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“Darci. I’m so sorry,” Bradley said in greeting. “I did not mean for this to go viral.”
“Does anyone ever mean to go viral?” she asked.
“Fair point. But I’m still sorry. And I’m sorry for my behavior in the green room. I know better than to pressure someone into going on a date with me, and I did it anyway.”
The sincerity and contrition she could hear in his voice melted her just a little, and she smiled.
“I appreciate the apology. How bad is the press for you guys over there?”
They discussed their mutual dilemma for a few more minutes before Bradley got called away.
“Have dinner with me and we’ll compare notes and make a plan for keeping this thing under control.”
“I would, but I’m supposed to be having drinks with some girlfriends tonight.”
It wasn’t true, but she would text a few people and make it true when she got off the phone with him.
“So I’ll come out with you.”
She frowned. “Now you just sound like you’re trying to get a date again.”
“Just be careful. We made quite a splash on the Internet and I don’t want anything happening to you.”
“I’m best friends with an investigative journalist who’s married to a former secret service agent. And my other best friend is a cop. I’ll be fine.”
He made a frustrated sound. “Fine. I’ll text you about lunch next week then. I would still very much like those tickets and to finalize the details of Atleigh being on your panel. If you’ll still have him that is.”
“I’ll have my assistant schedule lunch. Goodbye, Mr. Givens.”
She spent the rest of the day going back and forth between fuming over her fight with Bradley and thinking about the way he made her feel in bed. It irritated her that he was such an attentive lover but worked for someone so problematic. She couldn’t separate the two in her mind, and that meant she had to stay away from him.
Reluctantly, she had Kimberly schedule lunch with him but made it for two weeks from now just to annoy him. Then she messaged a group of friends to see if any of them wanted to meet her at a neighborhood pub.
By the time she left work at six-thirty that evening, she had three confirmations from Carrie, Olivia, and Elise. They were some of her best friends and they were all in the lifestyle. Perhaps they could suggest a new play partner to help her get Bradley out of her head.
The trip home was short, only four stops to her neighborhood. As the train flew towards her destination, she contemplated what to wear so she could be in and out of her apartment in a hurry.
While she walked the three blocks home from the station, she messaged her friends to confirm their plans for the night. In her apartment, she kicked off her heels and wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water. A quick shower, and a change of clothes, and she was ready for a night out.
Carrie, Olivia, and Elise were waiting for Darci at the pub. They exchanged hugs and excited greetings at the table they’d already settled into.
“Thank you so much for not suggesting meeting at my bar,” Olivia said as she sat back in her chair.
“I wouldn’t dream of that. You would end up behind the bar working all night.”
Elise shoved a glass her way and Darci filled it from the pitcher of cider.
“Darci, tell us what’s going on with you and Bradley Givens. The internet is abuzz with all kinds of rumors.”
She rolled her eyes. So much for getting him out of her head. “There is nothing going on. He’s an asshole who works for an even bigger asshole. What does the internet think is happening?”
Carrie laughed and pushed her phone into Darci’s hand. “They think you two were having a lover’s quarrel on live TV. They’re also speculating that he’s the man you wrote about on your blog a few months ago.”
Fuck. Darci took the phone and read. Sure enough, the article Carrie had pulled up included a link back to a blog entry Darci had written about sparks flying when a new face showed up at Exposure. She’d written it the day after she hooked up with Bradley.
“Damn it. I did not need them making this connection.”
“You are the one who writes such an open blog, sweetie.”
