Book Boyfriends Cafe Summer Lovin' Anthology 2015

by Melinda Curtis

  Gemma was the first to confront her, following Cora into her office. “Is it true? You and Trent Parker? A repeat performance?”

  Why couldn’t some up-and-coming starlet have a wild fling with George Clooney? Maybe then Cora would drop off Lyle Lincoln’s radar.

  Cora knelt to let Brutus out of his carrier. The little dog gave himself a full body-shake, before running off to find Mr. Jiggles for some morning playtime. “Don’t believe everything you read in that gossip column. You didn’t see Coach Parker last night when you picked me up, did you?”

  “No, but you bailed Antoine out. Your car could have broken down when you drove Trent to his hotel.” Gemma’s scrutiny was homemade lie-detector intense.

  Cora put her hand on her hip. “What kind of a man leaves a woman to deal with a broken car in the middle of the night?” What kind of a man, indeed.

  “You’re right. He’s not a dick.”

  Cora wasn’t sure what Trent was anymore. He’d been her adversary, her lover, and her confidante. She’d like to put “ex” in front of every label.

  “Uh,” Blue poked his head in the doorway. “Is there something I should know?”

  Cora blew out a breath. It was going to be a long day. “No. I bailed Antoine out of jail last night. And my car broke down.”

  “She’s telling the truth,” Gemma said in a rare show of support.

  Blue looked confused. “What about Coach Parker?”

  “He showed up to bail Antoine out when Cora did.” Amber came to stand next to Blue. “Ren told Evan what happened this morning.” She stared at Cora steadily. “Antoine might have learned a harder lesson had you left him in jail overnight.”

  “But I wouldn’t have felt good about it,” Cora said.

  Amber laughed, but it was razor-edged. “You didn’t come to bail me out after a bar fight.”

  “I didn’t like you then.” Cora plugged her cell phone into the charger, trying not to think about unknown half-siblings with no one to rely on. “Besides, for all his bluster and street persona, Antoine’s a nice guy. He just needs to grow up.”

  Amber indicated Gemma should leave. She and Blue sat down across from Cora. “How’s it going?”

  Cora launched into her rehearsed checklist. “I’m sure Evan told you the team is good. Coach Parker and his staff are meshing well with them. Vivian told me Jack woke up, but they had to sedate him because he wanted out of there. She didn’t sound as happy as I thought she would.”

  “If Jack’s awake, we need to put his program into play.” Blue rubbed his hands on his khakis. “I’ve never been so excited about a program.”

  Cora hadn’t been looking forward to this. “The man’s seriously ill. Does he really need any more reinforcement that life is short and you need to hold your loved ones close?”

  “This is Jack Gordon we’re talking about,” Amber said. “He may have been asleep for a week, but you can bet he wasn’t visited by any ghosts of Christmas – past, present, or future.”

  “Not yet, anyway.” Cora sighed in defeat, flipped through her contacts in her phone until she found one of her former bed-buddies, and dialed. “Jeremy. How are you?”

  “Cora? It’s been over a year.” The distance in his voice made Cora feel like one of those women who pathetically hung onto men to falsely boost their self-esteem. “I told you I’m in a relationship now. In fact, I’m getting married next spring.”

  “Dude, I’m happy for you, but that’s not the reason I’m calling.” It was difficult to keep the bitch out of her voice. Like she was that desperate. Didn’t Jeremy read L.A. Happenings? “I need a favor, not a hook-up. I’m working at the Dooley Foundation and one of my clients is one of your patients.”

  Jeremy was the director of patient services at the hospital where Jack was being treated and Cal Lazarus’s dad was in hospice care.

  Jeremy’s tone didn’t thaw. “Is this favor going to get me into trouble?”

  “This favor is going to get a large donation for the hospital made in your name and floor level seats to a Flash game.”

  He sighed into the phone. “I know I’m going to regret asking you this, but what is this evil thing in the name of good you want me to do?”

