Page 33 of The Casting Couch

She was already moving toward me, boots heavy against the sidewalk, her eyes laser-focused.

“Hey, Riley,” I said, forcing a smile that felt more like a grimace.“What a surprise.How...how long have you been standing out here?”

“Long enough.”She fell into step beside me like we were two friends out for a casual stroll.Except I was walking fast, and she was keeping up like it was a game.

“I thought we agreed you’d text first?”I said, heart pounding.

“I did.”She shoved her hands into her pockets.“Three times.But I figured face-to-face would get the point across better.”

I swallowed hard and kept walking, trying to ignore the burn in my chest and the sweat creeping down my back.

“So, uh...what’s up?”I asked, like I didn’t already know.

She snorted.“What’s up?Really?”She shot me a look.“Bradley.How much money do you think you owe me at this point?”

I opened my mouth.Closed it.Honestly, I’d stopped keeping track after the fourth loan.Back then, the drug money was moving fast enough that I figured I’d be able to pay her back easy.Then...well...jail happened.

“Ballpark?”she pushed.

“Uh...low four figures?”

She barked out a laugh that made the guy walking past us on a bike glance over.

“Try mid five figures,” she said, grinning without any actual humor in it.“Interest adds up, sweetheart.Especially when your ass disappears for over two years.”

I picked up the pace, hoping she’d get bored and wander off.

She didn’t.

“You’re lucky I’ve been patient,” she said, casually elbowing me like we were old pals sharing an inside joke.“I told myself...‘Poor Bradley.Locked up.Let him get back on his feet before I start breaking his kneecaps.’Real humanitarian shit.”

I choked out a nervous laugh.“Thanks for your...compassion.”

We reached the corner, and I started to cross even though the walk signal hadn’t changed yet.Riley grabbed my hoodie, yanking me back just as a delivery truck roared past.

“Oh my God,” she muttered.“If anyone’s putting you in the hospital, it’s gonna be me.Not some idiot with bad brakes.”

I gave her a wide-eyed look.“You’re...sweet.”

She ignored that.

“You got any money coming in soon?”she asked, narrowing her eyes like she could already smell the lie I was about to tell.

I hesitated.My throat went dry.

Technically… maybe.

If I could survive being naked in front of half the internet.

“I’m...working on it,” I said, which was true.Kind of.

Riley gave me a long, assessing stare like she was weighing whether to push harder or let me squirm a little longer.

Finally, she nodded, like she’d decided something.

“Well, tick tock, Mitchell.”She stepped back, almost tripping over the curb in the process, but catching herself at the last second with this annoyed little huff like it was the sidewalk’s fault.“I’m giving you until the end of the month.After that, I stop being nice.”

With that, she spun on her heel, tripped slightly again on the uneven pavement, then stormed off like she hadn’t almost face-planted twice in a row.

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