“Didn’t you say Lila’s ex works for a politician?”
“Yeah. He’s Chief of Staff to Senator Banks.”
He tips his head with a knowing look in his eyes. “There’s your answer.”
“What could her ex-husband do for me?”
“He’s a big fan, right?”
“He was a big fan… until he found out I was fucking his ex-wife.”
Marcel laughs. “Senator Banks has a lot of pull in this town.”
I narrow my eyes. “And how would that get Lila her contract back?”
“Go talk to the ex. I’m sure his crooked boss can scratch your back if you scratch his.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of this.”
He smirks. “Sometimes, you need to think outside the box.”
“Thanks for the push.” I smile for the first time in weeks. “I got a politician to annoy.”
* * *
I hate it when people make me wait. Patience has never been one of my strong suits. After Marcel gave me the bright idea to talk to Senator Banks, I drove over to the Capitol Building. The traffic in D.C. is a pain in the dick. You need to add at least an extra half hour to your day just to get where you need to be on time. It took me over forty minutes to get here, and then, it was a real hassle to get inside.
A middle-aged redhead with a squeaky voice that’s painfully annoying answers one phone call after another. I rushed over in the same sweats and Caps tee without thinking about how I look. Not like I care. But I wouldn’t recommend dressing like you rolled out of bed when you visit a place filled with suits.
A few people recognized me, while most of the stuck-up suits tipped their nose up at me. Fucking snobs. I hate politics and all the bullshit that surrounds it. I feel like I’m in an episode of House of Cards. I don’t belong in a place like this. I have no idea what I will say to the senator when we meet. But I’m sure we can come to an agreement. There has to be something he wants.
My cell phone rings for the tenth time since the secretary told me to take a seat. She peeks up from her computer, glaring at me until I silence the ringer. If I wasn’t waiting for Lila to come to her senses, I wouldn’t have replaced the phone I broke. The damn thing rings off the hook day and night.
Everyone wants the story about Lila and me. They want to know more about the woman who scored the highest-paid player in the NHL. I went from the most unattainable bachelor to pussy whipped overnight. And seriously, I don’t care that I’m whipped. Lila can whip me all she wants. I’d do anything to get her back. There’s no line I wouldn’t cross or amount of money I wouldn’t spend.
The minutes drag as I wait for Senator Banks to show his face. I’m too big for the armchair, and when I attempt to get comfortable, the wood digs into my side. Bored, I open my phone and hit ignore on the missed calls and texts. I could care less about what anyone wants from me. I’ll talk when I feel like it.
The jerk off from earlier responded to my tweets with a string of Lila GIFs. He’s lucky I don’t know where he lives. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to find out. Annoyed, I close out of Twitter. Who the fuck cares what any of these morons think about me? Lila is my girlfriend. There’s nothing wrong with us being together.
Well, she was my girlfriend…
I’m not sure what to call her now.
We’re broken up, but we’re not.
She wants space, and I don’t.
This situation confuses the hell out of me.
After two hours of wasted time, the secretary clears her throat. “Mr. Baldwin?”
I shove my phone into my pocket and look up at her. “Senator Banks is in Baltimore for a conference. I thought Mr. Fairchild would be back after lunch, but he just called to cancel his afternoon. Do you want to make an appointment for another day?”
“Does Ted do this often?”
She rolls her shoulders. “He’s a busy man.”
I can see why he never shows up for Max. He has no respect for anyone’s time. What’s keeping you away from the office, Ted? He strikes as me the type to fuck assistants between meetings. I get a serious dickhead vibe from him.
I’d love to know what Lila ever saw in him. They say love is blind. Lila must’ve had on some pretty dark shades when she looked at Ted. I knew what he was the second I met him. He was probably cheating on Lila for years. How any man would be that stupid with a woman like her at home amazes me. Lila is the kind of woman you worship, cherish. You don’t let another man take her away from you.
“No, I’ll come back if I can’t find him,” I tell her.