  “There’s a patient of yours in hospice who loves people, but his son has him in a private room because he only visits late at night and doesn’t want to disturb anyone. Your hospice patient wants company and to see his son in the light of day. There’s another patient of yours recovering from West Nile Virus that could use a roommate who appreciates life. He’s still out of it, occasionally hallucinating, and bound to his bed. I was wondering if you could make them roomies.” A few minutes later, Cora promised to send over a box of cigars and hung up. “Jeremy agreed.”

  “That wasn’t the lesson we discussed with Viv,” Blue said, doubt clouding his brow.

  “I happened to meet Cal Lazarus Senior a week or so ago,” Cora began.

  “Oh, Cora,” Amber cut her off. “I was texting while you talked, so I didn’t catch the other patient’s name. Cal Lazarus’ father? That’s the man who’s dying? Don’t mess with Cal.”

  “Cal needs a good night sleep in his own bed, not a hospital chair. It’s impacting his work and his attitude.” Not just toward Cora, but Portia as well. He was becoming a letch. “His father’s nightly pain meds mean he can’t fully wake himself up to talk when Cal visits. He’s lonely and heartbroken.” Not to mention a bit of a character. “Besides, Cal is my client. He needs to be forced to face death during the daylight.” Cora gathered her things. “Are we good? I need to check in with the Flash.” And pretend Trent didn’t know things about her even Amber didn’t know.

  Amber and Blue exchanged glances. Each turned back to her and raised an eyebrow in the same way their father used to.

  “When will you two cut me a break? I’m tired of you not trusting me. I’m not sleeping with Coach Parker.” Cora felt the tell-tale heat of a blush root beneath her breastbone and climb upward. “His priority is the team.”

  “Men always have something to prove.” Thankfully, Blue took the conversation in a different direction. “They count wins and salaries and the size of their engines.”

  “It’s Coach Parker’s priorities we need to shift before someone gets hurt.” Amber’s gaze became distant. Cora imagined she was worrying about Evan again.

  “In his defense,” Cora said, “Trent’s here to win. Just because you think he’s going to run the team to death doesn’t mean he will. The more I get to know him, the less likely it seems.”

  “So you don’t believe he sacrificed Randy Farrell for the championship?” Amber’s gaze challenged. “He knew that kid was injured and he played him anyway.”

  Cora held her ground. “Have you seen the entire film? The only thing Coach Parker is guilty of is refusing to believe Randy was fit to play.” When sleep eluded her, she’d watched last season’s Holy Southern Cross games, including several viewings of the championship game. She’d texted a friend of hers on the Lakers’ coaching staff to see if he agreed. He’d only watched the career-ending injury, not the exchange prior to it. He changed his opinion when he viewed what lead up to the final play.

  “Coach Parker’s record is littered with injured players.” Amber’s tone escalated, until she very nearly howled her displeasure. “Don’t tell me he’s convinced you otherwise.”

  “Every coach at every level of sport has injured players,” Cora retorted. “The media has made Coach Parker their target. It’s a great headline – the good Reverend isn’t a Saint. From ESPN to L.A. Happenings, it draws people in.”

  “Ladies, stop.” Blue held an arm toward each sister. “Arguing won’t help anything.”

  They ignored him.

  “I’m your boss. You’ll do what I think is best for the client.”

  “What’s best for your husband, you mean.” Bitchiness flooded Cora, raising the set of her shoulders and the pitch of her words.

  Amber’s eyes flashed. “I’m
taking you off the Flash assignment.”

  All those billings…I’ll never meet my sales quota.

  Cora lifted her chin. “I quit.”

  “You can’t take her off this assignment, Amber.” Blue’s voice had a rare edge to it, the kind that sliced with the business end. “And you can’t quit, Cora.”

  Before Cora could ask why, Brutus and Mr. Jiggles trotted into the room ahead of Gemma. “Something just hit the news about the Flash being bumped out of the Forum. The Madison Square Garden group bought the arena and wants to make it the Fabulous Forum again. It’s going to be closed until January.”

  “Where is the Flash going to play?” Amber wondered aloud.

  “Jack’s assistant, Zach, told me Vivian made arrangements to play at some junior college in Orange County.” Gemma gave Cora a worried look. “That’s not all. Zach said there’s truth to the rumor circulating on Twitter about the Flash making an offer for Hugh Irving.”

  “What?” A trio of flabbergasted Rules.

