Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Toby scoffed. “You, genius. You left me a message last week about some guy named Walker Woodrow. Ring a bell?”
Oh. Right.
I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration. “Uh, yeah.”
“He called here too.”
My eyes bugged out of my skull. “He called you?”
“I didn’t return the call. You know I don’t deal with influencers directly.”
I released a jagged breath of relief. Thank fuck.
“Good.”
“But I did my homework, and this is nice exposure for you. So nice that I ran it by the Jackals’ PR team. They loved it more than me. Turns out Walker’s mom was a big-deal journalist who—”
“That’s nice, but my message to you was a heads-up. That’s it. I’m not doing that interview, and I’m not changing my mind.”
Toby growled into the phone. “Don’t be a dumbshit, Czerniak. You might be a big fish in your small pond now, but you’re an untested rookie in the pros. No one knows you from Adam.”
“They will…eventually,” I replied, squinting at the contractor knocking down a bathroom wall on my flat-screen.
That earned me a dramatic sigh. “You’re missing the bigger picture here. A, Woodrow has a huge platform to reach a wider market than most rookies get. B, early positive publicity is a good thing. This would be a walk in the park for you. I admit that you’re vaguely charming when you’re not testing my fragile patience. Show a wider audience of hockey fans who you are—a skilled player who’s not bone ugly.”
“Gosh, I think that was a compliment.”
“No, this is me pointing out the obvious. And sometimes that means you gotta do shit that doesn’t appeal to you. It’s part of the game, kid. Do the right thing, will ya?”
The right thing.
“Jesus.”
“Do you want to set this up on your own time, or do you want me to do it?”
“I’ll take care of it,” I grumbled.
I tossed my phone onto the sofa cushion and dropped my head between my knees. I wasn’t sure how a simple, run-of-the-mill BJ had resulted in total mayhem, but this was not good.
CHAPTER 5
TY
The best way to deal with this bullshit was to face it head-on. If Walker had any grand plans for extortion, I wanted to know…so I could personally assure him that karma was on my side and hungry for vengeance. I didn’t want to waste a single second worrying about what he could do to my career.
Christ, had he taken pics?
I looked up Walker’s contact info and left a direct message for him on his site.
Meet me at Coffee Cave at nine a.m. sharp. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll find out where you live and hunt you down. This is not a joke.
He responded with a thumbs-up emoji. That was it.
I didn’t get the impression that Walker was a man of few words, so I spent a minute reading into the casual emoji. But that was silly. Overthinking wasn’t going to do me any good. I just needed a face-to-face chat with the slippery little shit to see why the hell he’d followed me into that alley.
Yeah, yeah, I’d told Toby I’d cooperate with the interview and maybe I would, but I couldn’t give in immediately or Walker would think he had the upper hand. Which he did, and—
Deep breaths. Stay calm, and don’t let the redhead know he’s under your skin.
“What were you doing at The Tavern last night?” I barked as Walker settled in the seat across from me.
The blood drained from his face, his gaze flickering from the lid on his latte to me and back again. “I was listening to a terrible band’s original playlist from hell,” he choked out, adding, “you were there?”
“You know I was.”
Walker widened his eyes. “I do?”
I skewered him with a dark stare, and cast a cautious glance at our nearest neighbor in Coffee Cave—a student wearing big-ass headphones, thumbing through his cell while bopping his head to his tunes. No danger there. I’d specifically chosen a table for two in the farthest corner of the coffee shop, away from prying eyes and ears. I didn’t care if we were seen together, but I definitely didn’t want to be overheard.
“You do,” I grunted. “What were you doing in the alley? And don’t bullshit me.”
Walker nibbled his bottom lip. “I needed a break from the band, so I took a slight respite in the parking lot to—”
“To spy on me.”
“No! I mean…yes.” His lips twisted in a pained expression. “Because I was hoping to catch you and persuade you to do that interview.”
“You set me up,” I snapped in a low menacing tone.
“No! I didn’t.”
“Right,” I huffed sarcastically.
“I swear. I didn’t know you were—I didn’t know.” Walker wrapped his trembling hands around his cup, his Adam’s apple slid in his throat and his mouth stretched in a tight line.
Huh. Either he was a gifted actor or…he was telling the truth.