Courting Gossip

by Kimberly Dean

  ‘That’s the centre, right?’

  His lips twitched. ‘Yes.’

  ‘And that’s good?’

  ‘Very.’

  ‘So how do I win?’

  He scratched his head. ‘To close out a zone, you need to hit it three times. If you hit it again, and I haven’t closed it out yet, you get points. Once all the zones are closed out, the player with the most points wins.’

  ‘That sounds easy enough.’ She weighed the darts in her hand. They had blue tail feathers with lightning bolts. She liked them. ‘And the machine keeps track?’

  ‘Right up here.’ He pointed. ‘Do you want to go first?’

  ‘Oh, no.’ She shook her head. ‘I’ll watch you.’

  She was quickly discovering that was one of her favourite things to do around here – just watch him. He intrigued her. She knew the power he held, and that his job could be dirty and underhanded. She’d seen the way he clashed with Detective Morgan, and the image of him as the Black Knight took root. Yet up here, in his T-shirt and jeans, he looked like a college boy just out for a good time.

  ‘OK. This is the line here.’

  There was literally a line of duct tape on the floor. She toyed with her ponytail. ‘You’re all about staying behind the lines, aren’t you?’

  ‘Unless crossing it gets me a better deal.’ He stepped up. ‘OK, it’s quick and easy. Don’t think too much. Just look where you want the dart to go.’

  He tossed a dart with black skulls on the fins and hit a piece of the pie that made the electronic board beep with success. The following two darts hit their marks, too.

  ‘You’re good,’ Genieve said.

  ‘It’s my game.’ He pulled out his darts, and hit a button to switch the board over to player two.

  She took her spot behind the line and peered at the board. She wound up.

  ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ Brody quickly moved in. ‘You’re not pitching to home plate.’

  ‘What am I doing wrong?’

  ‘OK, first you want to hold the dart like a pencil, not a javelin.’ He tucked his set of darts in his back pocket and helped her set her fingers correctly. He adjusted one of the fins so it was all the way in and stepped back. ‘All the action is from the elbow and wrist.’

  She winked at him. ‘I’ve heard that before.’

  His eyes blinked wide in surprise as she let the dart fly. It embedded itself in the wall a good six inches from the board, and he winced.

  ‘Sorry,’ she said.

  ‘It’s OK. I’ve got spackle. Somewhere…’

  ‘Probably the garage.’ Genieve looked at her feet when his gaze slid down her body. ‘Am I standing wrong?’

  ‘Wrong?’ He let out a snort. ‘I wouldn’t say that, but it won’t work for darts.’

  She grinned when he moved behind her, but quickly swallowed it before he could see. His hands settled on her hips as he turned her slightly to face the board more head-on. His touch was warm and his hands were big. She inhaled slowly. His heat was only inches from her back. He was taller than her by a good six inches. ‘Like this?’ she asked huskily.

  ‘That’s about right.’

  She’d say. She held up the dart again like he’d shown her, but he stopped her. Folding his hand around hers, he repeated the motion. ‘Like this.’

  ‘This?’ She tried on her own.

  His hand spread wide over her belly. Only her pink tank-top kept the touch from being skin-on-skin. ‘Don’t lean forward.’

  Forward? It was taking everything inside her not to lean back into him.

  ‘Focus on where you want the dart to go and just let it fly in that direction.’

  ‘Now?’

  ‘On three,’ he said into her ear. ‘One…two…three.’

  She hit the board this time and was so excited she bounced up and down. ‘That was good, wasn’t it?’

  His breath hissed out of his lungs when her butt rubbed against the front of his jeans, and he moved back quickly. ‘Good for me. Try to hit one of the numbers we talked about this time.’

  ‘Right.’ Standing like he’d showed her, Genieve lined up. When she let the dart go this time, the board responded with an encouraging beep.

  ‘Seventeen. Good girl.’ He went to the wall and collected the dart that had fallen to the floor. He checked the tip and tail fins before handing it to her. ‘Throw it again. We’ll forget that first one happened.’

