Three to Play

by Kris Cook

  He glared back at Clint, but did exit the room.

  Clint hated the ruse, but he needed to get Dustin out of the studio. He needed to talk to Candi privately.

  When Dustin was out of earshot, he punched the speaker button that went to the control booth. “Ted?”

  “Yes?”

  “Is Candi’s home number posted in there?”

  “Sure is.”

  “Can you get her on the line for me, ASAP?”

  “No problem, Clint.”

  No problem. Nothing could be further from the truth.

  A minute later, Ted poked his head out of the control booth. “Candi’s on line two.”

  “Thanks.”

  Ted asked, “Everything alright, Clint?”

  “No, it isn’t.” He worried that Dustin might walk in and hear what he would say to Candi. He only had a few minutes, at best.

  Ted waved and shut the door behind him.

  Clint headed to the chair that Beth claimed the very first day, but he couldn’t bring himself to sit in it even though it was the closest one to him. Instead, he went to his chair. Line two flashed red on the receiver. He punched it.

  Candi just couldn’t have—not over the weekend. She couldn’t be that cold.

  “Candi, this is Clint.”

  “Why are you calling me at this hour?” Candi’s voice sounded agitated and then changed to concern. “Something wrong at the station?”

  “Yes, everything is wrong at the station.”

  “What’s happened?”

  “Beth isn’t here. I tried to call her an hour ago. No answer. Dustin and I left her messages all weekend, and she never called us back.”

  “Really?” Candi didn’t sound surprised.

  “What did you do?”

  “I let her go.”

  “You what!” Clint yelled. His body turned ice cold.

  “I canned Beth like we agreed.” Candi sounded smug with a hint of confusion.

  “Over the weekend? Why were you in such a goddamn hurry?” Despair gripped Clint’s entire being. He’d expected Candi to pull Beth from the show today, not over the weekend.

  His plan had been when Candi showed up at the station to tell Dustin and Beth that he needed to talk to her after their shift about some promotional ideas. The next step would’ve been to tell the woman that he didn’t want Beth off mornings. In fact, he would insist that Beth stayed with Dustin. Then he’d give his resignation. Candi firing her over the weekend had destroyed his plan.

  “Clint, I don’t understand why you’re reacting this way. You and I discussed this. In fact, this was one of your terms to come here. At any time you didn’t feel like she was contributing to the show—”

  “I know what my fucking terms were. They’ve changed.”

  “Well, I wish I had known. But based on what you and I talked about in my office, I executed on that.”

  Clint could tell by her tone she didn’t give a damn about him, Beth, or anyone. A cold-hearted bitch to the max.

  “Where exactly did you execute Beth? Did you have her come into the station over the weekend? You could’ve let me know.”

  “I told her she could pick up her things any time this week. She told me she’d come by sometime today.”

  “You told her over the phone, didn’t you? Very classy.” Fury and guilt seized him. Candi was right. She acted on what he’d demanded. Get Beth out of the picture. But the picture had changed.

  “You’ve got to calm down,” Candi said. “This is what you told me you wanted.”

  “What reason did you give her for letting her go?”

  “I told her the truth. You and I talked, and while we thought she had talent, we want the show to go in a different direction. I offered her the midday slot, but she turned me down. I also told her that I’d give her a great recommendation.”

  Fuck. Beth knew what he’d done. She likely hated him for it. He hated that she knew and hated himself for what he’d done.

  “Clint, what do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to get Beth back. I want you to tell her that I changed my mind and that I want her on the show. Convince her to stay, whatever it takes.”

  Dustin’s voice boomed from behind him. “Who the fuck are you talking to?”

  Clint turned and saw the rage in Dustin’s green eyes.

  Candi’s voice filled with more patronization than he’d ever heard before from her. “That isn’t possible. Just calm down. When I get to the station, you and I can talk.”

  “You better make it possible, Candi, or Dustin and I are out of here.”

