Page 56 of Nothing to Do

“Nah, Struan, how many times have you handed him his ass and he still doesn’t get the message? He wants a fight, I’ll take a turn at bat.”

“Tripp,” Roxie whispered.

His eyes stayed on Roman. “Like you said, Rox Out, single without blood.”

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

“Come on, this is what he does,” Tripp said completely impervious. “Shouts the odds, thinks if he swears enough, he’ll scare everyone off. I have six older brothers.” He scoffed. “This guy’s a fucking amateur. We want to talk who has the most experience here? I’ll fight him ‘til the fucking sun rises. Let him embarrass himself, why not?”

Roman opened his arms, backing off a couple of steps at the same time Zane’s hand slid onto her shoulder.

“You’re all just fucking jealous. Think I’m all done? You thought I was washed out?”

“No, we thought you were coked up.”

“Roman!”

That unexpected bark came a breath before an older man appeared storming across the kitchen. With some extra weight around his belly, he wasn’t old, old, maybe in his fifties, but he carried a hell of a bluster.

“Magnus, fuck off out of here,” Roman said without turning around. “I told you I was coming to tell them.”

“And I told you we need to talk strategy,” Magnus said, stopping at his side. “This role will put you back on top, get your face out there again, wipe out some of the bullshit from the past.”

The past being a couple of nights ago? From what she’d seen, Roman wasn’t the most stable even if he was sober. Though she hadn’t got a definitive answer on his level of intoxication.

“What is it?” she asked. “The role?”

“Lead in an action show,” Struan answered.

“Yeah,” Roman crowed. “Lead, baby, it’s all about me.” Like the guy needed to say that out loud. Their pleasant night had been disrupted by his ego and there was little chance of them getting it back. “I call the shots.”

“The press are getting here day after tomorrow.”

“Excuse me?” Zane asked. “The press?”

“And there goes our privacy,” Roxie said, sliding both arms around Zairn to hold herself against him.

His fingers combed into her hair. “If you want to get out of here, we can be gone in a couple of hours.”

When Roxie’s eyes opened, they landed on her.

“Zairn—”

“No,” Roxie said. “We can stay. I won’t abandon my girl… I may even call reinforcements.”

“He’s signing the paperwork next week, meeting in Honolulu.”

“So you invite the press into everyone’s privacy, but keep the high-hats out of reach?”

“They won’t want to travel further than necessary,” Zairn said, his voice growly. Roman had insulted Roxie, it wasn’t a surprise Zairn wasn’t amused. If it wasn’t for the woman literally holding onto him, he may not be so calm. “It’s already a long jaunt from LA.”

“You can’t leave the island to sign anything in Honolulu,” Struan said. “What about your adoring fans? The contest winners. You’ve already neglected them.” Which could be a story in itself. Maybe. What did she know about the world’s appetite for scandal? “And we don’t want the press talking to them.”

“It doesn’t matter, the contest women have all signed NDAs,” Magnus said. “We’ll remind them of that before the media get here.”

“Is it smart to do the press before the paperwork is signed?”

“Who said the press were allowed to come here?” Zane said. “I don’t want those hoards on my island.”

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