Page 20 of Breaking the Habit

Levi swiveled his chair to face Riley, who had perched on the arm rest of an overstuffed armchair across the room. “How’d you fare with the other photographers?”

She sent him a genuine smile, one that punched straight through to his gut. “They really tried to be the big burly assholes, but I threw elbows, like you said. I’d call it a successful first day.”

He swiveled back and forth, grinning like a dope at Riley. Travis sent him a look, asking in a low voice, “Are you seriously this moony-eyed already?”

Levi swatted at him but didn’t bother defending himself. He sorta had a point.

“All right, kids. Time to head out.” Travis twirled his finger in the air.

Levi groaned, sitting forward. He watched as Riley packed up her camera. He had to try again. Another hangout session. He was dying to see the pictures, so it seemed a natural meeting point. “You know, Riley—”

A firm knock sounded against the door.

Lex tugged open the door. An unfamiliar man in a casual gray sport coat smiled in at them, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his slacks.

“Is Levi Swain in here?”

“Yeah.” Lex stepped aside, pulling the door open wider. Levi leaned forward and waved.

“What can I do for you?”

The man smiled, looking at each person in turn before saying, “I’d like to speak in private, if at all possible.”

A whole bunch of questions ignited inside him, from the worst-case scenario to the most ludicrous of possibilities. This man was about to sue him. Or he’d come to offer a bag of cash. There was almost no in-between.

“Sure. Will it be long, because they were going to head out—” he began.

“I’d like to ask for an impromptu business meeting,” the stranger said. Levi’s gut told him to see this through, hear the guy out.

“Call a ride share,” Travis said, jerking his head toward the door, like urging the others to follow, “and the gym will pick up the tab, okay?”

Levi nodded, waving as his crew filed out. Once the door shut behind them, the man offered his hand.

“My name is Marcus Greer. I’ve been following you for a few months. Your career, that is—not physically.”

Levi erupted with a laugh. “Well, that’s a relief. What can I do for you?”

“I want to work with you.” Marcus had a calculating look in his sharp blue eyes, and everything about his energy screamed wealthy businessman. Even though he was dressed casually, Levi had a feeling Marcus’s leather shoes alone cost a couple grand. “In fact, I think you’d be perfect for a developing business opportunity.”

Levi’s head started spinning. Maybe his efforts were starting to pay off. “How’d you know I was open to this? Did you get one of my emails?” One of the first things he’d done after arriving in LA was sending out press releases about his upcoming ascent in the WFC league. He’d been pretty sure nothing would come of it, but then again, maybe this connection was a direct result.

“No email. Just scouting on my part. I have what you might call a knack for discovering trends before they’re big. And discovering stars before they explode.”

Well, if that wasn’t a convincing opening line. “Go on.”

Marcus pulled up a chair in front of Levi and eased into it, resting his elbows on his knees. “I own a PR company. I handle people’s images. Their reputations. What the world should know about them.” He paused, dragging his gaze up to meet Levi’s. “That said, sometimes it’s to my client’s advantage to orchestrate…incidents…to work in their favor.”

Things were somehow making less sense now. “Incidents?”

“Yes. Newsworthy incidents.”

“So…you’re fabricating news? Isn’t this the fake news everyone’s worried about?”

“I wouldn’t go as far as saying fake news,” Marcus said, “but rather, engineered. I work heavily with the tabloids to make sure that my clients are receiving the coverage we intend.”

“And how do I fit into this?”

A smile blossomed on Marcus’s face. “We think you’d be perfect for an upcoming headline.”

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