  “Candi. You had her fire Beth. You fucking asshole!” Dustin planted a solid punch on Clint’s face.

  Pain exploded in his jaw, and he stumbled back from the blow. He dropped the phone and nearly fell off the chair. He didn’t care. He deserved even more than Dustin dished out.

  Ted rushed in. “What the hell?”

  Clint heard Candi’s voice. “What’s going on?”

  He picked up the receiver and slammed it as hard as he could on the cradle. “Fuck you, Candi.”

  “Fuck you, Clint.” Dustin growled, then charged out of the room.

  Clint’s grandfather’s voice clawed at the inside of his head. Yool always be worthless, boy. A firefly caught in jelly jah. All flash, no future.

  * * * *

  Beth looked in the mirror. Her eyes looked swollen and felt like tenderized meat. She’d tried to stay in bed, but her internal clock denied her that luxury. Too many years on the morning show.

  She’d been tempted to turn on the radio just to hear how Clint and Dustin would explain her absence.

  What an idiot.

  Of course they’d say nothing. That’s how it worked in broadcasting. When someone got canned or moved on, the station treated it as if they’d never been there. If any listeners called in asking about the missing announcer, which rarely happened, they were told that the announcer had moved to another job, whether true or not. For Beth, it would be the same. As if she’d never existed. The last ten years would evaporate into nothingness.

  She choked down a sob. She’d cried more than enough since Candi’s call. Beth took a dampened washcloth and put it up to her eyes. The coolness of the cloth eased the sting. No makeup today, not that she ever wore much. No place to go.

  But losing her job wasn’t what hurt the worst. Knowing that Clint was a part of it broke her into a million pieces. What a fool she’d been.

  “Beth, I’ve okayed it with the higher-ups to offer you the midday shift.” Candi actually sounded sympathetic.

  For a split second Beth had been tempted, but then she thought about Scott Davis. He currently worked that shift at the station, and he didn’t have a contract like Beth’s. Scott would cost the company only two weeks of severance as opposed to Beth’s buyout of twelve months. Though Beth wasn’t sure what she would do, she refused the bitch and quit, which cut her severance package in half. She just couldn’t be ruthless like those assholes Clint and Dustin.

  “Candi, you know what you can do with that offer?” Thankfully, she kept the waterworks at bay until after hanging up the phone.

  How long had she cried?

  She wasn’t sure. But the sobbing ended, leaving her eyes swollen.

  She’d let those two jerks into her house. Did they know that Candi was jettisoning her off the show? Beth wasn’t certain about Dustin, but she was about Clint. He’d been unusually strange that night, until they got horizontal. Asshole.

  Who to blame but herself? She‘d let them in. Pushed her boundaries past any known place she’d ever been before. And now, what did she have? Nothing. She‘d lost her show, her job…and her heart. Why did she take that jump? She wasn’t someone who took risks. That’s why she stayed all those years in a medium-sized market station. What the hell was she going to do?

  God, she’d really lost it.

  Since they left, she’d not left her apartment. She ate the rest of the chocolate ice cream. No he
lp. She tried to start working on a resume. No luck. She started to call the damn duo but stopped. She would not give them the satisfaction. No way.

  The two assholes had kept trying to reach her. She refused to answer any of Dustin’s or Clint’s phone calls, knocks on the door, text messages. Whatever their version of the truth, she didn’t want to hear it. Ever. She didn’t want to ever see them again.

  She felt so alone. Isolated. She needed her bearings. Needed a new place, a safe place. Nancy, an old friend, managed a station in Albuquerque. They’d talked shortly after Candi’s phone call. Nancy would hire Beth, for the overnights, not mornings. What did it matter? It was a job, a place a washed-up announcer could escape to.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  “Beth, I know you are in there. Let me in.” Even from the other side of the door Dustin’s voice sounded loud, firm, and with a dose of, what, concern?

  She shook her head to clear her mind. She needed him to leave before she did something stupid—again.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  She threw down the washcloth and walked to her front door. “Go away.”

