Page 71 of A Whole New Game

And you do?

Yes,I silence my traitorous inner voice.I’m better than that piece of shit.

“Hello? Corey? Are you even listening to me?”

“Of course, I’m listening.”

My PR agent’s exasperated sigh sounds all around me. “What did the guy do anyway?”

“Nothing.”

“It had to be something,” she insists. “Or are you secretly a violent sociopath? Because if you are, that’s not the kind of person I signed up to work for, and I’d like you to consider this my formal resignation.”

“I’m not a sociopath.” I hit the blinker and wait for the car in front of me to move so I can turn right at the light.

“Then what happened?”

I could deflect. I could make up some bullshit about having a bad day. But there’s no point. The press already leaked the photos. The moment Avery sees them, she’ll put two and two together. “He insulted Carlee.”

“And… what? Your white knight syndrome went into overdrive?”

“Are you going to make me say it?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.” I blow out a breath. “Carlee is my girlfriend.”

She waits a beat before prompting, “And?”

“And, what? He insulted her. I couldn’t stand there and not do anything about it.”

“There are about a million other things you could’ve done rather than hit the guy,” Avery counters. “Why in the world was that your first instinct?”

Because my asshole father used to hit me at the slightest provocation…

Shame clogs my throat, making it difficult to speak. “It just was,” I mutter.

A tired exhale travels through the speakers. “Look, Corey. I get it. From what I’ve heard, the guy is a real asshole. He likely deserved a punch more than once in his life, but I need you to apologize.Publicly.Carlee says that might convince him not to press charges.”

“You spoke to Carlee?”

“You haven’t?” She sounds surprised, but she shouldn’t be.

Carlee and I haven’t spoken since yesterday when she went with her whiny ex to the hospital to have his jaw checked out. The pansy thought I’d shattered a bone. He would’ve wailed if I’d put my full strength behind that hit. My knuckles aren’t even bruised. Which is good, considering I hit him with my throwing hand.

Other than a text telling me she’d talk to me later, I haven’t heard from Carlee. And I can’t blame her. Carlee didn’t sign up to be with a violent guy. I spent the night beating myself up for letting my childhood baggage ruin things between us. Just like I knew it would.

“No, I haven’t,” I answer Avery, trying but failing, to hide the hurt from my voice.

She sighs again. “Talk to her, Corey. This situation is about more than just the assault. The press knows you two are seeing each other. It’s only a matter of time before they identify her. The Lonestars already have.”

“I know.”

“You two need to get your story straight before you walk into that meeting.”

“It’s a little late for that,” I say as I pull into the parking garage and see Carlee’s car already parked. Guilt hits meknowing I took Carlee away from volunteering at Soup Soul today. I tried calling Erika to explain why we wouldn’t be there, but I got the director’s voicemail. I plan to call her after this meeting to see if there’s anything else I can do to help prepare for the community Easter egg hunt.

“Then limit what you say to Wilson until you speak to her,” Avery advises. “Keep the conversation focused on you and how you’re going to make it right. Leave out talk of your relationship for now.”

---