  ‘Are you sure? That would be cheating, wouldn’t it?’

  The corner of his mouth twitched. ‘You’re not playing with a straight arrow here.’

  She held up the dart. ‘Oh, but I am.’

  ‘Funny.’ He took a safe stance behind her and folded his arms over his chest. ‘Just like last time now.’

  She lined up again for her re-try and warmed up her elbow. When she let the dart fly, the board exploded into song. She clapped her hand over her mouth. ‘Was that bad? What did I do?’

  His gaze narrowed on her as he stepped up to her side. ‘You just scored triple eighteens.’

  ‘I did?’

  His gaze turned suspicious. ‘Those little squares in the inner ring are worth triple points. The outer ring scores double.’

  ‘You didn’t tell me that.’ Genieve hurried to get her darts. He was still watching her as she moved back behind the line. She curled her toes into the plush carpeting. ‘Your turn.’

  ‘Uh huh.’ He fired off his three darts with a speed that showed years of experience.

  ‘Wow, you got them all,’ she exclaimed.

  He clicked his tongue at her, and she knew she’d pushed a bit too far. She stepped up to the line and followed all the pointers he’d given her. She hit a fifteen with her first throw, but missed on the second. On the third, the board let out another exciting little tune. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Double eighteens. You just scored on me. I haven’t closed them out yet.’

  ‘So I’m winning?’

  He gave a tug on her ponytail. ‘For now.’

  They continued playing, with Brody becoming more serious. He closed out the eighteens, but Genieve pounced on the next open zone. She frowned when the board didn’t play her favourite song when she hit the little square that usually made it do so. ‘Why didn’t that count?’

  ‘Sixteens are closed. You want nineteens.’ He walked over to the board and pointed it out. ‘At the bottom, here.’

  She scrunched her nose and glared at the board. ‘OK.’

  She zinged a dart right into the zone he’d pointed out.

  Brody watched her steadily from the bar as she walked back after collecting her darts. ‘Why do I have the feeling I’ve been conned?’

  She took his beer from him and stole a sip. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘Right.’

  She grinned, but was saved from having to answer any more questions when her phone rang. She stopped to pull it out of her back pocket, but the number wasn’t one in her address book. She was about to answer when Brody stopped her.

  ‘Wait.’ He looked over her shoulder and quickly swiped it away, ignoring the call. ‘Don’t answer that.’

  Genieve didn’t like the frown on his face. ‘Is there a problem?’

  He shrugged. ‘I just wouldn’t have bet that phone could fit into those shorts.’

  Her chin snapped up, and she caught the evidence of a sly grin before he took another drink of his beer. That was the second joke she’d heard from him tonight. Was the grouchy bear loosening up?

  She cocked her hip and slowly slid the phone into her back pocket. She knew her shorts were short. That was why she’d chosen them. ‘Are they too little?’

  ‘You’re not going to win this game, Jenny.’

  ‘Watch me.’

  They continued playing, with the game becoming more competitive and intense. Brody hit a bullseye, and Genieve let out a wounded cry. She quickly tried to block him and kept scoring with the nineteens.

  They were interrupted in the
middle of Brody’s turn with another unrecognised call. Genieve rejected it with a swipe, but before she could even get the phone back in her pocket it was ringing again.

  ‘OK, over here,’ Brody said. ‘Give me those numbers and turn it off.’

  ‘Off?’

  ‘They’ve got your number. They’ll try to start tracking the SIM card next.’

  ‘Is that even legal?’

  He lifted an eyebrow, and she remembered who she was dealing with. Not everyone played by the rules.

  ‘I need my phone,’ she complained. She was already locked away from nearly everyone she knew. She’d left her home, and she hadn’t talked to any of her friends all day.

  ‘I have a burner phone you can use.’

  ‘A burner…Are you for real?’

  ‘It’s just one of those contract-free ones where you buy minutes. You should be safe with that, but only give the number to people you trust.’ He waved a finger at her. ‘That doesn’t include Samuel.’

