Carly Phillips - Hot Property

He lowered himself onto the couch and watched her, interviewed in the comfort of her own living room by none other than Buckley the Bastard, himself.

“I thought it would be entertaining for my listeners to hear about a day in the life of John Roper from the woman in charge of handling his affairs for the past month,” Buckley said.

“You do have a way with words,” Amy said, shaking her head and laughing. Her curls fell over her shoulder in sensual disarray as she flirted with Buckley.

Roper couldn’t believe his eyes.

“She’s playing him,” Ben said, easing himself back on the couch beside Roper.

“But I appreciate the chance to tell my story,” Amy said.

“She’d better be playing him and not exposing my life for public consumption.” Or his fears and insecurities to a world that already thought he was a washed-up loser. In a few weeks he’d prove them all wrong.

“Relax, man,” Ben said. “I know a con when I see one. Buckley’s so happy to have her talking, he doesn’t realize she’s the one using him.”

“So the pictures that recently surfaced were doctored?” Buckley asked.

“That’s right,” Amy said with certainty. She didn’t even flinch at the subject.

“Can you prove it?”

She shook her head. “Not yet.”

“Rumor has it the police have a lead.” Buckley leaned in close.

Amy shrugged delicately. “I haven’t heard anything about that.”

Roper glanced at his brother. “You stole that laptop. Aren’t you worried?”

“No. In all likelihood, the police can’t use the evidence against Dave. But at least I’ll have planted doubt in the public’s mind about those pictures. It’s the best I can do.”

Roper nodded.

He listened as Buckley questioned Amy about Roper, his habits, his dedication, his talent, trying to trip her up or get her to admit that Roper was more of a player than a dedicated athlete. He failed. Not once did Amy speak in terms other than respectful and in a way that built him up in the public eye.

She was every inch his publicist.

She was every inch the woman he loved.

“I was hoping for some juicier information when I set up this interview,” Buckley said. “So far you haven’t given up anything.”

“I’m a publicist. My job is to be behind the camera, not in front of it.”

“Yet you’re here. You agreed to talk with me.”

“Technically, you conned two elderly women into letting you come here to dig up dirt on John Roper. Isn’t that the truth?” Amy asked.

Without warning, the camera panned to Rose and Darla who waved from the kitchen. Roper figured Amy must have bribed them but good to keep their mouths shut during the interview.

Buckley turned red in the face. “They invited me.”

“Not to worry,” Amy said, patting his hand. “I was happy to get in front of the camera.”

“You were?” Roper asked aloud.

“And why is that?” Buckley asked, clearly looking for a scoop.

“Go ahead, tell them you dumped the infamous John Roper and be done with it,” Roper muttered.

Beside him, Ben chuckled. “Come on, she isn’t going to diss you in front of your home crowd.”

“Thanks to me she’s bare-assed on the Internet.”

“It isn’t really her.”

“Like that matters?” Roper asked.

“As you can see, I come from an outgoing family.” Once again the camera angle widened to include Rose and Darla, who this time hammed it up for the television audience, blowing kisses and calling out the names of friends back in Florida.

Roper winced. He could only imagine Amy’s mortification. And yet she’d put this circus in motion by talking with Buckley. He leaned forward, wanting to hear more.

“But I’ve always shied away from being in the spotlight,” Amy went on to explain.

“Which must make your relationship with Roper an uncomfortable one.”

Roper didn’t miss the satisfaction in the bastard’s voice or the man’s obvious pleasure in knowing Roper was probably watching and squirming. Which he was.

“At first, yes.” Amy glanced down. “You see, I didn’t realize that I was afraid of disappointing someone very special in my life. Someone who’s no longer with us. My father.”

“But what about today? The photos?” Buckley prodded, obviously not willing to let Amy go off on a tangent, even one Roper sensed was of the utmost importance-to him.

“Oh, he’d hate those photos,” Amy said. “But he’d understand how they came into being. Just as I now understand that I idealized the man he was, the things I thought he expected of me. But I realize now my dad was just a man in love with my slightly eccentric mother.”

“That’s me! Darla, she’s talking about me!” Rose squealed.

The camera panned back to Amy’s mother, who blushed and blew kisses.

Roper grinned.

Buckley squirmed in his seat. “But those photos. Even if they aren’t you, which has yet to be proved, they must have made you pretty uncomfortable,” Buckley pushed.

Amy sat up straighter in her seat. “Yes, they did. Especially with my family in town, as you can imagine. But when you love someone, you can’t run away from your fears.”

“What did she just say?” Ben asked.

Roper wasn’t sure. “I need to hear it again.” He raised the volume another notch.

“So how do you like your job at the Hot Zone?” Buckley asked, changing the subject.

“I love my job, although I must admit, I wasn’t as prepared for the media hype as much as I thought. But I’m ready to handle it now, both in my professional and my personal life. In other words, if you’re watching, John, I was wrong. I’m sorry. And I’m ready to fight for us,” she said, grinning as widely as Buckley scowled.

Roper didn’t wait to hear any more. “Hold down the fort, brother. I have someplace important I need to go.”

A MY PACED HER APARTMENTas time passed. Surely Roper had seen the interview or someone had called to tell him about it. So why wasn’t he banging down her door? She’d be breaking down his if she wasn’t afraid of them crossing in the night.

It hadn’t taken long for Buckley to leave once he realized his exclusive, live interview wasn’t going to bash Roper. He and his crew had wrapped up and taken off, leaving Amy alone with her applauding mother and aunt. Of course, they had gotten their own exclusive, realizing Amy had come to her senses about Roper.

Had he seen it? Did he know?

“Mom, you and Aunt Darla need to make yourselves scarce. Go to a movie or something,” Amy said, rifling through her purse for money.

“Don’t worry, we’re leaving. And we won’t be back here tonight,” her mother said pointedly.

“So you and Roper can do whatever you want,” Aunt Darla said. “We’ll end up back at his apartment. Anyway, we have to pack. We have a flight tomorrow early in the afternoon.”

“You do?” Amy turned to her family, surprised. “You didn’t tell me you were going home.” To her surprise, despite the chaos their surprise arrival had brought with them, Amy was sad to see them go.

“We didn’t have definite plans. But after our talk tonight, we realize you need more privacy. We’ll be sure to give you a heads-up before we come next time. At least we can leave knowing that you and Roper are fine,” her mother said.

“You are fine, right?” Aunt Darla asked.

Amy, not wanting to worry them, merely nodded. “It’s all good. Now, go out. Keep busy, behave and we’ll have breakfast before you leave tomorrow. Will that work out timewise?”

“Yes.”

They opened the door to the apartment and bumped into Roper on his way in. Another ten minutes of conversation passed, and by the time she shut the door behind her mother and aunt, nerves took over. Her stomach was in knots, her throat raw and dry.