Page 19 of Dirty News
“Yes, Duke. I got the job.” My tone was beyond sarcastic as I rolled myeyes.
“Okay, so they didn’t give you the job yet. What was the meeting for then?” His thick fingers drummed on top of his leg. The man was nervous. Like, really nervous. He actually thought I could beathim.
That made me very happy. Ecstatic, to be more precise. “I think I’m going to keep it a secret. I don’t know if they want me to tell you or not. They didn’t say. So, I should keep it to myself. I don’t want to be thought of as agossip.”
Now he was the one to roll his eyes. “Come on. You can tell me. I’ll even act surprised when they tell me, if youwant.”
I could tell him. But if I did then he’d have the same amount of time I had to find activities to do in the community. And the more I thought about it, the more I figured our boss had given me a tiny bit more time than Duke because Duke was a New Yorker and I wasn’t. He knew about the community, and Ididn’t.
It was a hair’s breadth more time, but it was more, so I decided against telling him anything. “I’d rather not,Duke.”
“Does it matter to you that I’d rather you would?” He used his sexy grin onme.
But to no avail. My mind was set. “I want this job. So, no, it doesn’t matter to me that you’d rather I tell you. Of course you want me to tell you. But you already have the upperhand.”
“I don’t see how.” He lost the sexy grin as he realized it wasn’t working onme.
“You will when they tell you about it. I assure you.” I patted him on the top of his shoulder. “And once you hear what it is, you’ll think I played my cards well. If you truly are a good sport, thatis.”
“Which I am.” He patted the top of my leg. “Competing with you ain’t so bad after all. At least I get to watch you grow as aplayer.”
I had no ambition to be a player again after this. Never in my life had I wanted to best anyone. But I knew then that competition was inevitable if you wanted to get ahead in this world, and it was better to be adept at playing the game rather than losing out on what youwanted.
Chapter Ten
Duke
Our dinner meeting had been scheduled at Gramercy Tavern, in the dining room. I met Artimus and Mrs. Baker in the Tavern, where they were already waiting for me. “Hey, guys. I made it.” I was five minutes late. Traffic had been a bitch, and so had the cab driver who’d refused to step onit.
The dinner was casual as they told me what they wanted from me. Doing work in the community would be part of my working interview, as Mrs. Baker was now calling what Lila and I weredoing.
And then I could see just why Lila had made me wait to hear what they wanted from us. She wanted a head start. And she’d need it, too. She had no idea where to start looking to get into the community, and I was already firmly a part ofit.
Back when I was playing still, we’d been encouraged to reach out to the community of New York. I’d always taken the easy route and gone to see sick kids in the hospital. I knew guys who did other things. Picked up trash, fed poor people. But I loved going to see the kids. Their little faces would light up when I’d show up wearing my football jersey. I always got a kick out of it and knew I’d be able to make an excellentvideo.
So, after I left the meeting that night, I headed home, making a phone call along the way. I’d seen a picture of Ted Turner in Artimus’s office and had asked him about it. He’d told me how much he respected the man and how he had been inspired by Turner to create the newnetwork.
After doing a bit of digging, I found out who his publicist was and made the call. That call only proved to be a disappointment, as I learned that Lila and I were on the same page in at least one thing. She’d beaten me to him, and she already had an interview scheduled for the very nextday.
We’d only found out at the end of the bullying class that the class on compassion hadn’t been scheduled yet. That meant we finally had some free time, and that little minx had gone and thrown in the interview in that freetime.
I had to give it to her, she was a quickthinker.
If I had my wish, I would’ve never had to compete with the likes of her. She would be hard to beat, but I’d give it everything I had to do justthat.
I got to my apartment and wondered where Lila would be staying now that she’d gotten at least the one job. There were a few people in my building who were searching for roommates, I knew. Having Lila so close might benice.
But then again, it might be much tootempting.
There was something about her that just did it for me. She made my body hum whenever she was around. I knew she was supposed to be off limitsthough.
Telling her about any availabilities in my building would not be a good idea. Unless she came up empty, I’d keep my mouthshut.
The day had been long, and I was ready to hit the sack. The warm water of the shower felt great on my now aching muscles. I’d missed my second Aleve, and I was feelingit.
Rubbing my hand over my shoulder, I closed my eyes, only to have a vision of the woman I’d been spending too much time thinking about popup.
In my head, fantasy Lila moved my hand out of the way, taking over the gentle massage of the spot where I’d had my first surgery. “Is that better, Duke?” Her voice was soft, sweet, andsexy.