I guess I have to hunt this asshole down if I want Lila back. I’ve been to Ted’s house a few times to pick up Max with Lila. His address is still in my GPS.
* * *
An hour later, after I sat through a ridiculous amount of traffic, I pull up in front of Ted’s house. His black Mercedes is in the driveway. He must’ve had some hell of a reason to cancel his entire afternoon to lounge around at home.
No one answers when I knock on the front door. I pound my fists against the wood a few more times with the same result. Still nothing. I grab the knocker and give that a try. Why is his car here if he’s not home?
I ring the doorbell, and after the fifth ring, the door swings open. Ted’s dark hair is wet, a towel wrapped around his waist. He holds the towel in place, confusion scrolling across his face when he sees me. His eyes widen, the way they did the first time we met when he was still one of my biggest fans. But after our last altercation, his opinion of me has changed. I hate him, too.
Ted’s mouth twists into a disgusted scowl. “What the hell do you want?”
Holding back what I want to say to this prick, I say, “I need to talk to you.”
“And what gives you the right to show up at my house? This is private property.” He attempts to slam the door in my face, and I push out my palm to stop him.
“It’s important,” I growl. “I wouldn’t show up here if it wasn’t.”
“Make an appointment,” he snaps. “I’m busy.”
I glance down at the white towel and nod. “Yeah, you look busy, Ted.”
“Hey, baby,” a woman says from inside the house. “What are you doing down there?”
For a split second, I swear she sounds like Lila. My blood boils, and a fire simmers beneath my burning skin. Instinctively, I ball my hands into fists, ready to pound him into next week. Until a young blonde woman who could pass as Lila’s twin, only a few years younger and with smaller tits, steps into the entryway. She’s also wearing a towel, with her hair piled on top of her head. Her eyes travel up and down my body. I almost laugh when our eyes meet, and she licks her lips.
“Duke Baldwin,” she coos. “Wow! What are you doing here?” Her towel dips slightly, giving me a better view of her tits. She did that on purpose.
Ignoring her, I look at Ted. “I sat in your office for two hours. You owe me five minutes for my time.”
He laughs. “I don’t owe you anything.”
“I’m sure Senator Banks would love to know that you canceled your afternoon to fuck the help.”
The blonde gasps and her cheeks flush red.
“Fine,” Ted sighs, opening the door wide enough for me to step inside. “Five minutes.” He turns to the blonde and says, “Wait for me upstairs.”
Her gaze shifts between us, and then she disappears in the opposite direction. Ted leads me down a long hallway and into his office. Paneled floor to ceiling in wood, it looks like the office of a rich asshole. Every movie cliché is present in this room. I feel like I’m waiting for members of the Skull and Bones to pop out from a hidden doorway in the wall.
A mahogany desk sits in front of a long row of windows that overlook the backyard. A giant deer head is mounted on the wall above a wood burning fireplace. Two oversized leather armchairs are on the right side of the room, with a decanter of amber liquid sitting on the table between them.
Ted motions for me to sit, and then pours me a glass
. I wave him off. I’m not here to sit around and bullshit with him. I’m all business today.
He sips from the glass and then sets it on the table. “You wanted a meeting. So, talk.”
“I need your help getting Lila’s contract with the Caps back.”
He gives me a smug look I want to knock from his face with my fist. “What makes you think I can help you with that?”
“Senator Banks knows the team owner personally.”
He snorts. “And why would he want to help you?”
I lean forward, measuring him up with my eyes, and he cowers at my intense gaze. When I was in middle school, my math teacher told my mom that I scared her. She thought there was something wrong with me. It’s not like I went home and killed rabbits or burnt bugs with magnifying glasses, but the Baldwin stare works every time.
Ted leans back in his chair and tips the glass to his mouth.
“You should do this for Lila,” I challenge. “And for your daughter, who you stand up every chance you get.”
He slams the glass on the table, and liquid spills out. “Stay out of my business.”