  “No. I am not going away. I have to talk to you.”

  Could Dustin really not have been part of getting her off the morning show? She looked at the time on her cable box. Six-forty. Why else would he be here instead of at the station?

  It didn’t matter what his reason for being here was.

  “Go back to the station. You have a show to do.”

  “Fuck the goddamn show!” Dustin shouted. “You’ve gotta believe me, I didn’t know.”

  She did believe him. But did that matter? She wouldn’t let him in, couldn’t let him in.

  She’d let Dustin and Clint into her house, the invaders of her safe world. They’d touched her like no other, not just body to body, but deeper. That scared her to her very core. She hated vulnerability, but like it or not, she was vulnerable. If she opened the door for Dustin, she wasn’t sure what she might do. Start crying again? That would be horrible.

  No. He must leave.

  “Just go away, Dustin. I don‘t want to see you.”

  But she didn’t mean it. Couldn’t mean it. Everything inside urged her to open the door and…what? Run to his arms like a starry-eyed schoolgirl?

  She hated how much she wanted him, needed him.

  “Beth, please. Take a chance. Open the door.” His voice was softer.

  Her will evaporated. So much for wisdom coming with age. More than likely she’d regret it, but she opened the door.

  “You have two minutes to explain, cowboy. That’s it.”

  “I only need two minutes, darlin.” Dustin walked in, closing the door behind him.

  “That’s all you got, and the clock is ticking.”

  Dustin moved closer. “Clint’s an asshole. Candi’s a bitch. I promise you that I didn’t know anything about it.”

  He spread his arms wide, moving in very close.

  Her thoughts whirled with a myriad of emotions. Her fear of trying to find a new job demanded attention. Her confusion about her night with Clint and Dustin demanded attention. Her desire to melt into Dustin’s muscled chest demanded attention. But what boiled to the surface shoving those thoughts aside was a single prevailing emotion, fueled by Dustin and Clint’s betrayal. Rage.

  She stiff-armed him and pushed him away. “Bullshit. You’ve been with Clint for years now. You know his methods, his style.”

  “I swear—”

  “He must have done this before. I can’t be the first announcer he’s removed.”

  Dustin’s eyes shut tightly, which let her know the truth. Clint had done it before, and Dustin had seen it.

  She continued, “What did you think would happen? He would change? Well, he didn’t. You didn’t. Grow up, Dustin. You’ve been playing Mr. Innocent to Clint’s Mr. Badass too long. How many lives have you two left in rubble? You are just as guilty as he for all the damage you’ve done. And you both played me like I was some silly teenager.”

  “Beth, I promise you that—”

  “And then you screwed me, tossed me to the side like yesterday’s trash.”

  Dustin reached for her, but then pulled back. “It’s not like that, Beth.”

  “You’re lying to yourself, Dustin, and you lied to me.”

  “What can I say to make you understand, darlin?”

  “Don’t call me that anymore. Do you understand that?”

  “Beth, just give me a chance.”

  Part of her wanted to, but the other part would not be denied. She felt like she was sinking deeper into emotional quicksand. Dustin must leave.

  “I gave you two minutes. Now get out.”

  Beth heard Clint on the other side of the door.

  “Guys, please. I can fix this. I can.”

  Dustin’s face went red hot. In what seemed like a single choreographed movement, he flung open the door, pulled Clint inside, and pushed his shoulders to the wall.

  “Clint, you fucking idiot.” Dustin’s face turned bright red.

  “I am,” Clint agreed. “But I can fix it.”

  “How?” Dustin said through clenched teeth. He didn’t release Clint, but kept him pinned against the wall.

  “In our contract, we have the right to bring on any talent we want.” Clint’s eyes darted back and forth from Dustin to hers. “And we both want Beth, right?”

  “Go on,” Dustin spat.

  Clint’s words came fast. “Well, we demand that Beth be brought back. If they refuse, we walk. All three of us. Corporate won’t let that happen. Candi will have to cave.”