  “It was trending on Twitter?” Amber tilted her head in Gemma’s direction. “How do you know?”

  “Because she’s fan-girl stalking Coach Farrell.” Sarcasm rode the crest of Cora’s anger, trampled the knowledge that Gemma was collateral damage. “You could have said something sooner.”

  Gemma’s eyes narrowed. “It was a rumor. Someone in this office just told me not to believe everything I read online.” She stomped out, two little dogs at her heels.

  Cora regretted her sharp words, but there was more at stake here than Gemma’s feelings.

  “Who is Hugh Irving?” Amber wondered aloud.

  “He’s a former college superstar who’s struggled in the NBA.” Blue stared out the window behind Cora. “Why would the Flash want him?”

  “He’s humongous. Plays center.” Cora searched for Hugh on her laptop. “Drug arrest. Gun possession arrest. Assault and battery. This guy’s a major head-case.”

  “Is Jack well enough to make these decisions?” Blue looked at Cora.

  “Sedated? Restrained?” She shook her head.

  Blue frowned. “Has Coach Parker said anything about Hugh?”

  “No,” Cora said. “In fact, last night he told Antoine he’d cut any player who got into trouble with the law or associated with criminals.”

  “So Viv’s taken the helm,” Amber murmured.

  “We told her to reclaim her power,” Cora pointed out, hearing Luck toot its horn as it drove past their office.

  “We earned our money.” Blue withdrew his Rules of Attraction cheat sheet. He kept a folded copy in his wallet with a listing of all the life coaching methods their father had used. “The question is, did Viv learn anything about balance? She needed a purpose in life other than making Jack miserable.”

  Instead of admitting she hadn’t covered that part of the program, Cora grabbed her purse and fled.

  Chapter 21

  It took effort, but Cora kept herself from charging into Jack’s office shouting, “What the hell, Viv?”

  Instead, she said calmly, “You’ve been busy this morning.”

  Jack’s renegade trophy wife sat behind his huge desk. She wore a supermodel’s detachment – in her expression and the set of her shoulders beneath a gun-metal gray Armani jacket. “With Jack still out of it, someone had to step in and make decisions. I take it you heard about our change of venue?”

  Among other things.

  Cora gripped the back of a visitor’s chair. She’d thought they were friends. If they had been, Viv would have confided a few things in her, and possibly asked for her advice. It was a humbling morning of hard lessons. First Trent’s probing areas of her life she didn’t delve into. Now Viv’s play for power. “A junior college? No NBA team can play in a stadium that small. The ticket revenue won’t cover player salaries.”

  “Really? I hadn’t realized.” Viv bestowed Cora with her iciest, ice queen smile. “We lost the Forum until January. We needed a place to play and it was available.”

  “There are larger arenas out there,” Cora said in what she hoped sounded like Amber’s voice, calm and non-threatening. “Maybe we could rent Pauley Pavilion or Galen Center.” Where UCLA and USC played. “Or the Honda Center.” Close to Disneyland, where the Mighty Ducks played. The venue had hosted regional college basketball playoffs in the past.

  If shrugging was an art form, Viv was a master. Viv’s shrug conveyed her disregard of Cora and her opinion. “I had to make a decision.”

  Drawing a deep breath, Cora sat and struggled to maintain a conciliatory tone. Bitches didn’t respond well to full-on frontal assaults by other bitches. “What about Hugh Irving?” On the court, the man had caused more deadly pile-ups than texting commuters on the 405.

  “The Dooley Foundation specializes in fixing broken athletes.” Viv’s lips hinted at a smile, the kind of smile you saw at poker tables when someone had a royal flush and couldn’t quite keep it to themselves.

  “Did you consult Coach Parker before signing him?”

  “Was I supposed to?” The poker-winning smile trumped the sincerity in Viv’s question. “I’m trying to be a good partner for Jack, like you wanted. He had the contract on his desk. I assumed he wanted to sign it.”

  Sleep deprived, relationship muddled, on the brink of losing her inheritance bonus, Cora snapped. “God damn it, Viv. You could have asked me. Bringing in Irving is a shitty idea. The team needs a big man, not a felon. Any unexpected change in the team dynamic might throw off the team’s balance and without balance, they’ll lose. Badly. Repeatedly.”

