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“You’re right, I don’t. Imagine my surprise to wake up and see all these pictures of you and a woman.”
“I don’t have to tell you about my personal life.”
“No shit. But look where we are now. This is…”
“I have an idea,” I say. I put the glass down. “I have to make this right. Piper has a son. He can’t be caught up in this. Piper either. This isn’t right. Or fair.”
I run a hand through my hair.
This is why I don’t get involved. This is why…
“What’s your idea?” Tony asks.
“We hire a model.”
“What?”
“That’s right. We hire someone that looks like Piper. She says it was her. I’ve been seeing a model. On the side. For fun. I don’t know. It’s just casual. Then she says it’s not serious and that’s it. The story gets buried.”
“Do you hear yourself right now?”
“Do you understand how bad this is?” I yell at Tony. “This person posted the story too. The story, Tony. The story we’ve been burying for how long? This asshole wanted fifty million dollars.”
“I don’t know what to say, Cutter. I don’t know who is doing this. It’s not like before. Someone got wind of it and ran with it. And I am damn sorry about that. I’m here for you. As your agent and as your friend. I’ve been dealing with the PR fallout from this all morning. Not to mention the barrage of reporters wanting to talk to me. Wanting to get to you. Outlets wanting to get an exclusive jump at this. Throwing money and promises around for your story. For the interview.”
“Fuck all of that,” I say. “I’ll retire. I’ll quit. I’m done. It’s over. I’m hurt. I’ve played the game, had fun, did my thing. It’s over.”
“Cutter, you can’t say stuff like that.”
“I just did, Tony. You couldn’t fix this. You were supposed to handle all of this. What did you actually do?”
“Attack me all you want,” Tony says. “I came here to figure out an approach. And to ask you about this woman. What she means to you, but it’s obvious she means a lot to you.”
“Fuck off, Tony,” I snap. “I’m not in the mood to talk about my feelings over this. This is about Piper and her son. And finding who did this.”
“I can tell you there are a lot of people working on that part of it,” Tony says. “Hate to say this to you, Cutter, but once something is out there…”
“Yeah. It’s out there forever. That’s why I said to get a model. Hire someone. Make her look like Piper. I have to protect her.”
“Cutter, be logical here,” Tony says. “That’s a dirty move. That creates more issues. What happens when someone finds out and that gets out? Think about it. You can’t cover up a controversy with another one.”
“Why not? I’ll do something crazy. I swear on my life, Tony, I will retire. I’ll hold a press conference today.”
“The hell you will,” Tony barks back at me.
It takes a lot for him to raise his voice to me.
I’ve never attacked Tony before. We’ve had arguments many of times.
This time?
I’ll break his neck if I have to.
This isn’t about me anymore. This isn’t about my career anymore.
This is about Piper and Saxon. They have no reason being swallowed up in the mess I’ve created.
“I’m going to go outside and take a few breaths,” Tony says. “Do the same.”
