Chapter TwentyOne
Howie sat on the window seat watching Lara hurriedly pack. "You pack like
AJ," he said with a grin. "Quick and messy."
She stuck her tongue out at him, smiling a real smile for the first time in
months. "Somehow I can't quite take that as a compliment."
"Well, how's this?" Howie came over to Lara and gently kissed her forehead.
"You are looking very good for all you've been through, and I am really glad
I found you."
Lara stiffened and pulled back. "Don't...Howie...please..." Howie looked at
her in confusion. "I can't do this kinda thing right now. Too much has
happened."
"I was just being a friend, Lara. Is that too much for me to do?" Howie
lied, trying to keep from revealing how he really felt.
"Right...a friend...sorry," she whispered, knowing full well that someone
like Howie would never be interested in her. "Howie, can I ask you a
question?"
"Sure." Howie pushed her suitcase aside and sat on the edge of the bed,
motioning for her to sit next to him.
"Do you...I mean...do I...I mean..." Lara grasped for the right words as
tears filled her eyes. "Did I really look so desperate? I mean, was it
really obvious that Nick could just lure me in and get sex and attention
from me just by paying attention to me? Was I so awful that it looked like
I'd take whatever I could get?"
"Oh...Lara...baby...no." Howie ignored his better judgment and pulled her
into a hug. "HE is the bad one here...not you...you did nothing but be your
wonderful self, and he abused that. Yes, you changed a few things about
your appearance, but that only made you more beautiful. I thought you were
attractive the first time I met you."
"Stop it!" Lara snapped, pulling back. "You guys are NOT going to pass me
around! Sweet talk isn't going to work this time."
Howie stared at her, awestruck. "Lara, what are you talking about? I'm
telling the truth. That day at Lisa's pool, when you and I were talking, I
could have sat and talked to you all day, except Nick ruined it by splashing
us. And then at Lisa's party, I would have loved to have danced with you,
but Nick stole you away then, too. I would never try to sweet talk
you...especially after all of this." He stood, hurt and insulted. "I'm
going to wait downstairs."
Lara fell back on the bed after he had left the room, mentally punching
herself in the head.
"Hello?" Brian answered his cellphone with a mouth full of scrambled eggs.
"Oh, hello!" He quickly swallowed, trying not to choke. AJ and Lisa stared
at him from across the table. They were seated in her sunroom, eating a
breakfast that AJ had actually thrown together. "You did? They found him?
Where was the scumbag? WHO was the scumbag?"
"Shut up and let them talk, Rok," AJ mumbled, reaching for another piece of
toast. Lisa hid a smile, happy that they had decided to stay overnight with
her. She needed to be surrounded by friends right now.
"I...I see...and he was arrested?" Brian's blue eyes never left Lisa's
face. "Yes, she will stop by, with her attorney. Today at two? Sounds
great. Thank you very much, sir." Brian hung up and calmly took another
bite of eggs. AJ swiped his plate away before he could eat any more.
"Well?"
"They caught the bastard." Brian swiped the plate back. "It's interesting,
actually."
"Brian, please," AJ begged. Lisa said nothing, just looked at Brian
expectantly.
"Remember how we couldn't figure out who could have possibly overheard
everything about the baby?" Brian looked at AJ. "Remember that new guy
from Jive who was at Howie's shindig? That Larry guy?"
"Yeah...an assistant to an assistant to an assistant or something," AJ
remembered. "We couldn't figure out how the hell he had gotten an invite."
"Well, he's the one who eavesdropped on the situation," Brian said. "Ends
up he doesn't work for Jive at all, and some major strings were pulled by
someone to get him into that party." He watched Lisa carefully. "The
strings were pulled by Reggie."
Lisa gasped. "REGGIE?"
AJ slapped the table with his fist. "I KNEW he was a weasel!"
Brian ignored him. "He knew that you would be dropping him as soon as your
contract was up in a few months, and he wanted to get some extra money from
you. He's the one that's been writing the letters, and he planted that
twerp at Howie's party to pick up any good information. He got more than he
bargained for that day, though."
"Reggie...damn..." Lisa said softly.
"You need to get an attorney and go down to the station today. They need to
take a statement, and some legalities need to be finalized. I believe that
you will very easily be able to slip out of your contract now. He can't
very well represent you from prison." Brian smiled his sweet smile at Lisa.
She jumped to her feet and hugged him for a long moment.
"Thank you so much, Brian. For everything."
"Hey...remember me? The one who made breakfast?" AJ announced loudly.
Lisa laughed and hugged him as well.
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By: Lara
© 2000
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Chapter Twenty
Chapter TwentyTwo