  Did Clint think he could fix everything by triangulating their boss into a corner? Was that his game? Manipulating everyone to whatever he desired?

  A renewed fury stormed inside Beth. “Candi already caved, Clint. She caved to your demands, then fired me. Like you wanted all along.”

  Though Clint still remained pinned to the wall by Dustin, he turned his head toward her. “Beth, that’s what I wanted, but not anymore. I promise.”

  Beth so wanted to believe him, but what did it matter? Candi would only take her back by an act of coercion. She could never settle for that. She did have some pride left, though she’d been so foolish with these two.

  “Fuck you, Clint. Fuck both of you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Beth watched Clint wince as if she’d slapped him.

  “Please, I can fix it. I swear I can. I’ll make it up to you. To both of you.” Clint’s shoulders slumped.

  “You betrayed me. You knew Friday when you came to my house.”

  “I didn’t know that Candi would do anything that fast. I thought I could get to her before…” His gaze dropped.

  “But you did know. You knew what you said to her. When are you going to stop lying? This had to be in the works since you first got here.”

  Clint groaned. “Yes. Until I got to know you.”

  “But you didn’t do anything about it. Candi called me Saturday, right after you guys left. Can you imagine how that made me feel?”

  “Yes, but…”

  Dustin hit the spot to the left of Clint’s face, putting a crater in her wall. “I ought to beat you to a bloody pulp.”

  “Yes, you should,” Clint answered.

  “What do you want from me?”

  “I want the show to continue—with you and Dustin.”

  “But you’ve lied to me and even to Dustin. Why? Why didn’t you tell us until now? What is it with you and all your secrets?”

  “I don’t have any secrets.”

  But she could tell by the way he answered that she’d hit some mark. Clint had his own demons. Could those monsters be the reason he’d lashed out at her? At everyone? Why he pushed everyone away?

  Dustin shot out, “The hell you don’t.”

  “I told you the truth. I want you to stay on the show. There are no secrets.”

  Clint’s last words rang false to her.

  “You’re lying. Tell u
s both. What is it with you?”

  “I didn’t tell either of you Friday night about talking to Candi because I thought I could talk to her before she canned Beth. I had no idea that the bitch would act so quickly. But believe me, I can fix it. Just trust me.”

  Clint turned his eyes away from Dustin’s stare, but he didn’t try to break Dustin’s hold. She’d explored their bodies when the three of them had made love and she had no doubt that they were equally matched in the strength department. So why didn’t Clint push back? It didn’t matter. Everything changed since their night together when everything had gone so perfectly…except for that one moment.

  The moment when Dustin touched Clint’s shoulder.

  Beth’s stomach flipped as the thought of what Clint’s secret might be took hold of her. It made sense as to why he’d tried to get her off of mornings.

  “Clint, you really want me back on the show?” she asked.

  “I swear it. I really do.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  He looked confused, trapped. “I think that you can make the show explode in the ratings.”

  “So it is only about ratings?”

  “Yes. What else is there?”

  “And you and Dustin will be on mornings with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Liar!” she yelled. “You only want you and Dustin to succeed. I am just a roadblock to that plan. You’ve knocked other announcers to the curb to achieve what you want.”

  She saw she’d hit a mark when Clint winced. “That’s how I used to feel, but not any longer. I want to get you two set up, and then I’ll resign.”

  Dustin’s face darkened. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “It’s for the best.” Clint’s face filled with what looked to Beth to be fathomless suffering, very old and recently unearthed.

  She shouldn’t care, but she did. Seeing him in such pain bore into her like a ten-inch drill. She hated how he suffered. The fear in Clint went deep, and it clouded everything in his life. She knew the power of fear too well. Though her way of handling it differed from his, the end result for both of them produced paralysis.

  No matter how hard it would be for Clint to face his demon, Beth couldn’t let him live another day shackled to it as she had to her own.