Page 103 of Wishing for La Luna
“Get to it.” And with that, he hangs up on me.
The captain steps out of the other room and waves us down. One officer comes and lets Thierry out of the cell. We are all ushered into the room.
Rio and his team are on one side, and we stand across the way. He’s staring at me, and I at him.
“I thought you may want a private room to see if you can work this out without police intervention. No one is above the law, but I can see this being a big misunderstanding and the heat of the moment getting in the way. I’m going to give you some time to try to come to a resolution before this escalates.”
Once he’s out, Esme looks at Hank. “Let’s not make this more complicated than it needs to be. It was an angry moment for these two gentlemen, and now it’s over. The venue just wants the damage repaired as they’re already profiting from today’s event. We can split the cost, then retreat to our respective corners of the world. Our two very fine publicists can do damage control.”
Hank’s laughter resembles a weasel squeak. “You have to be joking. In what universe do you think we would fall for that? Look at what your client did to mine.” He points at Thierry. “He won’t be able to play for a few weeks. These are charges accompanied by a lawsuit, not a compromise.”
Nonplussed, Esme smiles. “We can help with the medical bills if Thierry needs it. There’s no need to go to court when the gym is willing to accept the compensation. Plus, do you really want to sue when the silent witness—the camera on the wall—shows your client launching at mine?”
“Yours came to fight and baited Thierry.”
Esme’s shoulders lift delicately. “Speculation as to motive, Hank? Rio and Tito went there invited by a friend because they’re interested in a membership. It was a misunderstanding at best, especially since Thierry assaulted him first. He felt he had to defend himself. Still we are trying to resolve this amicably. You should probably discuss with your client before you make hasty decisions.”
We go outside of the room.
“If I’m not able to play for weeks, that motherfucker shouldn’t get to go on tour,” Thierry tells Hank.
“We can go ahead with the charges and request that he surrenders his passport. We can drop it later if you choose to.”
The flare of red over my eyelids is too intense I need to breathe and force my body to calm down.
“He’s a savage. Look at what he did to you, babe,” Adina whines.
“He said you were in his DMs. That’s what set me off.” His tone is downright accusatory.
“Shhhh,” Hank admonishes. “Stop admitting to shit.”
“It’s on video,” I remind him.
“Videos can be manipulated.”
“It’s a lie. He’s in my DMs, not the other way around.” But Adina plays with her ear like she always does when she’s lying.
This bitch. She and Thierry are out to hurt Rio, and with this sleazy-ass lawyer, they may succeed, given how Rio beat him. If he can’t leave the country, he’ll have to cancel the tour. I can’t let that happen. As stupid as he was for not controlling himself, I’m not letting these three play with his career after the comeback he’s had.
“I have not told my story to anyone yet.”
All three turn to me.
“What story?” Hank asks.
“Tell him to give us a minute,” I tell Thierry.
And though Hank protests, Thierry waves him away.
Once he’s out of earshot, I say, “You’re going to agree to Esme’s terms, or I will be doing a little sharing of my own. To be specific, I’ll talk about what happened the night of Chico’s concert, how you fed me those drinks, and your mom’s manipulations, and how this idiot tried to take advantage of me.” I look at Adina as I say it all.
“Lulu, you can’t.”
“Don’t fucking call me that,” I snap. “And yes, I definitely can. We don’t have an NDA, and I’m not scared of what your mom can do to me or my mom anymore.”
“This is blackmail,” Thierry says through clenched teeth.
I manage a smile. “How can it be when I work for you? Let’s recap. You got your homeboys to bait Rio with their shitty podcast, and then you threw the first punch because you got caught up in the heat of the moment.”
