Page 112 of Role Play
“Kissing.”
“That doesn’t sound like Lucy. Kissing how? Like … makingout.”
I grunted. “No. Not making out.” Somehow that would have been better. That tender, intimate moment was like a knife to myheart.
Comprehension relaxed Kelly’s tightened features. Her eyebrows softened and her lips parted as she whispered, “Ohhh.” Shaking her head, she opened her eyes and looked to me once more. “It was Richard Blair, wasn’tit?”
I didn’t say a word, but every single muscle in my body went rigid. So shedidknow. Maybe they had a history together. Maybe they were broken up for a while and just got backtogether.
“Ash Livingston… you are such anidiot.”
I jerked back like she had physically struck me. I hadn’t been called an idiot in years. Maybe even a decade. “Excuseme?”
Andrea shook her head and chuckled softly. “Rich isn’t her boyfriend,Ash.”
“I know what Isaw—”
“Seriously. You are the mayor of Idiotville, floating down Idiot River in a canoe built from wood grown in the IdiotForest.”
Anger twisted in my stomach. “Not a lot of people get away with calling me an idiot. Especially not when I’m offering them a contract for a movie deal that’s about to turn their world upsidedown.”
Andrea snorted and shoved the contracts back across the table at me. “Yeah, well, you’re not my boss yet. And if you pull this deal because of some stupid personal shit, I’ll call Richard in here myself to tell him about how unprofessional you are. I’ve got some pull with Mr. Blair, too, youknow.”
What? How many twenty-somethings was Richardfucking?
Pot calling the kettle black, Brie’s voice rang in my head. I took a deep breath, forcing my racing heart to calm down. “You’re right,” I sighed, sitting back in my chair. “That was inappropriate. However, if you are to sign that contract, you can’t be in here calling me an idiot during work hours.” A smile twitched at my lips and I stared, studying Andrea as she placed her palms on my desk, leaning confidently over the edge towardme.
“Can’tI?”
“No,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “You can’t. Just like I can’t talk to you about Lucy whileworking.”
She leaned back, folding her arms elegantly across her chest. “But I haven’t signed shit yet. So until I do… I’m going to say that you don’t know what you saw. Richard is not Lucy’s boyfriend. And it’s not my secret to share with you… but I am going to tell you to do a little Googling of Luciana Rodriguez and see what turns up. Then after you find the truth and want to talk to Lucy—and believe me, you’re going to want to talk to her—I’ll find a way to get her to LnStonight.”
I snorted. “What makes you think I can’t get her to join me at LnSmyself?”
Andrea’s brow arched and she shook her head. “You’ve known Lucy for weeks. I’ve known her for years. Don’t let your ego get in the way of me helping you. Becausetrust me… if you even implied that she was with Richard or doing anything of questionable morals, she’s not going to listen to your apology willingly. You will need myhelp.”
My eyes fluttered closed briefly. Fuck. I hated myself even more for what I said to her in the hallway. Even still, I couldn’t imagine any scenario where I would understand why Lucy and Richard were kissing. But then I pictured her wide brown eyes and how moisture brimmed to the edges. I cleared my throat. “Okay… let’s pretend for a second that you’re right. That whatever it is you want me to find in this Google search explains everything and I want to bring Lucy with me to LnS tonight. How in the hell will you be able to get her inthere?”
“She signed the paperwork for the club,right?”
I huffed a laugh. The LnS contract was the first and only one she had signed. We’d never even finished filling out my Dom/sub contract together. Until now. Until today, I thought, looking down at the now signed consent contract. The contract that now didn’t matter at all. “Yeah. Shedid.”
“Then leave the rest up to me. You just be at LnS in the back hallway at nine p.m. I'll handle the rest.” Andrea scooped up her own contracts and sauntered toward the door. “I’ll have my lawyer look these over tonight. Get Googling,mister.”
She shut my door behind her and I stared at the blinking cursor under the Google bar. I shouldn’t do this. We’d made a promise to each other. A promise to talk rather than do internet searches. But frankly, I didn’t want to talk to her. I didn’t even want to look ather.
And her best friend told me to research her. That had to be worthsomething.
Typing slowly, I punched in Luciana Rodriguez into the toolbar. It took a few minutes of sifting through non-relevant names but eventually, I found several articles from Santa Barbara. Mostly honor roll postings in the newspaper. A few small articles about her college. A Facebook profile—which was set to private. And a notice about her college graduation as the salutatorian. Luciana Blair Rodriguez.Blair.
RichardBlair.
Holyshit.
