Page 56 of Played

Riot hung up the phone and cracked his neck. He was tired of kissing ass for the day. He texted River. To say he missed her would be too simple. He realized over the past few days he craved her. Craved everything about her. The way she walked across a room, the way her skin felt in his hands, the softness of her lips when he kissed her. Damn the woman had moved right into every nook and cranny of his being. And he loved it. Smiling to himself, he decided he would keep that information to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted by Marla poking her head in through his open door. The young woman needed to use the phone instead of coming into his office all the time.

He watched as she straightened up when he looked up at her. She smoothed a hand over her hair, sweeping it back from her shoulder. “Can I help you, Marla?”

“Mr. Meniere, Archer Morgan is here to see you.”

“I’ll be right out.” There was a saying: never look a gift horse in the mouth. If this were a gift, he’d try and remember to tread lightly.

Fuck that, no he wouldn’t. He walked out into the hallway and immediately felt déjà vu when he saw Archer staring at the same picture River had been enamored with. Who could blame them? It was the best picture on the wall.

“Archer.”

“Hey man, you have time to talk?”

The kid needed to relax… a lot. “Yeah, come in the office.” Riot noticed Archer held a folder in his hand and he was curious about the contents. The guy looked… off.

“That’s a great picture on the wall.”

“One of the best.”

Closing the door, Riot found Archer right there in his space. He hadn’t moved further into the office. They stared at each other for a half second, waiting for each other to speak or move. Awkward. “You want to sit?”

“Oh fuck, sorry.”Idiot.“Listen… here’s the deal.”

R off the young man who looked far from the confident man on the racetrack the past week, Riot guided him to a chair. “Have a seat and tell me what’s going on.”

Archer pushed the folder toward Riot. He hated what it contained. He probably had a crazy bitch on his ass now, but that was his fault. His issue. When Laurel came dangling everything he wanted before him, Archer had grabbed on without thinking, allowing his anger, and hurt to guide him down a road too many had traveled before him. One minute, one decision, one more chance to make all the wrongs right. But were they his to fix? Not really, but he could help those who needed it.

Riot took the folder from Archer as he shoved it towards him with a shaky hand. The kid looked nervous. Riot had a feeling whatever the contents were must be damaging. Archer just nodded, letting him know it was exactly that… damaging. Flipping open the folder, Riot skimmed over the pages. Then he closed it and waited, gathering his thoughts. What Riot now held firmly beneath his hand could ruin Laurel and free the rest of them.

Archer cut into Riot’s thoughts. He hoped some wrongs could be righted. “I know Laurel did some mean, hateful shit to River. Maybe with that information, she could get back what belongs to her.”

“Can I keep this?” Riot tapped his finger on the folder.

“It’s all yours. She won’t know it’s missing. I left a folder with blank pages in its place.”

Riot slid the folder to the side. He had a little business proposition for the younger Morgan. One he hoped he’d take. One he still couldn’t believe he was about to do.Fuck it.Riot wanted to trust him, but could he?

Archer sat quietly, wondering if he should give up the rest that he had taken from Laurel. The bitch was definitely short a few brain cells. Pulling out the sim cards he had stolen from her safe, Archer tossed the small envelope on the desk between him and Riot. “That should get Laurel off everyone’s dicks for now.”

Riot felt like he was being played somehow. Opening the envelope, he saw the SIM cards. “What are these?”

“They’re labeled.”

“You look at them?” He knew by the way Archer wouldn’t meet his eyes that he had, and they were probably explicit. “Thank you for giving them to me. I should apologize that you saw them, but… it was your choice to look.” Riot shrugged. He wouldn’t apologize further than that. One day this shit would be old news. “There’s a rumor.”

“Which one?” Archer laughed.

“You didn’t renew with Canyon. I also heard one that said you’ve been running race trails with River Wile.”

Archer laughed. “You heard that did you? Yes, to the first part. No comment to the second part.”

Glad Archer was relaxing a bit, Riot eased back and ran his hand along the folders on his desk. Putting the jokes aside, he looked straight at Archer. He wanted the truth. He didn’t have time to dick around with people these days. “Are you serious about racing?”

“Yes. I just can’t do it on my own.” Racing had become his passion, his escape most days. He needed to keep going, but the money had started to run out. He silently prayed that Riot and D&T would offer him a serious sponsorship. Canyon Racing had been a joke. The only reason he had taken Laurel up on her measly offer had been to get on the track with River. He needed the sponsorship. In the end, Archer realized before the off season had gotten started, she was not where he wanted nor needed to be. One angry person is bad enough. Add someone that is plain nasty, and it becomes lethal. He needed a new path—one where there was a more positive motivator instead of a negative one.

“I might have a solution for you. Would you hang out for a minute while I step out of the office to check something?”

---