Page 82 of A Hard Sell

Thomas turned to shuffle some papers. “If you say Morgan is blackmailing you, then Morgan is blackmailing you. But, to be honest, I’ve suspected for a while that he was getting help. His style and quality were all over the place. I’m just sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.”

“Don’t be, it’s my fault.” Luka dug a pad of paper out of his desk and stared at the blank lines. He picked up a pen and wrote down the name of the jingle that Morgan had first asked for help on, way back when it had seemed like a good idea. He put the pen down again and ran his fingers through his hair.

Thomas watched him for a moment. “What did you guys talk about out there? Why is he doing this?”

“We just… He said…’’ Luka squirmed.I’m drooling after you? People are laughing at me? You’d never go for me?“He was just being an asshole. I don’t know.”

“Okay. Let me know if I can help with anything. Want some coffee?”

“Sure. Thanks.”

His list grew as he scribbled, then he started wondering how he was going to prove the blackmail. They had never texted about anything, so that was out. There might be some sheet music or notes he had written, but he doubted those would help prove it. He pulled a file drawer open and began pawing through, looking for any scrap that might help, but there wasn’t much beyond a few scrawled notes. He had probably left most of that stuff with Morgan when they were done. Sighing, he closed the drawer again. He’d have to look at home tonight, on the off chance he might have something there. Maybe he’d have more luck with emails. He didn’t expect to find anything blatant, but perhaps something vague enough to cast doubt. It would take him a while to comb through that mess.

Of course, there was Tawney. He hated to bring his best friend into it, but she knew he’d been helping Morgan all along. She hadn’theardMorgan saying anything incriminating, but she knew most of the tawdry details along the way. That had to count for something.

Not wanting to interrupt Tawney’s day, he decided to attack his email before bothering her. In the meantime, they had work to get done. That didn’t help the day pass any quicker. The seconds ticked by. He could tell Thomas was trying to distract him and keep him busy, but it didn’t help, not with this massive weight hanging over his head.

“I’m going to head home,” Thomas said a little after five. Luka was studying his list again. “You ready to go?”

Luka shook his head. “Nah, not quite yet. Gonna take a crack at the emails first.”

“Okay.” Thomas shrugged his coat on. “Text me if I can do anything.”

“Thanks.” He watched Thomas leave, then stared at his laptop. His inbox was a bit of a disaster. He kept up on reading his emails—mostly—but he was terrible at filing them in any sort of order, and never deleted any. He sighed and clicked the ‘Search’ button.

He narrowed it down to emails to or from Morgan, and set the date range for when Thomas had arrived. That left him with several hundred. He rubbed his face and began reading. It wasn’t looking promising. They were mostly brief and brusque. ‘See attached.’ ‘Let’s try it in another key.’ ‘Chat at lunch.’ There was one where Luka had added ‘Hope you’re happy.’ It was a stretch to call that proof. He slammed the lid shut and decided that he needed a drink. His feet took him to Bitter Exchange out of habit now.

He slumped at the bar. It was quiet, and it wasn’t long till Kazio came over and stood, waiting.

Luka sighed. “Whatever you feel like making.”

A Bloody Mary appeared at his elbow in record time. Luka examined it. “Are Bloody Marys really the reason you don’t like me?” He wasn’t sure where the question came from, but it fell out without him even having a chance to think about it.

“No.” Kazio was still there. He wiped at a few stray drops of condensation on the wood in front of him.

Luka looked up at him, eyes tired. “Well?”

Kazio sighed and propped himself against the counter. “One night, a few months ago, Morgan was in here, heartbroken. Said you dumped him, out of nowhere.”

“What?”Each word was a stone dropped into his chest, rippling outward.“Hesaidthat?”

“So you didn’t?”

Luka reeled. “I guess I did…but…”

Kazio waited.

“Heartbroken?Really?”

The bartender nodded.

Luka’s mind staggered under the weight of this new information. “Wow, I… Wow. I mean, he seemed pissed, but not…sad. I had no idea he actually gave a shit aboutme.”Morgan was indeed capable of human feelings.Huh.

“It seems he did.” Kazio wiped at another drop and made his way down the bar to a waiting couple.

Luka downed his Bloody Mary, trying to make sense of this new information. He felt too unsettled to sit there long and he headed out after the one drink. Kazio’s eyes were on him as he left.

He picked up a veggie pizza on the way home and was eating a slice standing at his kitchen counter when his phone buzzed. It was Thomas.

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