“I’m saying, it looks like Katia isn’t just having an affair with Dawson. I’d bet she’s also sleeping with Brittany B. After all, Brittany is the one who lived there. The other two left quickly in their own cars.”
“So, Brittany realized they were posting about her from her own apartment pool and confronted them?” The entire story was incredulous. And not surprising. The ratings would be through the roof if this scandal was all true.
Liz nodded. “Yep. They filmed her. She was livid. She went after them, grabbing for their phones. She was screaming at them about her violation of privacy and that she was going to sue them and how they had no right to interfere in people’s personal lives. They fought like cats and dogs just like on the show. Three of them fell in the pool. So many cameras were running that the footage is all over social media with the rest of the story.”
“My God.” Jodi swallowed hard. She wondered what would happen next. How would the show add this twist into their plot?
Just then the front door opened and Roxie, the other waitress, walked in. She looked frazzled as she crossed the room. That wasn’t unusual. Roxie was hard to read.
“I see she’s in a mood again,” Liz muttered under her breath.
She was more disheveled than usual too. She normally wore her bleach blond shoulder length hair with fuchsia tips up in a high ponytail. Tonight, it was still down around her shoulders. Jodi didn’t think she’d combed it today.
Seconds later, the front door opened again. This time Tuck walked inside. He held a thick folder against his side under his arm. His movements were jerky. His face was red. His fists were balled. He took several stomping steps across the floor before noticing Jodi and Liz behind the counter and halting.
For several moments he stared at them, and then he groaned and ran a hand over his face. “Fuck,” he muttered before continuing through the bar and disappearing into the hallway where the restrooms and main office were located.
“Maybe you should go talk to him,” Liz suggested softly.
“Yeah.” Begrudgingly.
Chapter 7
Jodi found him in the office. He was sitting on the brown leather loveseat, elbows on his knees, face in his palms, gaze toward the floor. The folder was on the coffee table. That part wasn’t odd. He often carried a folder of papers with him. He looked over them when he was on break. She figured they contained information about the next day’s plans from the producer. She never asked. She never looked.
Jodi shut the door behind her and inched closer. “I didn’t see what happened firsthand, but Liz told me the gist. Are you okay?”
He groaned and leaned back against the cushion, meeting Jodi’s gaze. “I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking getting myself into this mess. That bitch. I’m so stupid. All I heard was dollar signs. I let myself get roped into the craziest shitshow in the world for eighty thousand dollars. Who does that?”
Jodi perched on the edge of the loveseat next to him but not touching him. “That’s a lot of money.”
“Yeah. I’m definitely not permitted to talk about it either. The initial amount was five thousand to be on the show and then twenty-five thousand to marry her. They added fifty if I would stay ninety days.” He winced. “Not sure it was worth it.”
She recognized that he was furious and needed to vent. He also had no one to vent to. She could do this for him. Be the someone he needed. And keep it all to herself.
She wanted to touch him, but she was afraid he might not appreciate that gesture at the moment, so she set her palms on her thighs and waited for him to continue, knowing he would. So far, she wasn’t positive what part of today’s insanity he was most pissed about.
“I asked for one lousy thing.” He held up a finger. “One. Not to involve my mom. And now her location is all over the fucking internet. By the end of the night the entire world is going to have figured out her room number, her diagnosis, her prognosis, and even the daily cost of keeping her there.” He slapped his thighs.
Jesus. Jodi’s heart raced. She felt awful for him. His mom. All this had been to protect his mom. No wonder he didn’t quit.
“The only consolation I have is that whatever anyone tells her, she won’t remember. Thank God. If she was cognitively aware the son she was so proud of had married someone who only cared about fame and money, she would lose her mind. If she still had a mind.”
“Does she have Alzheimer’s?” Jodi asked softly.
Tuck nodded, hanging his head again. “She’s in the final stages. That’s why I left the SEALs. To come home and help her die with dignity. She doesn’t even know who I am anymore, but I know who she is, and that’s all that matters.”
Jodi lifted one hand and grabbed his, squeezing it. “That is all that matters. And like you said, she won’t know what she’s hearing if anyone tells her.” She hurt for him. His pain was palpable.
“Yeah. I keep telling myself that. And the staff assures me they will not let anyone in the building who doesn’t belong there. I didn’t want to cause extra stress on them either. If they end up having to increase security or something, I’ll be forced to move her. That’s the last thing I want to do. Crestmont is the best facility in the area. They take amazing care of her. I never have to worry. All I have to do is pay the bills.” He cringed, as if he hadn’t meant to divulge that last part out loud.
The bills… Right. That’s why he needed the money. “I’m so sorry,” Jodi said, squeezing his hand again.
He closed his eyes and then suddenly tugged