  She reluctantly turned off her phone and cringed when he pulled the card out entirely. She had everything set up the way she liked it on that phone, with all her apps and settings. She’d felt secluded staying here for one day. Now, she suddenly felt cut off from the world…and her life…

  ‘Hey, it’s all right,’ Brody said when he saw the look on her face. ‘You can still use your email – and I’ve got the backup phone right downstairs.’

  ‘I just…I never meant for this to happen.’

  He sighed. ‘I know.’

  ‘Everyone is talking about me. They don’t even know me, but the worst thing that could happen is if they actually find out the truth.’

  ‘If there’s one thing I’ve found out, it’s that the truth can take many forms.’

  The comment made her eyes sting and she shifted her weight. ‘They’re hunting me, but I don’t do well without people.’

  ‘Hey, I’m people.’ He tentatively rubbed her back. ‘I’ll fix this, Jenny. You’re safe here. Just give me time.’

  He was doing all this for Samuel. He was being paid to fix this mess. If she had to ride along on his coat-tails, she would. ‘I don’t mean to be a burden.’

  ‘A burden? Are you kidding me? You did more around this house in one day than I’ve managed in the past two months.’

  ‘Are you sure I’m not imposing?’

  He slowly pulled her into his arms. ‘You made me pie. You’re in.’

  Chapter Six

  ‘It’s over, Samuel,’ Brody said as he closed the door of the senator’s office. It had been days now since the break-in at the Emissary Hotel – days that seemed like weeks since he’d taken in a tempting and forever surprising roommate. It was time to get things moving again. They needed to lead the press along on their merry way and get the senator back to the campaign trail. ‘The contract you have with Genieve and Luxxor has been nullified.’

  Gunderson took the news about as well as expected. His cheeks reddened, and he pounded his hand against his desk. ‘That can’t be. I’m supposed to have a say in it.’

  ‘Genieve had hers.’ Brody faced off with the man, his feet spread wide and his arms folded. He was not moving on this.

  ‘You told me you needed that contract for safe-keeping.’ Gunderson pointed at him with one of those strange politician hand gestures that was half-fist, half-thumb. ‘This is your doing, Haynes.’

  ‘It is,’ Brody said, accepting full responsibility. He wanted the pair split apart and Gunderson’s attention back on his polling numbers – which were doing rather well since the incident. ‘I spoke to her, and she saw the light. She asked that the contract be ended, and you know that Nina is not going to let you overrule that.’

  Gunderson muttered and walked over to look out the window of his office. The Russell Senate office building was on the corner of Constitution and Delaware Avenues, offering a prime view of the Capitol grounds. The lights had come on along the walkways, and the statues and fountains glowed.

  ‘She doesn’t like being in the spotlight,’ Brody said quietly. It was the truth. ‘She doesn’t want her life opened up to the scrutiny of your world – and you don’t want to do that to her.’

  ‘No,’ the senator agreed. He pulled at his cufflinks. ‘You’re right. Now’s not a good time to have a contract like that floating around.’

  He cocked his head as he looked at his reflection in the window. ‘But maybe there’s a middle ground we could find…’

  Brody’s fingers began tapping against his elbow. ‘No.’

  ‘She and I could have one-off dates.’

  ‘And you’d pay her by the hour?’ he asked icily.

  The senator’s face fell in the reflection. ‘You’re right. Luxxor doesn’t work in that manner.’

  Damn straight they didn’t. Say what you would about the company, but Nina ran a high-class operation. Her escorts were just that – escorts for events – unless a client wanted a longer term, more personal arrangement. Genieve had been engaged with the senator exclusively for a while.

  Until now.

  There wasn’t going to be a middle ground. Gunderson would have to go cold turkey.

  ‘You’re not going to see her again,’ Brody said flatly. ‘And tonight’s event would be a good time to start letting the press know that.’

  The senator smoothed his silver hair and nodded. ‘Their very tactics were what led to the breakup.’

  ‘Precisely,’ Brody said. ‘Put the fault back on TMI News and the break-in.’

