Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“How is it you look miserable and happy at the same time?” I ask, as I cross his office and take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.
He gives me a quick grin, but he doesn’t explain. The man has the life he never thought he’d have after getting divorced from his high school sweetheart. That explains everything without words.
“I have a new assignment,” Deacon says, his large palm flat on the folder on his desk.
“Sweet,” I say, reaching for the folder, but Deacon prevents me from taking it.
Wren is the best at his job. More often than not, he gives up too much information, but he’s thorough enough to put the pertinent stuff in the very front, making it easy to dive right into a case.
“This one is a little different.”
Intrigued, I sit back and take a sip of my coffee.
“Different is good. Might spice things up a little.”
“Archer Bremen.”
I tilt my head to the side. I’ve worked with men before. Those job duties look much different from most of the cases I work with women.
“Okay.”
“Do you know who he is?”
“The lead singer for Lucid Unrest.”
“And do you know what’s going on with him?”
I shake my head. Flynn may not read the tabloids at all, but I search my name daily. “I don’t read stories about anyone else.”
That kind of shit is all fake news and clickbait, so I don’t waste my time on it. The only reason I search my own name is to see what kind of rumors are floating around about me.
Just last week, I was spotted sneaking out of a married woman’s backdoor while her husband was coming through the front. There was no truth to that story at all, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t end up on page three of a very popular gossip website.
“He was recently outed,” Deacon begins, and I have to cringe.
What a horrible way for assholes to dig into someone’s life.
“He’s been good about hiding those details about his personal life, so it came as a huge shock to his fan base.”
My brows scrunch together. “People are pretty accepting these days about that sort of thing. What’s the issue? Pissed fans? Stalkers?”
“He went live on social media and told everyone that he was drunk and high on cocaine. He all but accused the man he was caught with of taking advantage.”
“Ouch. That’s seriously shitty. So he’s got an addiction problem?”
Deacon shrugs. “Who fucking knows at this point. The biggest issue is the other guy involved is Fletcher Corbin.”
“Oh shit!” I hiss, a warranted cringe on my face. “His drummer?”
“It’s a huge fucking mess. The tabloids are all over it. The man can hardly leave his house, which is required if he has any hope of cleaning up his image.”
“So this is a job better suited for Quinten or Gaige. Are they busy?”
Gaige Ward is our in-house attorney, and Quinten Lake is our fixer, the guy that swoops into a situation that needs to be cleaned up.
“They have other things going on, but that’s not why I want you on this case.” Deacon finally hands over the folder, and I open it immediately and start looking over the provided information.
“I think having to come out as anything other than cisgender hetero is the dumbest fucking thing in the world,” I mutter.
“I think the bigger problem in this case is the fact that he made the accusations against Corbin. The public has started hate campaigns about this guy.”
“If he made false accusations against a bandmate, maybe he deserves all the hate thrown his way.”
“I’ve spoken at length with Archer Bremen.”
“And you still think it’s a good idea to work with him? We’re already catching flack for having an all-male staff other than Pam. Being called misogynists is bad enough. Do we really want to open the door to being called bigots?”
“His manager prepared his explanation.”
“The man can’t think for himself?” I shake my head and close the folder. “I don’t think providing security is going to help him.”
“I’m not certain that the former manager didn’t have it out for the guy,” Deacon says as he pinches the bridge of his nose.
“He fired him? At least he did that much.”
“The manager jumped ship, disappeared within literal minutes of Archer going live. I’m pretty sure he planned it that way.”
“Bremen needs to sue his ass.”
“And that’s on the list of things we’re going to help with, but I need you on this case.”
“Deacon, I—”
“This case will be no different from any of the others you’ve worked recently.”
I cock an eyebrow at him. “Of course it’s going to be different. I’m either pretending to be someone’s love interest or I’m sent to date someone and convince them to spill their secrets.”
“Well, this time around, it isn’t the latter.”
His eyes lock with mine, and I see the challenge in them. After everything I just said, he’s daring me to backpedal and refuse to do what he’s asking.