  The Flash would be the laughingstock of the NBA.

  Viv’s smile dropped into a dangerous frown. “You think I don’t know that? I spent the past two seasons crashing meetings and hunkering down in Jack’s sky box.”

  “Then why rock the boat?”

  “You know I love Jack, but he can’t love more than one thing at a time.” Viv leaned forward, her expression determined. “If I’m to find life balance and love with Jack, the Flash has to go. Isn’t that what you want for me?”

  The espresso Cora’s sucked down earlier burned like acid in her belly. If she hadn’t been raised by an unfeeling supermodel and a feel-too-much life coach, she’d have told Viv where to go. But her inner bitch stomped on the idea of defeat with really great wedge heels, and smiled. “As your life coach, I’m on your side, but Jack – ”

  “When Jack gets out of the hospital, the Flash will no longer stand between us.” Viv’s returning smile promised world dominance and doom. “Because he’ll have no choice but to sell the franchise. I know he loves me and without the Flash in our way, we’ll be happy again. And I have you to thank for our happiness.”

  It’s not my fault.

  Cora felt dizzy. It wasn’t possible that she was to blame. It had to be Viv’s fault. Viv hadn’t been able to let her resentment toward the team go. Viv perceived the franchise as Jack’s mistress, one who’d usurped her spot as his first priority.

  Son of a bitch. I hope it’s not my fault.

  Trent charged into the office. “Where’s Jack? It’s about time we signed Irving.”

  Cora had been about to welcome an ally in this fight when Trent’s words sunk in.

  “He’s exactly what…” Viv was a little slower on the uptake. “What?”

  “Irving. Thank you for signing him. Let’s hold off on the other trade, because...” Trent’s voice trailed off as he began to realize he and Viv weren’t on the same page.

  “You want Irving on the team?” Cora recovered first, still disbelieving. “He’ll probably assault a woman and be in jail two weeks into his contract.” Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for the rest of the guys.

  “Don’t judge a man by his past,” Trent said in that detached, deep voice she’d come to associate with the Reverend.

  Trent wanted Irving? He was working a trade? And he hadn’t told her?

  Cora’s mind whirled with a purpose, ignoring her wounded pride. So what if T
rent hadn’t shared that he wanted Irving? Now, more than ever she knew where she stood with him – outside his circle of trust.

  But she couldn’t lose sight of Trent’s slip. A Flash trade offer had to present something of value to other teams – a high round, future draft pick or a valuable player…like Evan.

  Cora’s pulse pounded with shit-hit-the-fan intensity. Trent was going to ruin everything Evan had worked for, not to mention the shrapnel that would scar her relationship with Amber once things blew up.

  “You want Hugh Irving on the team,” Viv said carefully.

  Trent seemed to have reassessed the situation, for he responded just as carefully. “Do you have questions about him?”

  Only questions about you, Benedict Arnold.

  An hour ago she’d been defending him to Amber. She blamed her gullibility on great sex.

  When neither woman spoke, Trent started backing out. “I came in late because I had an appointment this morning. I need to check on the team.”

  “Jack has been sedated to help him rest more comfortably,” Viv said in a frigid voice before he’d gone two steps. “Cora encouraged me to reclaim my rights as part owner. What other changes to personnel were you considering, Coach? Zach tells me we’ve let some players and coaches go. And you mentioned a trade?”

  “Cora encouraged you...” Trent’s gaze hardened. Cora’s never wavered.

  His gaze said: This is your fault.

  Hers said: Not all of it, dude.

  He returned his attention to Viv. “Let’s see how the team dynamic changes with Irving before we seek any more personnel. As you ladies know, he could be a challenge.”

  Cora gritted her teeth. She could be a challenge, too. How could she have considered – even for a millisecond – dating him?

  “But clearly, you have faith in Hugh,” Viv said. “And if the Dooley Foundation can’t get him to perform for you, they’ll lose our business.”

  “Not. To. Worry.” Cora bit off the words.

  Trent’s eyes blazed. She was ready for him to take off the gloves and bring it.