“Lila is my business. If you don’t want to do this for me, do it for your daughter. Lila won’t tell you because she’s too proud, but she needs the money. She couldn’t afford to lose this job.”
“She didn’t want alimony,” he says. “Instead, I gave her full custody of Max. If she needed the money, she should have fought me harder.”
I grind my teeth, commanding every ounce of energy to stop myself from knocking him out. He deserves worse than what I did to Dean. Hell, now that I know the truth, Dean didn’t deserve it at all. Okay, well, maybe a little ass-kicking. After all, he did get my baby sister pregnant. That has to count for something.
“I know how this works. I’m sure there’s something you want. Money for the senator’s next campaign? A public appearance for a fundraiser?”
He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Not quite.”
“Spit it out.”
“There’s a cheerleader,” he says, and I shake my head, not the least bit surprised.
“You somehow managed to get a woman like Lila. If you could convince her that you’re not a total piece of shit, I’m sure you could pick up a cheerleader on your own. They’re pretty easy to get into bed.”
“It wasn’t like that with Lila,” he shoots back. “You have no idea what she was like when I met her.”
I kick my sneaker up on his table, which earns me a nasty look. “Enlighten me.”
He tips head. “Do you mind? That’s a ten-thousand-dollar table.”
Rolling my eyes, I slide my shoe off the table.
“We were high school sweethearts,” he says.
“I know.”
“I’m not the asshole you think,” Ted says, now settling into his chair with the glass of scotch. “I went out of my way for Lila for a long time, but she has a habit of pushing people away. She shut me out. We stopped talking. Sex was non-existent. I mean, what did she expect me to do? Sit around and wait for her to stop hating me?”
“Lila’s story is much different.”
“There are two sides to every story. Lila never fully recovered from her mother’s suicide. She thinks there’s something wrong with her and that her genes are corrupted. That’s why she got into psychiatry.” I give him a look that says Tell me something I don’t already know, and he continues, “You got too close. That’s why you’re here right now.”
“No, I’m here because she lost her job.”
He shakes his head with a defiant smirk on his stupid face. “You can’t get her back without it. And you know it. She’s a hard woman to love. Take it from me, Duke. You’re better off letting her go.”
“No, I’m not,” I challenge, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m not giving up on Lila.”
He tips his glass to me and grins.
“Which cheerleader do you want?”
“There’s a blonde with a blue butterfly on her right shoulder blade.”
“She has a matching butterfly on her inner thigh,” I say, not proud of the fact I know this bit of information. “Her name is Alessandra.”
He rubs his hands together. “What’s she like?”
“She’s a gymnast. And a dancer. You do the math.”
“I want you to make an introduction. That’s my deal. And if she agrees to go out with me, I’ll have Senator Banks make a call to the owner. They’re old golf buddies.”
“You could’ve done this for Lila two weeks ago,” I snap, my anger seething through me.
“Nothing in life is free, Duke.” He reaches into a wooden box on the table and retrieves a cigar, stuffing it between his teeth as he looks for a lighter. “And I don’t do anything without getting something in return.”
“I can’t guarantee Alessandra will fuck you.”
She probably will.
Alessandra spreads her legs for any man with money. Ted isn’t a bad looking guy. He’s well-spoken, dresses nice, and has an Ivy League education. He won’t have to do more than flash his checkbook and smile to get her bed. I did neither and still found her spread eagle, waiting for me in the locker room one night long after the game ended.
I can’t believe this is the deal I have to make with this asshole. If I had any say in the matter, I’d take Lila and Max far away from him. They don’t need a man like him in their lives.
“Tomorrow night,” Ted says, blowing a plume of cigar smoke in my face. “You have a few more games before you’re back on the ice. Sit with me. Make the introductions. And if all goes well, Lila will have her contract back by the end of the week.”
“I don’t like this,” I say, rising from the chair. “If it weren’t for Lila, I would never agree to this deal.”
