Part 37 (1/2)

~ Ten ~

Parker

Morning came way too soon, along with the realization that I was going to be majorly late.

s.h.i.+t. I'm so stupid. I should've set an alarm on my phone. I should've left after we f.u.c.ked that second time. But I hadn't been able to separate myself from Kellan, not just because he had such a tight hold on me, but because I was just so d.a.m.n comfortable sleeping next to him. I really hadn't wanted to go home.

But I definitely had to go to work, and definitely not in the outfit I'd worn the previous night out. So I'd dashed out Kellan's door at seven thirty this morning after a quick kiss goodbye and rushed home to my apartment to change into something that wouldn't earn me dirty looks from Melanie Cartwright-or Thom, for that matter.

And now I was stuck in traffic. s.h.i.+t. It was eight fifteen, and I was supposed to be at work at eight o'clock sharp.

I'd called the office as soon as I'd known I was going to be late, but that didn't matter. Melanie was a real stickler about punctuality, and I was undoubtedly in for an earful. Still, that wasn't the reason my heart was racing or why b.u.t.terflies had taken up residence in my stomach. That was all because Kellan's kiss from this morning still lingered on my lips even now, and I really, honestly couldn't wait to see him again.

This is so f.u.c.ked up, I thought, biting my nails as I sat in the turn lane for the street The Spill was on. I stalked him to get a story, not to get f.u.c.ked. And definitely not to start falling for the guy.

Was I being stupid? I certainly felt like it. I barely knew Kellan, and yet being with him felt so good, so right. I was probably making the biggest mistake of my life, and definitely the biggest mistake of my career. Melanie was going to be so p.i.s.sed if I came away from this empty-handed. I had to find a way to get the most out of a budding relations.h.i.+p as well as my job.

Balancing those two worlds would be easier said than done. I hadn't even told Kellan that I was a reporter yet. When was I going to drop that bomb?

And how would he react when I did? He seemed to have some serious trust issues, and I got the feeling he didn't let his guard down easily. In fact, I'd seen just how hostile and walled-off he could be. The longer I lied to him, the worse it was going to get. I had to tell him soon. Maybe he'd even be okay with helping me out with my story, once he'd calmed down.

Girl, if Melanie could see you now, she'd be so disappointed in you.

I parked out in front and hurried up to the sixth floor. Thom was waiting for me at my desk with a coffee and a huge grin on his stupid, smug face. At least the coffee had my name on it.

”Good morning, suns.h.i.+ne!” he said so loud the whole office turned to look at us. I cringed and glared at him, and he lowered his voice as I got closer. ”Welcome to the end of your walk of shame.”

I grabbed the coffee from him and threw it back, letting it burn all the way down my throat. I was still a little groggy and exhausted after everything I'd been through last night. All of it, every second, had been such a rush.

”So, how was it?” Thom asked, perching on the corner of my desk. I pushed his legs aside so I could sit in my chair and turn my computer on. ”You know... the s.e.x.”

I rolled my eyes. ”Come on. Do you really think I'd have s.e.x with him, Thom? He's a source, and I'm a professional. There are boundaries we just shouldn't cross.”

”Bulls.h.i.+t. You're glowing. Unless you're pregnant, and then that would explain everything, Little Miss Att.i.tude.” Thom eyed me suspiciously. ”The big, bad fighter didn't actually knock you up, did he? I mean, you two used protection, right?”

I couldn't hide my smirk this time. ”We were safe, if that's what you're asking.”

”So you did screw.”

”Give me a break, Thom,” I said, opening up my e-mail. ”You already knew that.”

”I know something else, too. Two things, really. One of which is going to make your day.”

No e-mails from Melanie. That was strange. I'd only been late to work one other time since starting here, but that morning, I'd found waiting in my inbox a message telling me to see her in her office. The way she'd chewed me out was epic. Not once had she raised her voice, and yet she'd almost made me cry all the same. It was like when one of your parents was disappointed in you, rather than outright angry. It always made you feel worse than you would have if they'd just screamed at you.

I'd never felt so small in all my life as I had on that day, and I'd been antic.i.p.ating the same emotion now. When it didn't come, I was confused.

I looked up at Thom. ”Okay. Shoot.”

”Firstly,” Thom said, crossing one leg over the other, ”Melanie's out sick. She was at the grand opening of some new sus.h.i.+ place last night, and everyone got food poisoning. She texted me she's going to sue. I can't wait to read The Spill's review of this one.”

I grinned, not because Melanie was sick, but because I was off the hook. Thank G.o.d. ”You b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You could have told me before I spent all this time thinking I was going to lose my job-or worse, that Melanie would let me keep my job, but give me all the s.h.i.+t stories as an example to others. But you're right. That does make my day, though I hope she gets better soon. What's the second thing?”

