“Really? Like whom?”
“Referees, agents, coaches, managers…”
“You’re kidding. What do you do if your steak is undercooked in a restaurant? Get one of them to send it back?”
“I eat it anyway. There’s no such thing as a bad steak.” He grinned.
She leaned toward him and looked him right in the eye. “You do that a lot, you know.”
“What?”
“Avoid the question by making a joke. What about female fans who want to manhandle you?”
He grasped her arms and looked her in the eye. “Merry, it happens. I won’t lie to you. It’s always an uncomfortable situation for me since I don’t want to offend them while extricating myself. You never want your fans telling everyone they think you’re an ass. I usually joke my way out of it. That’s why I want you to buy me tonight. Here.” He reached into his pocket and extracted a money clip, fat with green bills. “This should be enough.” He had loaded the clip with Benjamins but knew the bidding could go high. He was a celebrity who looked pretty damn good in a tux.
Merry tucked the cash in her clutch purse. “Are you sure you want me to spend all this?”
“It’s for charity. Spend it and feel good about it.”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Jason rolled his eyes.
“I’ll get it,” Merry said. “After all, itismy apartment.” She smiled as if trying to reassure him of her protection.
Jason wasn’t sure what he should do. He didn’t want to hide in the kitchen like a coward. If someone recognized him, he could always say he had come to pick up his date and no one would have to know he lived there… if Dottie could keep her mouth shut.
Yeah, Merry was right. He really did have to tell his aunt, specifically, not to alert the world to his location by calling the cops at the drop of a hat, and then reinforce that message as often as necessary.
Merry opened the door and said, “Sly?”
“You know this man?” one of the officers asked.
“Yes. He saved my life a couple of weeks ago.” She stepped into the hall and shook the stranger’s hand. “I wanted to thank you, but I haven’t seen you since that night.”
“How’ve you been?” he asked, as casually as if one cop didn’t have a vice grip on his arm and the other one wasn’t barring the door behind him. Dottie made a disgusted sound and marched back upstairs.
“I’m fine. Thanks to you.”
The cop holding Sly asked, “What do you mean he saved your life?”
Sly spoke up quickly. “It was nothing. A misunderstanding that could have gotten out of hand, but it didn’t. I intervened.”
At first Merry hesitated, and then as if she’d just remembered the cops weren’t supposed to know about her near rape she chuckled and said, “Yeah, that’s all it was. I can be a bit of a drama queen. It was just a misunderstanding.”
“You sure?” the cop at the door said.
“Yes, it was nothing, really.”
Jason studied the man that must have been Dottie’s suspicious character “skulking around” outside. He didn’t seem homeless. He was well-dressed in an open collared black shirt, black trousers, and an expensive-looking black wool coat. “What’s the problem, officers?” Jason asked.
“Someone called about a prowler.”
Sly laughed. “I was leaning against the fence having a cigarette. Not prowling.” He made eye contact with the officer a little longer than necessary and said, “So, I’m free to go, right?”
The cop said, “As long as this woman can vouch for you.”
Merry nodded. “I vouch.”
“Okay,” the cop holding his arm let him go with a warning. “Find another fence to lean against as you have your smokes or, better yet, quit. It’s a filthy habit.”