  And keep those poll numbers rising. The public viewed the senator as a victim right now, but they liked fighters even more.

  ‘They’re the reason for my broken heart,’ the man continued.

  Brody rolled his eyes and turned to get the senator’s tuxedo jacket. ‘That’s right, play it up.’

  The senator was deep in thought as he slid his arms into the sleeves of the formal attire. He smoothed the lapels, but his nod soon morphed back into a shake of his head. ‘I need to talk to her, Brody. I can’t let it end this way.’

  Brody braced his hands on the desk and dropped his head. As easily as Samuel wandered into trouble, he was usually very good at following instructions to find his way out. Only this time trouble came with big green eyes and a killer body. He was having problems seeing the exit sign.

  Brody could understand, if not sympathise. He lifted his head and pinned the man with a look. ‘Just to say goodbye.’

  ‘Yes.’ The bobble-head came back.

  ‘You won’t whine or make her regret her decision.’

  ‘No.’ The older man stood up straighter, the tuxedo lending him a more confident air. ‘You’re right, this is for the best. It will help our story.’

  A story that was now getting more basis in truth.

  The senator lifted the handset of the phone on his desk. ‘Do you have her number, Brody? The one I’ve been calling keeps telling me that it’s out of service. I assume that was your doing?’

  Brody let out a hiss of air. ‘You’ve been trying to call her from here?’

  If Genieve’s profession ever came out, the last thing they needed was her number showing up on Senate office phone records. He reluctantly pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialled the new number he’d programmed for Jenny. Turning away, he walked to the corner of the room.

  ‘Hey,’ he said quietly when she answered. He hadn’t seen her all day. He’d been doing as much work as he could from home, but he’d worked from his office today. It had just been easier with the tux and the event and the senator. ‘How’s it going?’

  ‘Good. I found your breadmaker.’

  He frowned. He remembered getting one as a gift, but he couldn’t say he’d ever taken it out of the box.

  ‘I’m here with Samuel,’ he said. ‘He wants to talk to you.’

  She sighed. ‘OK.’

  They’d talked about this. He’d let her know his plans and what was coming. ‘Rip the bandage off.’

  ‘I know. I know.’<
br />
  This needed to be dealt with as cleanly and quickly as possible, and then the so-called relationship between the two would be over.

  And Brody could put it out of his head for ever.

  He took the phone to the senator, who sought his own privacy. Brody stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked out the window. The Capitol dome was lit in all its glory. They were heading to a fundraiser in the Capitol Visitor Center, situated under the east front plaza. Tonight was Samuel’s first official night back on the ‘scene’. It needed to go well, and Brody would be lurking on the sidelines to make sure it did.

  But damn if he wasn’t itching to get back across the Potomac. He never knew what he was going to find when he walked back through the doors of his own house. Yesterday, he’d discovered her doing Zumba in his workout room, wearing tight little yoga pants and a bright flowered athletic bra. He’d never paid much attention to Zumba before, but it had grabbed him where it counted. He remembered her hips rolling, her back arching, and the shimmy…

  She put the zoom in Zumba, that was for sure.

  He jerked his hands out of his pockets and tugged down on his tuxedo jacket. He wanted to rip that phone right out of the senator’s hand.

  Fortunately, Genieve let the senator down easily but firmly. Once Brody heard the senator’s voice turn wheedling, he held out his hand.

  ‘Goodbye, darling,’ Samuel crooned. ‘Maybe we’ll see each other again in the future.’

  ‘Not going to happen,’ Brody said, retrieving his smart phone and disconnecting.

  The senator straightened his bowtie. ‘Do you know where she’s staying, Brody? I’d like to send her flowers, at the very least.’

  ‘We’re late, Senator. We need to get moving.’ Brody turned to the door, effectively ending the conversation. She had flowers that she’d planted herself, and they were coming along better every day – even if she had to watch them from behind a window.

  ‘All right. Is everyone ready?’ he asked as he walked back into the office suite.