“My car insurance has been great. They even paid for the specialist that came in and saved her arm.”
“That doesn’t sound like most insurance companies,”
Uncle John said.
“I was surprised, too, but Dad told me that Megan did her research when buying our insurance policies.”
“Remind me to ask her to look into my insurance for the farm.”
“Already taken care of. You might ask her to look at your personal policies,” David suggested.
“Will do. Now tell me about Lexi.”
David sighed.
“She showed up at my door not so long ago and told me that her life had gone to crap after all she did. She was faced with moving back home, so she took a chance and asked if she could move into one of my condos in Monaco.”
“Oh, David.”
“I know. Tami has already read me the riot act and told me to cut all ties.”
“She’s right. You need closure.”
“I was going to …”
Then David explained about the little girl he’d met in the oncology ward for children and how she raised money to help her mom. It reminded him of what he’d done when his
mom had been sick, so he’d put Lexi in charge of finding a solution.
While she was doing that, he’d asked her to help others in need. In return, she could use his condo, and he would put her on his payroll so she could have health insurance.
“Finally, the last person I want having ill will toward me is Lexi. She could be a #MeToo nightmare if she decided to twist the truth,” David said.
“You don’t have anything you’re worried about, do you?”
“Not really. If she did, I would simply point out that she did the same with Ben. I hate that I even have to worry about that kind of thing, but people just need to stop taking advantage of women. So, I get that. It’s the handful that misuse it for their own revenge that I have a problem with.”
“And you think Lexi is capable of doing that?” Uncle John asked.
“Without a doubt.”
“You mentioned Cassidy as one of the beneficiaries of Lexi’s fundraising efforts. What exactly does she need money for if your insurance is taking care of her medical bills?”
“Day-to-day stuff. She has to go to therapy while her dads at work, which means hiring a car. Her dad has to pick up the tab for all that kind of stuff. She’s also losing out on the income from her side business,” David said and then stopped.
He thought for a moment before starting again. “When I say it out loud, I get a funny feeling that she might not need as much money as I originally was led to believe. She mentioned her dad was looking into getting a second mortgage on his home to help her, but that was before the insurance money began to flow in.”
Uncle John shook his head.
“Your dad always told me Cassidy knew how to make a buck and hang onto it.”
“Someday, I want to see her bank statement. It wouldn’t surprise me to find she had more money in her personal account than I do.”
“What are you going to do about it?” Uncle John asked.
“I’ll have Megan keep an eye on it and make sure Cassidy doesn’t take too much advantage.”
“What about the guy who was driving? I heard he fled the country,” Uncle John said to change the subject.
“Oliver reached out and apologized for the accident, but he’s not able or willing to face up to the consequences of his actions. At some point, there will be a reckoning,” David promised.
“Just be smart about it,” Uncle John said.
“I hear you.”
“How goes football?”
David told his uncle about his frustrations with his head coach wanting to redshirt him and how that would give Matt a leg up for next year. He also shared that Matt had seemed to have changed his attitude toward David.
That brought up all kinds of questions. With Matt’s change, David wondered where to put him in the circles of trust. Not that he’d be anywhere close to the center, but maybe not so far out as he once was. How far could David trust him, if at all? They were still in competition for the starting quarterback job. Could they work as frenemies?
And how would they get there?
“It sounds like you have a handle on all that. For most of it, you’ll just have to wait and see. The key is that I can’t see any holes in your thinking,” Uncle John said.
They’d come to the end of their game. David had lost to both Phil and Greg but was happy that he’d given them a scare. He also now understood why people bet on golf. It made it much more fun.
◊◊◊
Chapter 20
Bright sunlight streamed through the hotel window.
Chloe squinted and raised her hand to block the worst of it, then rolled to her side and buried her face in her pillow.
Her whole body had an incredible ache. She was sore between her legs in a way that wasn’t necessarily bad, just tender. She glanced down and saw she was naked and not alone.
It took her a moment to remember where she was and who she was with—Alex. The curve of his muscular back was peacefully rising and falling with each breath.
‘He was a beast last night.’
She ran the palm of her hand down her face and blinked to clear her sleep-addled brain.
Then she heard her phone vibrate. She reached for it and saw several calls from her mom and dad. Finally, a message with a link.
Her parents had been formally charged with money laundering and bribery for their role in helping her sister and herself get into USC. The FBI was making the case that they’d paid someone in USC admissions $50,000 directly—
the bribe—and an additional $200,000 to a charity set up by Gaylord ‘Gary’ Clinger—the money laundering.
If convicted, they could be looking at 40 years in prison and facing a million-dollar fine.
“Fuuuck,” whispered from her lips.
Her mom had been right about the media eventually picking on someone to be the face of the scandal. Chloe remembered her words: “If it lands on me, I may never work again.” It had landed on her mom because she and her dad had decided to fight the charges.
The irony was that another actress had just pleaded guilty and received an eleven-day sentence. Because her
parents wanted their day in court, the DA was out for blood.
She forwarded the message to David. He sent one back, saying he was done playing golf and would be there in a few minutes.
Chloe felt out of control and needed to get up and do something. She gently moved to the edge of the bed and swung her legs to the floor, careful not to wake Alex.
“Hey, babe,” Alex quietly muttered, his voice full of sleep.
Chloe’s body betrayed her as it crawled back into bed.
She felt a mixture of disbelief and shame that a boy could make her so weak. Alex reached out, draped his arm across her hip, and pulled her close to him, causing all her negative thoughts to flee her mind. Her skin came alive at his gentle caress.
She squeezed her thighs together, remembering Alex above her as they made love. She tried not to squirm as she recalled him making her body sing.
There was a knock at the door. Chloe jumped out of bed, grabbed her robe, and ran to the door, where she found David standing, looking concerned.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he pulled her into his arms.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked.
“Chloe’s parents have been formally charged in the Varsity Blues scandal.”