“Sure,” I replied, focusing my emotions on the anger I felt for the bastard on TV.
“But you know, there’s a lot one can do e
ven when they’re not in the spotlight.”
I frowned, looking away from the screen. “What do you mean?”
Graham chuckled. “You’re a smart girl,” he said. “Watch the TV. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
He hung up, and I stared at the phone for a few seconds before setting it on the couch beside me. What the hell did he mean? I thought he didn’t want me to get involved? And how the hell was I supposed to stay away from all this, but not at the same time? Nothing he said made any sense.
I turned back to the TV and turned up the volume. Mark had stepped aside, letting his wife talk to the cameras. I couldn’t believe he would stoop this low and bring his wife into it, but looking at her, those beautiful eyes, that innocent face, I realized that it was probably one of the best strategies he could use. The public was going to fall in love with her, and that would be it for Chad. The wife who demanded justice for her battered husband. The final nail in Chad Walters’ coffin.
My hands suddenly stopped shaking, and Graham’s words swirled in my head.
Of course.
How could I have been so stupid?
The solution to all our problems was on the TV screen, literally staring me in the face.
* * *
“What the fuck do you want?”
I closed my eyes, clenched my teeth and held my anger back. Hearing Mark’s voice over the phone only added to the anger I was feeling, and I had to control my temper if I wanted to do this right.
“I saw your little press performance,” I said. “I’m impressed.”
“Like I give a crap,” Mark shot back. “Your boyfriend’s going to file for bankruptcy by the time I’m through with him. Body by Chad will be Body by Mark. Just you wait and see.”
I actually smiled, picturing Mark standing next to Chad with their shirts off. There was no comparison.
“I’m going to need you to drop those charges, Mark,” I said. “By the end of the day.”
Mark laughed in my ear. “That’s fucking hilarious,” he said. “You’re joking, right?”
“Nope,” I replied. “Deadly serious. Serious as a heart attack, in fact.”
“And why the hell would I do that?” he asked. “Wait, no, don’t tell me. Because you have a thing for the guy and he won’t fuck you while he’s being sued by your ex?”
“Are you my ex, Mark?” I asked.
He hesitated for a moment, then said, “Of course I’m your ex, you dumb fucking cunt. You think I’m going to start fucking you again now and let this prick off the hook? Forget it. You were replaced ten minutes after I wiped the stink of your pussy off my dick the last time.”
“What happened to the forgiving man you were speaking of the other night?”
“That was before your Neanderthal fuck buddy slammed my face in a table and broke my nose.”
“Your nose? Or your pride?”
Mark took in a deep breath. I could almost hear his blood boiling. “Fuck you, Zoe, and don’t you ever fucking call me again?”
He was about to hang up when I said, “Then maybe I should talk to your wife.”
Silence. I got you now, you son of a bitch.
“What was her name? Deborah? Barbara? I can’t remember, I confuse her with all the other women you’ve cheated on her with.”