Page 79 of Hard
‘Oh, that’s good.’
‘And Chas thought it might, so she cancelled all weekly and monthly options, meaning anyone looking for you has to pay for a year’s membership.’
‘Oh. Ew. People are looking for me? Searching for me on the internet?’
‘Yeah, why wouldn’t they? You’re hot. I keep telling you—’
‘Don’t.’ I hold my hand up, palm out. ‘Just don’t.’
‘Would it make you feel better if I said people are probably looking for a connection to Robin Reed?’
‘The Robin Reed experience?’ I giggle at the thought of someone doing him on screen. It’s not a pleasant sight, as I recall. And not the best of experiences. ‘They’d all want their money back.’
‘Think of it this way,’ he says, pushing back his chair. ‘People are looking for whatever, but being exposed to amazing, tasteful pornography. They’re not being duped, but maybe educated. They might spend a little while looking for you but will eventually find something else they like. And all the while? Chas is raking in the subscription coin.’ He deposits my abandoned toast in the garbage.
‘You really ought to try to go back to being a venture capitalist.’ He’d gotten a job with a big city company, leaving after only a few weeks. ‘You could probably sell snow to the Eskimos.’
‘Venture capitalists invest in ideas, not sell them,’ he says with an air of benevolent patience, patting my head as he passes. ‘We’ll both find our way. I’m sure of that.’
‘Yeah,’ I say to the empty room. ‘But mine is a one-way ticket back to the States.’
The doorbell rings, shortly followed by Max’s voice as he makes his way up the stairs. ‘You’ll get it!’ he sings.
‘Sure,’ I grumble. ‘Why not? It’s not like I have a new job or anything.’
I trudge up to the front door, making sure to look through the peephole.
‘You have no business to react like that,’ I whisper to my heart, placing my hand over it to stop it from dancing. Then I pull open the door to Keir.
‘Hey.’ I paint on a smile that feels all wrong. ‘How are you?’
‘About as well as you feel,’ he replies, smiling as he looks my stained robe up and down.
‘It’s not dirty, just old.’
‘It’s... unexpected,’ he answers, still smiling.Like a total loon.
‘We can’t all be pulled together every minute of every day,’ I snipe, regretting my tone immediately as his smile falls.
‘No, of course not,’ he says, his expression sobering. ‘How are you?’ His throat moves as he swallows, his hands sort of fidgety by his sides before he slides them into the pockets of his slacks.
‘I’ve been better,’ I answer honestly, folding my arms across my chest and giving a one-shoulder shrug. ‘And you?’
‘Well, I spent an hour or so with myex-wife, so I’m sure you can guess exactly how I’m feeling.’
‘How could I guess, given that you’ve barely mentioned her?’
‘I imagine most people don’t enjoy spending time with their ex,’ he says, slightly annoyed. ‘Are you going to invite me inside?’
‘Nope.’ I pop theploudly. ‘Unless you do a better job of explaining.’
‘Seeing her was about as pleasant as I expected, but it has complicated matters somewhat. And I’d really prefer not to stand at the front door telling you about it.’ The end of his sentence ends a little loudly. A little commanding. And I like it. Like that he’s a little fiery. A little pissed off. And I’d keep him at the door for a little longer if it wasn’t for Chastity’s sudden appearance.
‘So this is Keir,’ she says, bumping me with her hip, like that’s some secret signal of approval.
‘And you must be Chastity.’ Chas doesn’t answer, though she eyes him critically. ‘I imagine this is what it must feel like to be a horse on a stud farm,’ he says.
‘Sorry,’ she replies, looking anything but sorry. ‘It’s a professional hazard. Plus, Paisley didn’t mention you were funny. Come on in.’
