Almost Married

He sat on the sofa and pulled some socks on, then his black leather boots. Finally, he said, “It doesn’t sound like a bad deal.”

“I didn’t come here for a deal!” she shouted.

“Give us a minute, Paulie D,” Griff said.

Paulie D left, quietly shutting the door behind him.

“Why can’t you just let me go?” she asked Griff.

He looked in her eyes. “Because I don’t want to believe it’s really over.”

“Oh, you can believe it,” she snapped.

Griff stood and crossed to her. “I’m sorry. It’ll take some time, or whatever. When I get in a better position financially, maybe. Down the line. Things are going great. I’ve got a new album coming out in a few months. We’re still putting the final touches on it. They love me in Japan. I’m planning a tour of Asia. Maybe I’ll do a commercial over there too. Bill’s in talks right now about it.”

She sank to the sofa as the truth finally sank in. Dave had been right. Griff had played her. She should’ve expected it, yet she’d fallen for it because of their shared past, because of her brother, because of the seeming sincerity of his words. She felt stupid and angry and unbearably sad. This was all Griff could ever give, only the smallest gesture when it benefited him at the same time, and she’d wasted years of her life on him. He’d never had any intention of signing those divorce papers. And now she was supposed to wait another year? Suddenly, all she wanted was to see Dave again.

She shook her head as she pulled out her cell. “I can’t believe this. I’m calling Dave.” She called him, but it went to voicemail again. Dammit. Where was he?

Griff watched her. “Still not answering?”

She tucked her cell back in her purse. “No.”

“Come on,” Griff said. “I’ll give you a ride back to the hotel. He’s probably there.”

She lifted her chin. “I can ride by myself in the limo.”

“Let me go with you,” Griff said. “I want to work this out. Let’s talk about the divorce.”

She eyed him suspiciously.

“No lawyers,” he said. “Just you and me, working out a deal.”

“I’m not—” But that was as far as she got before he pulled her forcibly out the door to the waiting limo.

~ ~ ~

Dave was not happy with the security guard escort out of the stadium and was even less happy when they got to a private parking lot, where a silver sedan with tinted windows stood waiting.

“Get in,” the security guard said.

This was just like every thriller movie he’d ever watched. You should never get into the strange car with tinted windows. You could end up dead, or left for dead on the side of the road.

Dave backed up and found his way blocked by the guard’s hand on his back.

The guard pushed him forward. “Get in. This is your ride.”

“I’ll call a cab,” Dave said, pulling his cell from his pocket.

The man grabbed him by the arm and pushed him forward. Dave struggled; the cell hit the pavement and smashed into pieces. The front of the phone shattered. He could see the circuitry on the inside. Shit.

“You destroyed my cell!” Dave hollered before he ran. He didn’t stop running until he was well clear of the stadium. Thankfully, the guard didn’t follow him. He stepped into a convenience store, managed to get the clerk to allow him a phone call on the guy’s cell, and called a cab back to the hotel. He could only hope that Steph would be waiting there with the signed papers.

~ ~ ~

Steph fumed on the limo ride back to the hotel. Griff tried to apologize for the legal complications, but Steph didn’t want to hear it. He was like a puppet that just did whatever his people told him to. Even when that hurt the people he supposedly loved.

She looked out the window. It felt like they’d been driving a long time. She wasn’t sure where the hotel was because they went straight from the airport to the stadium, but she’d thought when Griff’s assistant reserved her a room, she would’ve picked somewhere close to the airport. “Where is this hotel?”

“West Hollywood,” Griff replied. He glanced at her and quickly looked away.