Smooth Play (Brooklyn Monarchs 2)
Troy watched her cross to the opposite railing. He folded his arms over his chest and stepped back against the building’s red brick facade. A network of metal fire escapes crisscrossed up and down the building. The congested sidewalk waited a long twelve stories below. He hated heights. “This isn’t exactly private.”
Her tone was droll. “Did you expect me to take you to my bedroom?”
At least they would have been indoors. Troy smiled to mask his nerves. “You’re right. I wouldn’t want you to be tempted to take advantage of me.”
Andrea’s sherry eyes sparkled with humor. Her full, bare lips curved ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t have been able to help myself.”
Troy was running on maybe an hour’s sleep. He’d been angry and anxious since receiving Gerald’s call in the predawn hours. And he’d been wound too tight to rest. But her smile gave him a surge of energy and a sense of hope.
He glanced over his shoulder toward the group in the living room. “Do they know Gerry fired me?”
He felt naked and vulnerable as he waited for her reply. Had they been talking about him before he’d shown up? Did they think he was a fool for calling Gerald out without proof to support his claim?
Troy looked again at Andrea. She leaned against the railing of the suspended fire escape. The evening breeze teased her long dark hair. What did she think of him? Did she hate him because of the latest Monarchs Insider blog?
Andrea shook her head. “It’s not my place to tell Connie or Serge. And I didn’t want to tell Faith until Connie knew.” She offered him a smile. “I did mention it to Tiff over coffee this morning, but she won’t tell her mother.”
He smiled at her joke. Why was she being nice to him after the trouble he’d caused her? He gave her a grateful look. “Thank you.”
“Are you going to tell them now?”
“I don’t know.” He dragged his hand over his hair.
“Don’t wait too long. The media will break the news tomorrow if not later today.”
Dammit. “You’re probably right. But that’s not what I came here to say.”
Andrea seemed to stiffen. He sensed her suspicion. “What is it?”
Troy drew a breath. “I owe you an apology. I never meant to bring you into the line of fire when I gave that interview against the Insider.”
She tilted her head. “You called the blogger a small-minded, petty hack. What did you think would happen?”
Troy had withstood Gerald’s fury and Jaclyn’s disappointment. But he struggled in the face of Andrea’s concern. The crisp breeze chilled him. Or maybe it was self-doubt. “I didn’t think he’d take his anger out on you. After I exposed him, I expected Gerry to take down the blog.”
“But Gerry’s not the Insider.”
Troy’s impatience spiked despite Andrea’s reasonable tone. “How do you know that?”
She crossed her arms over the Superman logo. “Well, first of all, the Insider’s a woman.”
Surprise chased away his irritation. “Do you know who she is?”
“No. And, before you ask, it’s not me.” Andrea shifted her body weight from one leg to the other.
Troy could swear the fire escape moved. He gripped the railing beside him. “I never thought you were the blogger. Why would you post a blog entry attacking yourself?”
Andrea blinked her bright eyes. “Is that the only reason you think I’m not the Insider?”
“Why would I think you were the blogger?” Her question confused him. She was straying from their topic.
“Never mind.” She sounded exasperated.
Troy let it go. “What makes you think the blogger is a woman?”
“Her writing style and the subjects of her posts.” Andrea counted her reasons on her fingers. “She writes with a lot of emotion. And, as you pointed out, she seems jealous.”
Andrea’s face glowed as she stated her arguments