He opens his mouth, and smoke fills the space between us. I wave the cloud away from my face.
“We could be good friends, you know.”
I laugh at his comment. “No, I don’t think we could be.”
“This is business,” Ted says. “Lighten up, Duke. I thought this would be an easy proposition for you.”
“If you ever want us to be friends, you could do this favor for me. You’re going to see a lot more of me after I get Lila back.”
“So, confident,” he says in a cocky tone. “Okay, fine. I’ll make you a new deal. Come with me to the game tomorrow night. I want a private box to ourselves, top-shelf everything, and signed merch from the team.”
He strolls over to me, clutching the towel with one hand, holding the cigar in the other. Only an asshole of his magnitude would carry on a full conversation in a towel. Seriously, what did Lila see in him? I don’t get it.
“I won’t make fucking Alessandra part of the deal,” Ted says, blowing smoke in my face. “But, I want to meet her.”
My stomach stops doing backflips. At least now I can go home feeling like less of an asshole for making a deal with the devil.
“I’ll send a car for you around five,” he says as I turn my back to him. “Dinner at Plume, my treat.”
I raise my hand above my head in agreement and get the fuck out of his house.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Delilah
I lucked out and managed to keep my other contracts. Since there was no proof I violated any other ethics clauses, I still have the rest of my patients. At least I’m not jobless. But now, Max hates me for taking away the one thing she loves most.
“I want my iPad back,” Max shouts, getting into my face on the couch. “You said I could have it back. That was weeks ago.”
“I don’t want you online, Max. It’s for your own good.”
She swings another couch pillow and smacks me on the side of the head. “Why are you punishing me?”
“Max, knock it off.” I remove all of the pillows from the couch. “We’ve gone over this already. I don’t want you to get upset over nothing.”
“You’re the one who messed up,” she says at the top of her lungs. “Not me.”
&nb
sp; “Okay,” I groan. “You can have the iPad if you promise not to Google Duke or me. No more videos or GIFs, okay? Stick to YouTube Kids.”
“Fine.”
“You have to pinky swear.”
She smiles and holds out her pinky for me to wrap mine around hers. Max believes pinky promises are as ironclad as swearing on the River Styx. We’ve been doing this since she was old enough to know that people break their promises.
I reach for the iPad I hid on the top of the curio cabinet and get a hand full of dusk before my fingers touch the cold surface.
“Are you kidding me?” Max jumps off the couch and marches over to me. “It was up there the entire time?”
“Yep.” I blow the dust off the iPad cover and give it to Max. “But my secret is out. So, don’t go looking up there the next time.”
“There won’t be a next time.”
“Do you want some hot chocolate, baby?” I brush the hair out of her eyes, and she looks up at me with a genuine smile.
Things haven’t been the same between us since I told Duke we needed to take a break. Max misses Duke. I miss him, too. She talks about him all the time and begs me to call him. Not a moment has gone by over the past few weeks that I didn’t think of him. Duke changed both of our lives.
“When is Duke coming back?” Eyes pointed down at the tablet, her fingers work at a feverish pace. “I need his help with my slapshot.”
Max follows me into the kitchen. I get out the box of hot chocolate, and she grabs the bag of marshmallows from the pantry closet.
“Call him!” Max tugs on my shirt. “Please. I want to talk to Duke.”
“We have some adult things to work out, baby.”
“Daddy said he’s going to a game with Duke,” she says, sitting down at the kitchen table. “They’re friends. Why can’t I be friends with Duke?”
Confused, I narrow my eyes at her. “You must have heard wrong. Daddy isn’t friends with Duke.”
“Yes, they are. If you were talking to Duke, you would know that.”
Why would Duke and Ted be friends? Duke hates Ted, and after their little blowout at the rink, the feeling is now mutual. This doesn’t make sense. Max is rarely wrong, which makes me wonder if Duke is doing this for Max. I could see him setting aside his differences with Ted to make life easier for us. Duke is a good man.
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