Page 64 of Levi
“Don’t mention it,” he tells me.
For a few long minutes, we enjoy our breakfast in companionable silence. From time to time, I catch Rod shooting me concerned glances.
“So, what’s this is about a rough night?” he asks without much more of a preamble.
I drop my morning glory muffin on the tray, grab the napkin to wipe my hands and my mouth before crumpling it into a ball. “I spent most of it thinking about my mom and Annmarie,” I tell him.
“Sorry to hear that,” he says. “What triggered it?”
“Remember my match from theRuinedparty?”
Rod frowns. “Wild Strawberry? The sexy blonde with legs that wouldn’t quit? The one you were lucky enough to be paired with? That match?”
I guess she made an impression on him.
“Yeah, her.”
“What about her, other than she was perfect?”
You have no idea.
“I bumped into her yesterday as I was coming out of a meeting with my lawyers.”
“No shit!” he exclaims.
“I couldn’t believe it either.”
“She’s one sweet little thing.”
“She is. Her name is Jules––”
“Oh, you’re on first name terms now?” His tone is mocking.
“Club names sound a bit weird in the real world,” I quip.
“I wouldn’t know,” he retorts. “The few times I’ve bumped into a woman I hooked up with at the club, I kept walking. Obviously, you didn’t.”
“I couldn’t walk away from her.”
“That sounds heavy.”
“She was crying when I bumped into her.”
Rod’s head jerks back. “Why?”
I give him a quick summary of Jules’s situation.
“Oh, man,” he shakes his head. “Her stepmother is a raving bitch.”
“Don’t get me started,” I growl. “I’m meeting up with Jules early this afternoon so I can understand her father’s business a bit more.”
“Do you think you can help salvage it?”
“I don’t know yet,” I tell him truthfully. “If I can’t, chances are, someone in my circle has the means or contacts to help her.”
“Good point.”
“If that fails, I’ll go straight to Larkin. He knows everybody.”
