obviously understand the main reason I’m here is to prevent you from coming to blows with Fossoway like what happened last season. You said that argument wasn’t related to football, and I don’t want to pry. Even though you’re a private person, and you won’t be as much in the public eye in Ironville, there are smartphones everywhere. Just think of me like the little angel on your shoulder, reminding you to behave no matter what you’re faced with while you’re home.”
“I’m about to be faced with my best friend being in a wedding party with her secret, not-so-ex-husband who’s blackmailing her into getting treatment for a chronic health condition in exchange for getting his shit together. I don’t know whether to be more worried about that shit show or about Alex. Sometime during our senior year of college, he became the other guy who sees an opportunity to try to get Evie into bed next. That’s what started all this. That’s what we were fighting about on the field. You don’t need to worry about me making bad press for football so much as Falls and Fossoway.”
If I thought Mike was being authentic before, he absolutely looks like he’s going to puke all over the steering wheel from his blurted honesty now.
Holy crap. This is way above my pay grade. I knew I was walking into a lion’s den with this trip, but not like this. David would never have sent me otherwise. “Mr. Mitchell, I don’t want to seem like a fangirl who’s dying to know every little tidbit of sordid information about your life, but I need way more of an explanation than that if I’m going to keep your career in the fast lane.”
Goddamn. I didn’t know vomit could smell so much like the same thing it went down the hatch as. I’m not a big drinker anyway, but I will never, ever drink gin after tonight. I might not be able to even stand the scent of the stuff ever again.
“Okay,” Tori sighs then swipes her arm across her mouth. “I’m done.”
Yeah, I highly doubt that. “I think we should stay here just in case.”
She blows a raspberry that reeks of alcohol and shakes her head a little too wildly as she laughs. “Oh, no. I’m gonna puke some more. I meant I’m done. With this job. You’re gonna go back to Albany at the end of the month, tell Mr. Gallo you had to hold my hair back while I barfed my intestines up, and then I’ll be fired.”
I sit on the tile floor beside her, so the boobs that are practically hanging out of her dress won’t be in my direct line of sight anymore. “I’m not going to tell Mr. Gallo about this.”
“You should actually,” she slurs. “Maybe he’ll write me a decent letter of recommendation at the least.” She gestures with her hands in front of her like she’s showing off a billboard. “Willing to do anything to get the job done. And I do mean anything. Client is about to get into a fistfight at a wedding reception? Tori Russo will drink herself stupid to distract him. This woman does what it takes. She cares more about the client than her own liver.”
I can’t believe my ears. “You got this drunk, on purpose?”
“Yep.” She pops the P. “Things were getting a little too tense back there. I didn’t know what else to do to prevent another media nightmare.” She cradles her head in her hands. “I’m so bad at this, but you won’t be stuck with me for much longer. I’m sorry.”
I feel like an absolute ass. “No, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to be in the middle of this. We fight a lot, but they’re still my friends, and it’s…it’s complicated.”
“I know,” she mumbles through her fingers. “You actually told me something for once. I’m not heartless even though I hate that they’ve put you in the middle of this. I can understand why they did because you’re a natural problem solver, but I still don’t think it’s fair to you. I care about what she went through. What they went through. What you all went through. But you’re my responsibility, not them. I get you’ve all got big problems. That’s why I resorted to drastic measures to get you out of there.” She laughs, but it sounds more like a sob. “Nothing but my finest for you, Mr. Mitchell.”
“Thank you,” I tell her with as much honesty as