Thom smiled. ”The second thing is that, after you left with your new boy toy last night, I did some digging on the ring we ended up at. Specifically, one of the managers, Victor Dallas. He's the one who manages 'Killer Kellan,' along with a few others. Guy's a major d.i.c.k, Parker. Did a stint about a decade ago for fraud. A regular conman. And now he's taking advantage of guys like your boyfriend, taking them in off the streets, cleaning them up, and turning them into cash cows while pocketing a hefty 'manager's fee' the fighters don't even know about.”

I remembered Thom having mentioned that a lot of managers were shady back when we'd talked about this before. But knowing that Kellan was getting taken advantage of for sure had me furious. ”G.o.ddammit. Okay, what do we do?”

”I want to take him down,” Thom said. ”I hate guys like this. I want to run an expose on the damage these kinds of operations do, and not just the physical kind. They keep their fighters in poverty, one way or another, to ensure they have to come back and fight just to survive. And the longer they're working for guys like Vic, the less work experience they have to put on a resume, which means they run a very real risk of never finding a legitimate job again. Not one that pays what they need to make a real living, anyway.”

”A vicious cycle,” I mused. ”They can never get out. Not without a windfall or a miracle.” I looked up at Thom. ”How can I help?”

”Well, it'd be a real boon to have Kellan on board, for starters,” he said.

I grimaced. ”That might be a problem. He doesn't even know I'm a reporter.”

”You were planning on telling him, right?” Thom asked. I nodded, and he shrugged. ”So do it right before a b.l.o.w.j.o.b. It'll soften the blow-so to speak.”

”This guy's intense, Thom,” I said. ”I don't think a b.l.o.w.j.o.b will heal all wounds, in this case.” Dumb, dumb, dumb. I should've just told Kellan from the start who and what I was. Melanie Cartwright's philosophy on life had me all paranoid and making things way more complicated than they needed to be. ”I'll give it a shot, though, okay? In the meantime, I'm going to try the senator again. That's a pretty big piece of the puzzle-getting him to support, and hopefully pa.s.s, this bill will make it way harder for guys like Victor to prey on guys like Kellan.”

”Sounds good,” Thom said, hopping down off my desk. ”We're in this together, Parker. Remember that. If you need help, I'm here.”

I nodded. That was another fact that flew in the face of Melanie's theories: Thom and I had a genuine friends.h.i.+p that was personal as well as professional. He wouldn't backstab me, and even though he had way more experience and clout than I did, he was willing to help me with whatever I needed. And he didn't treat me like I owed him for it, either. Thom was good people, and living proof that you didn't have to be a Grade-A a.s.shole to get ahead in this business.

If you'd acted more like Thom from the beginning, you wouldn't be in this mess with Kellan, I reminded myself. Listening to Melanie Cartwright has got you in big trouble so far.

My conscience was right. Melanie may have had to step on more than a few toes to get to the top, but that didn't mean everyone had to. And honestly, even though she was very successful, she was also very lonely. She didn't have anyone in her life like Thom. No friends. No husband. No real family to speak of at all. The acquaintances she knew were just as ruthless as she was. For me, that was no way to live. I should have realized it sooner.

I don't want to be so cold that I freeze out everyone around me. I wanted the warmth I'd felt last night with Kellan. G.o.d, I'd felt so safe, so guarded in his arms. And he'd held me like that all night, so when I woke up, the first thing I felt was his embrace.

It was the best night of my life. I'd never slept so soundly. And despite all the anxiety I'd felt on my way here today, I'd never felt happier, either. Was it too late to fix this? Had I irrevocably messed everything up?

The only way to find out was to come clean, and hope that Kellan could forgive me. Things might go a little smoother, though, if I had some good news on my side. It was a long shot, but I was going to have to get back up on that horse.

Thom waved as he walked back to his desk, and I returned the gesture with a smile. Then I picked up the phone and dialed Senator MacFarlane's number for the millionth time since I started work on this story, and just like every other time, I got his secretary and was promptly transferred to his voicemail.

I sighed just before the beep. ”Senator MacFarlane, this is Parker Jones from The Spill. I'm leaving you another message regarding the upcoming proposed bill that would ensure job preference for veterans who've returned home from overseas tours. It's imperative that I speak with you at your earliest convenience-no, forget that,” I said, taking a risk and going off script, ”it's absolutely crucial that we talk about this. There are too many good men and women whose livelihoods depend on you making the right choice here, and dammit, if n.o.body else is going to push you in the right direction, I sure as h.e.l.l am. So call me back, or the next thing I'll do is camp out in front of your office door. You've got to come to work sometime, even if you are a senator.”

When I hung up the phone, I felt better than I had in a long time. Chances were slim to none that the senator was actually going to call me back after that-and if Melanie had come to work today, I wouldn't have dreamt of doing it-but it had to be done. He'd been ducking me for weeks, anyway, so it wasn't like my tirade would change much.