Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Tears streamed down her face, her hand covering her mouth. I shook my head, suddenly not caring anymore.
“And you hurt Kassie. Someone who has done nothing to you. You ripped her privacy away from her. As someone in this business who knows how that feels, that is unforgivable.”
“What can I do?” She turned to Davis, her voice beseeching. “Please—don’t fire me. I’ll fix it. Tell me what to do.”
“You think it can be fixed?” Annie questioned, blowing out a long vapor. “Some pretty little speech and all will be well?”
“No. I know I need to really work for this.” She looked at me. “I love this part. This film. Please, Oliver, let me make this up.” She was sincere. Real, at least for the moment.
“I’m sorry,” she pleaded.
I met Annie’s eyes, then glanced at Davis. I knew they were leaving this up to me. I could demand she be fired. Cause Davis a lot of work and for him to lose a fortune. Let Annie clean up the mess and walk away.
Or I could be the better person and maybe, somehow, help someone else. The same way Kassie gave me a second chance. Like Annie had helped me all those years ago.
I knew what Kassie would want me to do.
“You’re going to have to help us bury him.”
“I will,” she replied. “I can do that.”
I grabbed my phone, no longer wanting to be part of this conversation. “I’ll leave this up to you three to figure out. You know my thoughts.”
Annie nodded. “Go home, Oliver. I’ll be in touch.”
That suited me just fine.
Kassie was out when I was dropped off. I was restless and the grass was getting long, so I got out the lawn mower and started cutting.
I felt myself being watched, but I ignored it. I kept cutting the grass, even as I saw him approach. It wasn’t until I stopped to wipe my brow that I looked up.
“The big film star cutting grass?” he asked snidely.
“Helping out a friend,” I replied. “And you’re on private property,” I added dryly. “You should leave.”
He ignored me. “Since when do you help anyone?”
I frowned as I lifted a bottle of water to my lips and drank. I wiped my mouth before replying. “What do you really know about my life, Flynn? You think you know me, but you don’t. You hate me for no reason.”
“You killed Ed.”
I snorted. “Ed did that to himself. Driving too fast, the way he always did. And he stole from me. From others. Took money I earned and lost it. Almost bankrupted me. It’s all documented. If you’re such a great reporter, why don’t you check on those facts?”
He shifted, looking displeased with my calmness.
“I’m going to dig into your little friend here.” He snorted. “More than a friend, from what I saw.”
I refused to let him get to me. His world was going to come crashing down in a few hours. Once the paper saw the lawsuit we were going to threaten them with, they would cut him. For good. When Annie released her well-planned smear campaign, he would never again be able to corner someone with a camera shoved in their face as he drove them toward insanity with the constant flashes and screaming in their direction. He would be a pariah no one would touch.
And I would carry on with my life.
“Nothing to dig into. I’m renting a room from an old friend while I’m working here. She helped me when I was hurt. Nothing to get excited about.” I clipped the water bottle back onto the bar of the lawn mower. “But you do what you gotta do. Make yourself feel powerful by tearing other people’s lives apart.” I paused before I restarted the motor. “Just remember what goes around, comes around, Flynn. And you have a lot coming at you.”
The engine roared, cutting off anything he had to say. I ambled by him, not giving a shit. He’d have nothing to report on Kassie in the next few hours. He wouldn’t have a job by tomorrow. Tonight, probably. I had checked, and the story wasn’t generating much interest online. Networks weren’t picking it up. His attempt was failing.
And soon, he would be history.
I headed to the garage, him still standing on the lawn. I turned. “This is private property,” I pointed out again. “Get off.”
“Make me.”
I shrugged and flicked on the in-ground sprinklers. For a moment, he wasn’t sure what was happening, then he yelled and attempted to dodge the cold water as he raced off the lawn, screaming about his cameras and suing me.
“Good luck with that, asshole,” I muttered. “You first.”
22
OLIVER
Iwent inside and showered at Kassie’s, knowing she wouldn’t mind. Flynn had screamed all the way to his car, shouting curses and promising payback. It amused me.
He had no idea what sort of payback he was about to get.