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For my own safety, I’m definitely leaving out the bit where I swore he was going to lean in to kiss me yesterday after I pushed him in the chest, and definitely how fucking bad I wanted him to.
“He’s actually a lot different than I thought he’d be,” I finally reply. “I was expecting a good ol’ boy vibe, even with the awkwardness of the forced interviews, but he’s . . .” I pause, searching for the word I want before continuing, “intense. He was definitely pissed when he figured out that I was the one who wrote the original article and that I would be the one interviewing him. He slammed the door in my face.”
Maggie, whose idea of rude is to not offer you a cookie when you stop by her desk, gasps. “Oh, my gosh, he did not!”
“Oh yes, he did. But we seem to have worked it out,” I reply, leaving out the arrangement I made on answering questions tit-for-tat with him. “The interviews have been going really well since then. I haven’t got any real dirt, no hidden secrets, but he’s letting me in. I feel like he’s at least being honest and not totally PR with me. I think I’ll be able to show a real and deeper picture of who Keith Perkins is. Not just the image he portrays on stage.”
Maggie looks like she’s about to swoon, and I’d bet fifty bucks she’s got one of those huge Keith Perkins posters at home. “Speaking of stage, didn’t I hear on the radio that he’s doing a local private show this weekend?”
I nod. It was something we went over right at the end of last night’s talk . . . it’s hard to call something as intimate as what we’re doing an interview. “Yeah, he is. That’s actually our next interview date. He said that we could do a field trip and he would get me a front-row seat for the show. I’m hoping to get backstage access before and after too so I can see his whole process for a show. I think that’ll be a slam dunk for the article . . . him in his element, doing what he does.”
“So you’re going to his private show with a front-row seat and backstage access?” she asks, blushing as she clutches at her chest and sighs dreamily. “That sounds like heaven! Surely, you’ll get some juicy details there?”
I smile. Maggie’s too cute not to. “Honestly, I haven’t found any dirt . . . really, none at all. He’s a bit of a controlling jerk, but no deep, dark secret that I’ve been able to find yet.”
Maggie pouts. I don’t think she likes the idea of Keith being controlling as much as I secretly do. “Well, you know Donnie won’t be happy with that. You’re going to need to find something.”
I wave it off. “I know, but I swear he’s basically boring . . . he writes, he does shows. I don’t know what else he does with his time.”
Maggie taps the tip of her nose, smiling as if she’s got the perfect idea. “And there’s your story. What’s he do in his free time, because you know he doesn’t write and sing all the time. That’s what he’s hiding.”
I purse my lips, mulling that over. Maggie looks young and innocent, and many a mark have taken her to be naive, and well, she is cute in a way that makes you want to pat her head like a sweet puppy sometimes. But she’s also a shrewd and brilliant investigator who uses her gifts to her benefit without getting jaded or down from the dirt she digs up. “Hmm, maybe you’re right. I’ll have to stick my nose into that area . . . carefully. But this weekend, I’m staying with the performance aspect because I know that’ll be interesting. Trying to dig up what else he does in his free time could be a dud, and it’s risky. But thanks, Mags.”
She smiles, planting her hands on the corner of my desk and transforms back to looking cute enough I want to stick her in my backpack and take her home. “No problem! I’m just as curious as you are. Lord knows, there’s a whole lot of women who’d love to know what makes that man tick, and I bet you’d be up for a promotion if you can figure it out and let us all know.”
With a hop, Maggie is off my desk and off to do her own thing, leaving me tapping at my keyboard. I’m not sure what I want to say yet, and her comment about wanting to know what makes Keith tick rings a bit true and close to home.
He’s been angry, dismissive, and downright rude to me in some moments, the perfect target for one of those bloodletting exposes that can get a shitload of website traffic. I’d have no problem with ripping him apart if that’s all he was.
