Text Appeal (27 page)

“Like what?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m a little worried there’s nothing else I’m any good at.” It was embarrassing to say it out loud, but he knew he could tell Riley the truth. Lacing his fingers through hers, Charlie watched her carefully. “Would you like to meet my son?”

She didn’t recoil or pull away. Instead her eyes lit with excitement, her pink lips curved up at the corners.
“Really?
You want me to meet him?”

“Yeah.
I do. I don’t want to fuck this up.” He gave her a sheepish grin and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. “Maybe you could come and slap me upside the head every time I act as a bad role model.”

She laughed. “Sure. What’s the plan?”

“He’s going to meet us at Grand Escape for a game of poker.”

Chapter Twenty

“So, is that kid going to join us tonight or not?” Ashton, one of Charlie’s poker buddies, asked the next night. Ashton deftly shuffled cards, not bothering to watch his hands.
Showing off, as always.

Charlie, Riley, and Ashton sat in a private reserved poker room at Grand Escape waiting for Derrick or Tony or whatever the hell the kid wanted to call himself.

But Charlie’s son hadn’t showed.

Charlie looked at his watch. “Go ahead and start. We can always deal him in later.”

Riley cocked her head, grinning. “Maybe his mom didn’t like the idea of you teaching her son how to gamble?”

Charlie squeezed her hand—hell, was he actually nervous about this?—and shrugged. “It’s not like we’re playing for real money. Pretending gambling doesn’t exist doesn’t keep kids from doing it. I’d rather he understand the risks.”

Under the table, she squeezed his thigh. “I think it was sweet of you to set this up.”

Not that it would matter if Tony didn’t show. Charlie ignored the disappointment niggling at his gut. Maybe Tony was running late. Or maybe something had come up.

“You lovebirds ready to play?” Across the table, Ashton shuffled the cards and gave Riley
a
once-over. “Tell me you’re not really dating this loser,” he said, nodding to Charlie.

Riley reached back for Charlie’s hand. “I suppose you think I should be with someone else?”

“Sure,” Ashton said, “someone who knows a good hand from his own ass would be a good starting point.”

Charlie snorted. “Easy to talk shit when nothing’s on the line.
Ry
, if this were a real game, we’d walk out of here with all that cocky son-a-bitch’s money.”

“He’s just jealous because he hasn’t won a championship in months,” Ashton said, “and nobody wants to pony up to sponsor him anymore.”

Riley frowned and cast a glance at Charlie. “Why do you need sponsors?”

“They pay the high fees for the tournaments and pay us for wearing their name like a human billboard,” Ashton explained.

“It’s not so bad,” Charlie said. “It’s a good way to make a living doing this.” And it was the only way he knew how to make a living at all.

“Especially if you aren’t good enough to win,” Ashton said, razzing Charlie.

“If you didn’t blow your money on women and gambling, you wouldn’t
have
to win them all to make a living,” Charlie said, dishing it back.

Ashton dealt the cards and smiled at Riley. “So are you going to be Singleton’s next Nicole
Abucee
?”

Riley narrowed her gaze. Charlie tensed and flashed Ashton a warning glare.

Ashton ignored him. “His agent seems to think he needs another scandal to raise his appeal to the sponsors. Those pictures of you two in the paper were the best career bump this washed up talent has had in a year.”

Riley cut her gaze to Charlie again.

“My agent’s an idiot,” Charlie said. “Apparently the only thing they taught him in that fancy MBA program of his is ‘sex sells.’”

“He’s right,” Ashton said after they paid their blinds. “So, are you the Devil’s new scandal?”

“Why?” Riley asked, looking Ashton in the eye. “Are you jealous?”

Ashton chuckled. “Nah, it’s just that UltimatePokerPowerhouse.net finally got sick of
dicking
around with Singleton’s agent and gave the sponsorship to that new little shit—Little
Jimmi
?”

The air left Charlie’s lungs in a
whoosh.
He dropped his cards. “They did what?” Fuck. Why hadn’t Rick called?

The smile dropped from Ashton’s face. “Shit, man, they didn’t tell you? That’s low.” He gave a forced smile. “It’s okay. I’m sure our man here has some sort of backup sponsor.”

Charlie swallowed hard. He didn’t. Of course he didn’t, who wanted him?

“It doesn’t pay to play without a sponsor,” Ashton explained.

“Unless you win, right?”
Riley said.

Ashton shrugged. “It’s not about skill anymore, not with the fucking internet amateurs changing the game so much. They play like they’re betting dimes, not thousands.” He shook his head. “All the strategy is gone.”

Charlie pushed back from the table. He needed some fresh air. The room was too damn hot. Too damn small.

“Charlie?” Riley put her hand on his arm. “You okay?”

Charlie forced himself to wink at her and smile. “Sounds like I need to call my agent. You’ll excuse me?”

She narrowed her gaze. “Sure.”

