Page 2 of Breaking the Alpha
“First of all, there are, like, twenty streetlights and no cows.None in town, at least.Second, my older brother owns a tattoo shop.The younger one is in college.The oldest is—” He cleared his throat—“busy.”
Jodie rose and turned, River’s internal distress not even a blip on her warpath.“Ladies, new plan.River’s going home.”
“Home?”He jumped to his feet.“Jodie—”
His attempted protest was silenced as his agent paced the floor and her assistant scampered behind her, taking meticulous notes.“Our angle is set,” she stated with the authority of a woman few dared to question.“The Diamond in the Rough Leaves the Big City to Save His Family Businessstrategy.This I can work with.I—wait.You used to work as a piercer.”She mumbled something unintelligible for a moment.“This isn’t ideal, but functional.It would be more marketable if we were talking a family diner or farm, but getting you back into a tattoo parlor isn’t the worst scenario.At least it isn’t a strip club, given those AI pics we’re going to be battling.We’ll spin it as a return to your roots, maybe play with the idea you were forced to choose between your family and Windy Leigh.”
He opened his mouth to interject, snapping it shut when she continued without hesitation.
“You’ll need to disappear completely and keep your dick in your pants for a few weeks to give Windy Leigh’s freight train time to run out of steam.Then we’ll hit them with the hometown boy angle.It’ll overtake your ex’s narrative and drown out this AI bullshit.”She paced and her hard face broke into a sly smile.“It would be good to wrangle a few pictures with a sweet-cheeked, apple-pie-girl-next-door type.We don’t want to imply anything serious, just a few images posted and tagged by a friend.Think good times.Gang’s back together.Puppy love.We’ll talk hashtags once we have them.”
Running his hand through his hair, his stomach dropped at the thought of facing his brothers.“Can’t we just ignore it?People get bored fast.”
“People get bored of nice, River.They never tire of going on the attack when they’re fed a steady diet of gossip and scandal.You’ll fly out tonight and disappear.No posts, no calls, nothing.Be a ghost.We’ll let the anger simmer a little longer, catch them off guard.Start taking photos as soon as you land so we have an arsenal to choose from.”
With her plan formulated, Jodie switched from crisis mode to agent mode, hooking her arm in his and walking him toward the door.“Unfortunately, those photos and this mess with Windy lost us the cologne campaign, but the denim one begins shooting in nine weeks.They want those tattoos of yours on display, so keep up your gym routine and don’t get any new work done above the belt line.”She patted his cheek.“Don’t you worry, babe.We’ll take care of this.You go pack and be at the airport by six.”
With that, he found himself alone in the hall, banished from the war room where Jodie and her crew would spend the rest of the day fixing, planning, and scheduling his life.Everything they did would be about River Baker.Every phone call, every text, every threat to every blog site refusing to take down the photos.The River Baker reputation, the River Baker presence, and the River Baker career would be front and center.
The only thing missing in it all was River Baker.
Chapter One
Angelina Watson wavedher friend over as she lifted her purse from the last empty stool at the bar counter for Zoe to take a seat.“If I’d known it was going to be so busy, I would’ve suggested we head to my place instead.I almost had to wrestle a pack of college boys to keep these chairs.”
“I would have paid good money to watch.”Zoe grinned, acknowledging the bartender at the till with a nod, her black curls bouncing.“I think it’s going to be a one and done kind of night.”
She and Zoe were both relative newcomers to town.Zoe had transferred from a Kansas hotel to oversee the town’s signature bistro while Angelina had moved from Wisconsin when she saw an advertisement for storefront space at a price she couldn’t resist.
At thirty, she was two years older than Zoe and that alone gave her friend great joy.Zoe’s sparkling personality was a burst of energy and exuberance in contrast to Angelina’s tranquility.They complemented each other, Zoe ensuring Angelina experienced full-body laughter, while Angelina showed Zoe that there was something beautiful about slowing down to appreciate life in the moment.
The music on the rooftop patio wasn’t loud, but between the wind and the conversations around them, she knew Zoe was as unwilling as she was to be surrounded by so much noise after a long shift.“One is all I need.A celebratory martini.”
Her friend’s dark brown eyes lit up.“Ooooh!What are we celebrating?”
She smiled as she leaned over the marble counter to call out their drink order and pass the bartender a twenty.“The sale of that hideous black panther incense burner you hated.”
“That thing was horrific.”Zoe snickered.“You probably lost a million dollars in sales by having it front and center of your window display for the last three months.”Glancing around at the clientele chatting amicably around them, she lowered her voice to a yelling whisper.“Who bought it?”
Angelina thanked the bartender and led Zoe to a vacated booth.“Two women came in looking for something unique to bring home from their trip.One picked the panther.The other bought the ironwood tea box I ordered on a whim.”Taking a sip of her drink, she smiled over the rim.“Good thing, too.I was so close to buying it myself under the umbrella of self-care.”
Zoe rolled her eyes and hugged her martini close as though it might run off on her.“This is my self-care tonight.My feet are killing me.”
“Same.When I get home tonight, I’m meditating, having a bubble bath, and going to bed.”
“Alone?”a blond man interrupted, stopping at their table and giving her a bright smile as though his input into their conversation was automatically welcome.
She gave him a brief side-eye before ignoring both him and the friend who stood alongside him, both men giving off the kind of conceited air she could almost smell over their spicy cologne.“Anyways, those charm bracelets came in today, so make sure you stop by the shop in the morning to pick out your favorite before I put them out.”
The men didn’t take the hint.The blond one slid into their booth beside her and the guy with the buzz cut took up position beside Zoe.
“I’m Cody and this is Jett,” the blond said, turning his pseudo-charm on Zoe.“Are you two from around here?”
Zoe gave him a tight smile and the lie spilled from her lips as if she’d done this a million times before.“Just passing through.”
Cody stretched his arm out behind Angelina.“Would you ladies mind if we joined you for a bit?We’re waiting on a table to open up.”
The guy with the buzz cut, Jett, spread his knees wide enough to cause Zoe to move over.“We’d love to buy you a round of drinks.What’s everyone having?”
