Unlike the general student body, who all wanted to point and stare at him, the football team congratulated him and asked that he introduce them to Callie.
◊◊◊
David had just finished his film session with the other quarterbacks for the upcoming Colorado game when his phone rang. It was a blocked number, which made him think it was spam, but he answered it anyway.
“This is David.”
“Oliver,” came the one-word answer, and then there was dead air.
“What do you want?” David finally asked.
“I talked to Cassidy, and she said she would ask you to track me down when she got better. I was hoping you would go easier on me if I told you where I was and how to contact me.”
David had talked to his lawyers to see what he could and couldn’t do. They said it probably wouldn’t be worth the hassle to bring Knackers back for prosecution. The biggest obstacle was the powers that be might not want to spend the money to extradite him back to the US. Then there was no guarantee he would be charged.
“How about I send you a plane ticket, and you turn yourself in?” David offered.
“I don’t think so.”
“And here I thought you wanted this to go easy.”
“I don’t plan on spending time in jail, and I don’t really have any money,” Oliver explained.
“Then what are you telling me?” David asked.
“I hoped that maybe you and Cassidy could come to me, and I could apologize in person. It was a bloody cock up, and I feel horrible about it, and I want her to know how sorry I am.”
“Let me guess, Cassidy won’t take your calls.”
“I think she blocked me,” Oliver admitted.
David sighed.
“Right now, she’s watching her whole life plan go out the window. On top of that, she’s in pain, her arm’s in a cast, and she doesn’t know how well it will ever work again.
Cassidy is in no mood to forgive you right now.
“How about, when she’s ready to have me track you down, I call you, and we talk then?” David suggested.
“If you think that’s best.”
“And Oliver, if I have to find you, I’ll kick your ass. I know you made a mistake and feel bad about it, but the fact remains that you hurt my best friend.”
“You have no idea how much this weighs on me, mate.
I’ll follow your lead and stay away until you ring,” Oliver said and gave David his number.
David was half tempted to get Paddy O’Malley to drag him back, but he’d made his mom a promise to never call the fixer again. Paddy was a scary man you only used when you had no other choice. Knackers had at least communicated with David, so he would hold off on bringing out the big guns.
◊◊◊
Chapter 17
David cringed when he saw his agent was calling.
“This is David.”
“I wanted to check in and see how filming is going. Is there anything you need?”
“Besides limiting the gratuitous nudity they seem to want in every other scene? No, I’m good.”
“Which you’ve embraced like a trouper. They are very pleased with your performance. So much so that they’ve asked me to find them special guests for sweeps week, and I’m to help them cast your wife and girlfriend,” Kendrick shared.
“Good for you. But why are you telling me?” David asked.
“Because you’ve been so accommodating, they said you get to approve the talent.”
David couldn’t help but chuckle. Back in the day, before he got into acting, that would’ve been code for using the
‘casting couch’ to fill the role.
“The problem is, most of the women I know in the business wouldn’t do it. A smutty soap isn’t how they want to be seen,” David predicted.
Kendrick actually snorted.
“Have you seen the numbers? Your smutty little soap came out of nowhere to take its time slot after you showed the world your backside this week. There’s talk of moving the show to just after prime time when the kiddies go to bed. For that reason alone, you can pick anyone you want.
Trust me,” Kendrick said.
‘Trust me’ was one of David’s pet peeves. Whenever someone had to tell you to ‘trust’ them, you were being conned. So, he decided to go for it.
“I want Kate Upton as my wife and Adrienne as my girlfriend … and I expect nudity.”
“I was thinking of actors, not supermodels.”
“Trust me. They won’t have to do much acting,” David said as he bit the inside of his mouth not to laugh.
“I don’t know how to get hold of them,” Kendrick tried.
“I’ve got their numbers, and I’ll message them to you after I hang up,” David said.
“Oh,” Kendrick said, not sounding excited.
He knew his agent was just giving him lip service. David was sure Kendrick already had some ‘up and coming’
actresses under contract who needed ‘exposure.’ Hiring someone like Kate would eat into his profits since she had her own representation.
“Better yet, I’ll call them and convince them to do it,”
David said, acting overexcited.
“No!” Kendrick barked and then toned it down. “No, I’ll do it.”
After he got off the phone with his agent, David called Adrienne and filled her in on the prank he was pulling on Kendrick.
“I’ll get Kate to play along. Can we ask for special treatment?” Adrienne asked to get with the program.
“Demand a trailer and personal chef. And only chartreuse M&Ms. Oh, and a masseuse. Acting can be so stressful,” David said dramatically.
“What if they agree to our terms?”
“Then, welcome to LA!”
“I’ll record the call so you get the full effect,” Adrienne promised.
“You’re the best. Now I have to get to class,” David said.
As soon as he was off the phone, he sent Kendrick their contact information.
◊◊◊
When David got to the airport, he found some late additions to his group. Tami had arrived, claiming a free
trip home was always welcome; Alex and Chloe had decided to go; and Coach Thomas had some recruits to visit in the Midwest.
The flight was packed, and his children were already fussing. David did his preflight check, went to the cockpit, and closed the door. He was surprised to see Stirling, the copilot from his trip to Colombia, along with another pilot he didn’t know.
“I thought you never wanted to fly with me again,” he said to Stirling.
“I was a touch stressed out at the time. I still can’t believe you got us off the ground.”
“If you’re worried about stress, be aware that we have eight children under five in the back, and I predict they’ll be howling when their ears adjust.”
“Is it too late for me to bail?” Stirling asked.
“I’m afraid so.”
The pilot, who’d introduced himself as Ernie, talked to the tower and got in line for takeoff. When it was their turn, he lined the plane up with the runway and released the brakes. They began to pick up speed. At liftoff, David heard Dave yelp, which was quickly followed by all of them starting to cry.
When they reached altitude and set their course, someone was pounding on the door.
“I think we’re being hijacked,” David said with a serious face.
“Should I call it in?”
“If everything goes south, please do,” David said as he got out of his seat to deal with his children.
He opened the cockpit door, and his mom handed him Dave.
“Ears,” he complained as he rubbed them.