taking others at face value, seeing them all as people and not for just their situation in life. Kids were wiser than adults gave them credit for.
One thing I wasn’t proud of was the crummy digs I was taking her home to. Our fancy house was long gone, lost in the financial hurricane that Robin and my slimy ex-agent Marcus had unleashed on me. On us. Me and Jess. For the life of me, I couldn’t fathom how a mother could abandon her own child. Beyond cruel, it bordered on monstrous. From the day we said our vows, and I carried her over the threshold, I’d never understood Robin or her motivations outside of basic gold digging. But then, I hadn’t been very relationship ready either, content with arm candy to show off to the other guys on the team.
“Okay, here we are,” I said, grabbing the take-out carton from Haagen Dazs and helping Jess out of the car. At least I still had a mode of transportation. I’d won my car in a scoring competition five years ago, and it apparently didn’t rank very high on the level of interest to thieves absconding out of the country. It looked pretty beat up, but it got us to where we needed to go safely.
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