Page 142 of Sapphire Sunset

“Look,” Bullfinch said. “I know a lot’s happened today, butlet me bottom line this shit. This woman’s sloppy. You don’t go on TV and implysomeone’s a blackmailer because you don’t like who they’re sleeping with. Itmight be easy to shut her down if we strike while the iron’s hot.”

“My primary concern right now is the hotel,” Logan said.

“Where you don’t work anymore,” Chip said.

“Ben, I appreciate you coming over.” Logan got to his feetand extended his hand to the attorney. “I really do, but I’m not ready to talkabout all this today. Ikindawant to get startedwith my new work situation.”

Because if I go home, I’ll get so drunk I might drown inmy sofa cushions.

“That’s my son.” Chip dropped his feet from the edge of thedesk to the floor. “Never a day off.”

Logan shook Bullfinch’s hand, then steered him to the door.Then he and Chip were alone with Logan’s lies hanging over their heads like asmoke cloud.

If Logan didn’t strike first and hard, Chip would own theconversation. He turned to his dad and clapped his hands together. “So I wasthinking virtual workouts. Maybe a live streaming thing to add to the YouTubechannel. We could roll it out over the next year, beef up your camera equipmentcapabilities. Maybe hire some new tech guys and—”

“Wait, what are virtual workouts?”

“We can have the trainers do kickboxing classes online. Livestream it. Maybe even charge for it. Like a members’ only thing. Then it archivesand we can share it to other social media platforms and—”

“I don’t do other social media platforms. I can’t figure anyof them out, and they all make me feel senile. The channel’s fine. And I don’tput the trainers on the channel unless we’re doing session videos, and thoseare only focused on one exercise. A class is going to last maybe thirty,forty-five minutes. My metrics crash if I do a video longer than fifteen.”

“Well, maybe it’s time to look into some new ways of doingthings, new stuff.”

“Why?” His dad sounded suspicious.

“To expand,” Logan said.

“With your tech savvy? All you know how to do on a computeris download porn.”

“I was sixteen,” Logan said.

“Oh, and after that you just quit?”

“Can we focus, please?”

“Is that what we’re doing? Focusing?” Chip’s tone was sopregnant with implications it was about to deliver on the office floor. “Idon’t need to expand. My business is fine. Why would I expand?”

“To make more money. Isn’t that the point of a business?”

“The channel makes money when I say crazy shit. The peoplewho care about the kickboxing? That’s like fifteen percent of my audience. Haveyou even watched my channel?”

“I’ve beenkindabusy, Dad.”

“I meant, like, ever.”

My God. What have I done?

“Well, what were you thinking I’d do, Pop?” Logan asked.

“Towel hampers are pretty full out there. You know where thewasher is.”

Logan glared at him.

“Or you could stay in here and we could talk about how itreallywent with you and Connor this morning.” Chip grinned like the Joker.

Logan nodded and stepped from the office, taking care not toshut the door too hard behind him, even though he’d made it pretty damn clearhe’d rather swim in dirty laundry than tell his dad how things had actuallygone down.

“Come back later, please,” Connor barkedafter the second knock. He’d meant it to sound professional, but the frog inhis throat had other plans.

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