“How am I supposed to hide $150,000?” I asked.
If nothing else, I would have to report it to the IRS, or that would be a whole other issue that could get me into trouble. They frightened me a lot more than the NCAA did.
“Gordon talked about that as well. He said you were already set up perfectly with your nonprofits. Springbok would make ‘donations’ to them.”
“I hope you told him that while we would gladly accept donations, I wasn’t taking money to play college ball.”
“Yes, except for the part about accepting donations. I don’t think you want to worry about that,” Dad said.
He was probably right.
◊◊◊
I called Brook and woke her up. We got on video chat.
“What’s going on with Lexi?” she asked.
“I trusted her to get in touch with you and help arrange times for us to talk. My schedule has been crazy, and Lexi helps keep track of it for me. It looks like her inner bitchiness has resurfaced.”
“That was what you worried about when you hired her,” Brook reminded me. “You hooked up with her before, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I might have gone a little overboard,” I admitted.
“Do you think Lexi has a thing for you?” Brook asked.
“All women have a thing for me, but I only have a thing for one,” I said and batted my eyes.
Brook wasn’t impressed.
“You should spank her,” Brook said.
When in doubt, shut your damned mouth. Brook saw that she’d shocked me.
“I want to watch you do it. I want to see if she really is into you or not.”
“Aren’t there some labor laws about not spanking employees? Because if there aren’t, Cassidy is getting one the next time I see that brat,” I promised.
“I don’t think it’s strictly within the rules, but I have a feeling that Lexi wouldn’t object. And I’d hate to see what you’d look like after you ‘caught’ Cassidy.”
That didn’t reassure me, and I wondered about Brook’s comments about watching it. I also had no desire to do anything but work with Lexi. If it helped with Lexi’s bitchiness demon, I was up for a good spanking exorcism. I didn’t want or need my PA to work for me only when our goals aligned.
My number-one goal right now was Brook. If Lexi didn’t straighten up, I would send her back to Frank or her dad, and they could give me someone else. I hadn’t seen Kendal in a while, and I missed her.
I told Brook that I loved her, and she threatened me that I better do a better job of keeping in touch. All was good.
◊◊◊
Chapter 4 – American Party Friday December 2
I felt a hundred times better, having slept in today. They didn’t need me on the
Fritz had drawn morning duty and drove Lexi and me to the set. I pulled out my tablet and checked to see if they’d sent me any script updates. They had, so I focused on reading my new lines while Lexi fidgeted next to me.
“I wanted to say I was sorry,” Lexi said.
My response was to grunt and put my earbuds in so I could tune her out. I wasn’t feeling very charitable this morning. In fact, I was leaning towards asking for someone else. Brook’s advice to spank Lexi was
We arrived at the studio, and I put my sunglasses on. I might as well be in full Hollywood mode.
“Find out when I’m due on set,” I said and headed to Halle’s trailer. I figured I could hide from Lexi there.
When I knocked, Ben answered.
“Morning. We were just running lines.”
Not that he needed to explain why he was there.
“I’m hiding from my PA.”
“Get in here!” Halle called.
I stepped in, and she soon had tea brewing for me. She and Ben were drinking coffee and eating some pastries. While the J-drama had plenty of tea, we didn’t get doughnuts or Danishes. It was probably for the best; I didn’t need the empty calories. Pastries had too much sugar and unhealthy fats. Cinnamon rolls didn’t count, though.
“I talked to Brook this morning. You’re not really going to spank Lexi, are you?”
“That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen,” Ben added.
And I wasn’t that guy. As it was, I had a hard time helping Rita when she needed a good cry. I’d been brought up that you didn’t hit girls—unless they tried to kick you in the nuts. There were limits to everything. Hearing these two made me realize I had to deal with this. I shouldn’t have to hide from my PA.
I figured Caryn would just be getting into the office, so I got brave and called her. We had a quick conversation, and she said she would take care of it.
I received a text from Lexi telling me that I needed to hustle to makeup and get to the set. My day had officially started.
◊◊◊
When I had a break, I called Duane Morris, my sports attorney who was with Woodford & Morris. I began to fill him in on what had happened last night.
