Page 68 of Off Camera
“A secret admirer?” Maverick shrugs and stands. “We can blame the intern. We can say he’s obsessed with her.”
“You’re so fucking weird. I think you’re missing a few screws.”
“That’s fucking rich coming from the guy who spent the last few minutes hiding in a closet for aprank. Maybe you’re the secret admirer. You’re halfway to being obsessed.”
“Fuck you. This was stupid, wasn’t it? What thirty-four-year-old goes around planting plastic ducks in someone’s office?”
“I don’t know, man. Probably the same guy who smiled when she found them,” he says.
“I didnotsmile,” I challenge.
“Sure you didn’t.”
“You’re delusional.”
“Don’t worry, Plant Daddy.” He winks. “Your secret is safe with me.”
TWENTY-ONE
AVERY
“Thanks for helping me,”I whisper to Maven and June as we walk into the Titans’ administrative offices at FedEx Field. “I’ve been finding rubber ducks around my office all week and I know it was that redheaded jerkwad. This is payback.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank Shawn for being my godfather and giving me access to this area. He doesn’t know what we’re using it for, so let’s pretend it’s for a good cause,” Maven says.
“It is for a good cause,” I say. “Men should be put in their place every once in a while. Inconveniencing them is one way to do it, since they’re a constant inconvenience to me.”
“I can’t wait for you to meet Emmy,” Maven says. “You two are going to be best friends.”
I look around the corner and see the coast is clear. I don’t know why I thought I’d find anyone; with only an hour to go before kickoff, everyone is on the field for warmups. The place where Ishouldbe, but I’m sneaking around in the name of revenge.
Reid fucking Duncan is going down.
Maven leads us down the hall to Reid’s office, holding June’s hand and swinging their arms back and forth. “How did you get all this cellophane into the stadium? Bags aren’t allowed.”
“I addressed it to myself and sent it to the stadium last weekend. I put on a Titans polo I bought at the gift shop to make it look like I worked here and picked the box up from guest services twenty minutes ago, passing it off as athletic tape,” I say.
“You areruthless. I should probably talk to Shawn about stricter security measures, but I’m freaking impressed,” she says.
“Are we going to wrap everything in Uncle Reid’s office?” June asks.
“Everything we can touch,” I tell her, wiggling my eyebrows. “I want it to take him hours to clean it up.”
“He’s going to besomad. He hates when his things aren’t organized. One time, Uncle Mav put his plants in a different order, and he spent two hours putting them back in place.” June grins over her shoulder and looks me up and down. “I like you, Avery.”
“I like you too, kid. Thanks for being an accomplice.”
Maven opens a door and motions us inside. She locks it behind us, and I survey Reid’s office.
“Where should we start?” Maven asks. “I’m a first-time cellophaner.”
“The desk. It’s going to take the longest.” I put the heavy cardboard box on the floor and open it with a pair of scissors, handing them each a roll. “We’ll go in opposite directions so there are multiple layers. Makes it harder to cut through.”
“Have you done this a lot?” June asks. “You’re practically an expert.”
“I’ve been known to TP a house or two in my youth. This isn’t much different,” I say, and I walk to Reid’s desk.
There’s a photo of him, Dallas, and Maverick in the corner. All three of them are in tuxedos, devilish smiles on their mouths, and their arms slung around each other. The frame to the left isa group shot with a younger June, and everyone is in Halloween costumes.
