Page 89 of The Main Event

“Don’t make me sue you, son, because I will.”

Did he just threaten to sue me? “Are you kidding me right now?”

“No. I might not be able to sue your grandfather’s charlatan attorneys, but I can sue you for mismanagement under the Hunter name.” He moved right next to me. “I know your reputation is important to you, son. You’ll do the right thing.”

With that, he strode out of the restaurant as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Me? I was in a bad, bad place.

What had just happened here?

22

TWENTY-TWO

If I thought theDungeons and Dragonsparty was a nightmare to talk through, the Halloween party that had already been booked and was set to take place in two weeks was even worse. How was that possible?

Phyllis Reardon looked as if she wanted to start drinking, and it wasn’t even noon yet. Her daughter Chloe, however, was all bright eyed and happy as she explained her vision.

“I want everybody to dress up as someone from the Kardashians,” she explained. “Someone in their world I mean. Obviously, it can’t all be Kardashians. That would be stupid.”

Personally, I was of the mind that anybody dressing up as the Kardashians—even a single person—was stupid. Chloe, however, didn’t see it.

“Don’t you think that’s a great idea?” she enthused.

I pressed my lips together, debating the best tack, and then decided that my true opinion on this wouldn’t go over well. It was better to feign ignorance. “Aren’t there only a handful of Kardashians?” I asked finally. “All women except for one brother. Does that mean you want all the males at your party to dress up like him? I can’t even remember his name.”

“Ron,” Phyllis volunteered helpfully.

“Rob,” Chloe corrected, giving her mother a dirty look. “How can you keep forgetting? His name is Rob, for crying out loud.”

“Sorry.” Phyllis didn’t look sorry. She darted a look toward the bar, and I could practically see her doing the math in her head.

“I’ve tested her multiple times on her Kardashian knowledge, and she always fails,” Chloe explained to me.

“I’m not all that familiar with the Kardashians myself,” I hedged. “Honestly, what I do know, I feel as if I’ve been forced to learn it against my will.”

Gratitude flooded Phyllis’s eyes. “Thank you.” She threw her hands into the air.

If evil was an expression, that’s what Chloe boasted now. “The Kardashians are America’s first family. You should know everything about them.”

That made no sense. “Um … isn’t the first family the president’s family? I mean … whoever might be president at the time.”

Chloe made a scoffing noise. “No.”

“I think that’s right,” Levi offered helpfully from behind the bar.

Chloe turned her glare to him. “You would make a good Rob,” she said suddenly. “You can be Rob bartending. That would be good.”

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at Levi’s murderous stare. He loathed the Kardashians. Actually, he loathed all reality show people. He said it was a cliche for gay people to follow reality television, and he refused to be a cliche.

“Maybe I’ll be OJ,” Levi countered. “He was adjacent to the Kardashian world.”

“Who is OJ?” Chloe’s face was blank.

“OJ Simpson,” I replied automatically. “The Kardashian father was good friends with him and served on his dream team of lawyers when he was being tried for murder.”

Chloe blinked. “Who did he murder?”

“Actually, he was acquitted, although people still argue to this day on whether he was guilty or not. His ex-wife and a gentleman dropping off the glasses she left at a restaurant were murdered.”

---