Charlie couldn’t get out of the room fast enough. By the time he’d reached the street, he’d fished his cell out of his pocket and pressed the memory for Rick. He hung up when he got the man’s voicemail.

Charlie paced down a block and back, his blood pressure rising. It wasn’t about the money. He wouldn’t be out on the street tomorrow if he never had another sponsor. He could sell his condo in LA and pull from his savings, but it wasn’t enough to retire on. He was thirty-two. If poker was done with him, what the hell was he supposed to do with the rest of his life?

His phone rang and he quickly took the call. “Rick, what the hell is going on?”

“Singleton, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you, buddy.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Don’t be like that, Charlie. I called your suite and left you messages.”

Charlie hadn’t been there. He’d been with Riley. Nevertheless, it was a piss poor excuse when Rick knew his cell number. “So you lost the deal?” He resumed his pacing, anxious for his agent to get to the part where he explained that everything would be okay.

“Man, I hate that it had to go down like this, but we’re just not working out.”

Charlie froze in middle of the sidewalk. Someone slammed into his back and muttered a few choice words. “You’re
firing
me?”

“Maybe another agent could do better for you. I’m sorry it had to come out like this. Like I said, I called your room last night after I put the letter in the mail.”

In other words, he’d done everything he could to avoid talking to Charlie while still being able to swear he “tried.”
“Just one question, Rick.”

“What’s that?” Rick sounded bored with the conversation already.

“Little
Jimmi
wouldn’t happen to be a new client of yours, would he?”

“Charlie, that has nothing to do with this.”

“I’ve heard enough.” Charlie ended the call before slinking down to the nearest available bench. People buzzed by him, strolling down the sidewalk to see the next Vegas sight. Maybe that couple was going to Cirque du Soleil, another heading to the blackjack tables. Every one of them walked with purpose. They knew who they were and where they were going.

He didn’t realize Riley had come out to find him until her fingers brushed his arm. “Is everything okay?”

Charlie blew out a breath, running a hand through his hair. “Did Tony show?”

Riley frowned and shook her head, her green eyes filling with pity. “I’m sorry.”

Maybe it was better this way. Better to end his relationship with his son before it started, better not to form a bond and have one more person watch as Charlie spiraled into
a nobody
.

“Ashton said you’d find another sponsor,” Riley said, squeezing his arm. “It’s going to be okay.”

Ashton didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. Charlie had done his best not to let anyone know just what a
persona non-grata
he’d been to the sponsors. “I’m sorry about those pictures,” he said, placing his hand on top of hers. He swallowed hard, a fist of emotion blocking his throat. “I thought a couple pictures of us together would save my career. Looks like I was wrong.”

She pulled her hand away and straightened. “What?”

Charlie lifted his gaze. Riley’s face was etched with hurt. She sat stone still. “You told them to take pictures?”

Something rabid gnawed at his gut, and again he tried to swallow around that fist. “I thought it could help us both.
Chaz
was bad for you and I needed some press.” He reached for her hand. “It was stupid and it didn’t help anything.”

Riley yanked her hand away. “You’re right. It was stupid.”

“Riley—”

She shook her head and took a step back. “No. Don’t.” Then she turned on her heel and walked away.

***

Riley stormed up the stairs to her apartment. She’d taken a cab home, anxious to get away from Charlie. Their first kiss, the one that had changed her whole life, had been nothing but a publicity stunt.
Something good for the cameras.
The knowledge ground at her heart, rubbed across it with the finesse of a cheese grater.

She turned her key in the lock and pushed through the door. She froze at the male silhouette on her couch. Forcing
herself
to move, she hit the lights fast. “
Chaz
, you scared the crap out of me.”

Chaz
stood, smoothing his pants. “I didn’t mean to, but we need to talk.”

She placed a hand to her pounding heart. “You can’t just come into my apartment uninvited anymore.” She crossed to him and extended a hand, palm up. “Give me the key back.”

Chaz
frowned. “You’re still upset about what you walked in on the other night, aren’t you?”

Riley dropped her hand and took a step back. She didn’t want to be this close to him. She was sick of
Chaz
, and now Charlie had betrayed her too. Catholic nuns were on to something, and it wasn’t fashion. “You’re nothing to me anymore,
Chaz
,” she said the words softly so he might understand she spoke truth, not melodrama.

Chaz
gave her a tentative smile. “I know I screwed up royally, but don’t throw this away. You’re too mature to—”

“Don’t tell me what I am.” She wrapped her arms around herself. She was done being screwed over by the men she loved. She looked into
Chaz’s
eyes—eyes she used to think were so warm. She couldn’t see that warmth anymore. She’d been wrong about him. Had she been wrong about Charlie too? “Our relationship is over. I want that to be clear. Don’t hold out for me.”

“Just give it some time, Riley. I love you and I’ll wait for you. I know I made a mistake, and if that means I have to wait another two years before you are ready to forgive me so we can move on to the next stage of our life—”

Riley clenched her fists and fought the urge to cover her ears. “Enough. Why are you pretending you want me when you only want my money?”