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My heart flipped. He was too hot for his own good. If he wasn't such a pain in my ass…
He crossed his arms over his chest. His fingers were long, hands big. All the better to catch balls.
Shit, now my mind wasn't thinking about footballs.
"I'm sure you're up for it," he said. "This is something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I just didn't know how. With you on board, it'll be a piece of cake."
"I'm pretty sure it'll be anything but cake," I said. "A few bottles of vodka, maybe."
"I'll buy you a case of it when we pull this off," he said. "Or some fancy wine."
I rubbed my forehead with my fingertips. Was I really considering getting involved in his crazy plan? If we pulled it off, it would be amazing. If it crashed and burned, so would I.
"What the hell," I said finally. "Nothing ventured, I guess." I sipped the wine he'd just bought me. "You realise this means spending more time together, right?"
He snapped his fingers. "I knew I was forgetting something." He grinned. "Naw, just kidding. I'm up for it if you are. Might even rope my sister in to help."
I nodded. "Good idea. I can think of a few others who might."
"Yeah?" he asked. "I know when a woman is plotting something. Out with it." He gave me a 'come on, spill' gesture with his curled fingers.
"Was it that obvious?" I'd have to work on that. I couldn't have him knowing what I was thinking, especially when it was about him.
"I'm just that smart." He looked smug.
"If you say so." I kept my tone teasing. An hour ago I would have called him an arrogant asshole for saying something like that. Now… I didn't know what to think.
"Oh, I do say so." He wiggled his brows. If he was walking, he would have strutted. He was almost doing that in his chair. "So go on, who are you thinking of?"
"Rubie Thomas, for one," I said.
He shook his head in surprise. For a moment I thought he'd say a flat no. Instead, he looked cautious and said, "Why?"
I pursed my lips. "She said she wants to help other people. She's looking for a way to make a difference."
"It might piss her father off, if she works with someone he fired," Bam said. He jerked back a little. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up."
I sighed through my nose. "It is what it is. I suspect she might like your plan for that reason." She might see it as a way to get back at her father. If he noticed. I didn't want to get in the middle of anything between father and daughter, but she would be a great help. What strings Bam and I couldn't pull, she would. No doubt she knew people I could only dream of knowing.
This wasn't about being star struck, not at all. Okay, maybe a little. Mostly it was about helping people. If she could draw in more interest, then that was all the better.
"Depends if you can get her off her phone." Bam grimaced lopsidedly.
"Actually, her social media influence could be a big help," I said. "One post could make this whole thing go viral. In a good way."
"That's good," he said. "because I already went viral in a bad way."
"Yeah, well, this should go a long way to earning all the brownie points you could imagine," I said. "But don't forget, another incident like that bar fight will undo all the good in a nanosecond."
What was it they said? It can take years to build a good reputation and minutes to tear it all down. Once it was down, it would be hard to rebuild it again. This might be his one chance to make things right.
"I'll be the model dude," he assured me. "If anyone says anything bad, they'll be lying."
"Unless they catch it on camera," I reminded him.
"Then it's a deep fake." He nodded with certainty.
I laughed. "No offence, but unless you're a politician or a big shot movie star, I don't think anyone would make one of you. From what I gather, they take a lot of time."
