Page 13 of The Fake Play

I nudge her shot glass toward her. “Besides, we should get to know each other, shouldn’t we? Won’t it make your job easier if you know how to manipulate me? That’s all PR is, isn’t it? Manipulation, lies. You might as well learn the best way to do that with me.” Not that I was going to tell her anything useful.

“I already know how to do that.”

“Prove it.”

Her unmanicured fingers drum on the table momentarily before she reaches for the glass, surprising me. She lifts it in a mock toast. “To responsible drinking.”

I laugh, and we clink glasses before downing the shots. To my surprise, she didn't wince at the burn. “Are you a whiskey drinker? Might make me actually like you.”

“Not really. But I'm making an exception for you. I doubt you can shoot vodka.”

Gauntlet thrown. “Not my usual drink of choice, no. I can, thanks to my job being peppered with Russians, but I appreciate the consideration. We’ll stick with Jack if that’s alright with you. So what do you want to know about me?”

She purses her pouty lips as she thinks. Not fair. It’s impossible to see her do that and not think of those lips wrapped around my dick. But that thought gets wiped out a moment later.

“Why didn't you press charges?”

“Press charges for what?”

She tilts her head, eyes narrowing slightly. “Wait, if you had to ask that, then how many other people are there that you would consider pressing charges against?”

I snort a laugh before realizing how blunt she’d just been. She was bold, which I liked. “I assume you mean press charges against my ex for setting my car on fire. It was a misunderstanding. She's a good person. She just… snapped.”

Keke raises an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “Did you not hear yourself say she set your car on fire?”

I wave a hand in the air. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Seriously, how are you taking this so lightly?”

“It's not as bad as it sounds?—”

“I saw the newsfootage. Your Lamborghini was completely engulfed in flames. She’s lucky the fire didn’t spread to the other player’s cars. I’m pretty sure that means that it is as bad as it sounds.”

“Mara was upset because there was a misunderstanding between the two of us. I didn't want to make it worse by draggingthe cops into it. Unfortunately, the news crews like to hang out at the rink, so they got firsthand footage.”

“Okay, what kind of misunderstanding leads a girl to lighting a car on fire? I have got to hear this.”

I shrug. It wasn’t my finest moment but if Keke was going to be handling my press, she needed the details. “We had gone out a few times, nothing serious. Or, at least, I didn’t think it was serious. I didn’t know she had made a dupe of my housekey, and I definitely didn’t know she was going to let herself into my place while I was in bed with another woman?—”

“What?”

“Yeah. I was mid-stroke with this other girl, and Mara got mad, thinking I was cheating on her. Understand, we never said we were exclusive. I don’t do exclusive. At least, I haven’t found the right woman yet for that kind of commitment. Anyway, it was just a misunderstanding. No reason to press charges on anyone.”

She stares at me for a moment then bursts out laughing. “You're way too kind. She made an illegal duplicate of your housekey, broke into your house, and then set your car on fire. If that were me, I would have pressed charges against her so fast her head would’ve spun.”

I grin, leaning forward. “So are you saying you date women? Is that why you didn't kiss me the other night?”

She rolls her eyes, but I catch a hint of a smile. “No.”

“Why not, then? Were you already on the job or something?”

She shakes her head, that red ponytail bouncing. “I don't go for the charming playboy, golden retriever type.”

“What is your type?”

“The kind that doesn’t ask too many questions,” she says sharply.

“Golden retriever, huh?”

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