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.”Rob pushed back his chair.“I’m going to pour myself a cognac.Do you want one?”“Okay, but just a small one.” I was so confused I didn’t know what to believe.On the one hand, anything was possible.On the other, I couldn’t imagine why, what I suspected was a low-level employee would resort to blackmail to get his way on something which, as far as I knew, wasn’t even in his job description.No matter how careful or clever he thought he was, it was bound to get out.There were too many people involved for it to be otherwise—four, including himself and Rob in the blackmail plot, and with Rob’s agent aware of the cost cutting attempt it brought the total number to five.With that many people in the know it increased the chances of a leak to a virtual certainty.Maybe he figured scaring Rob into dropping his price would win him kudos with the producer—a stupid move on his part, but not impossible.Except it had gone way beyond that—it was quit the movie or you’ll find yourself in the worst possible kind of hell imaginable with absolutely no chance of escape.I could understand the guy being upset his plan didn’t work, or Rob rejecting his advances.But unless he was some kind of psycho on a power trip or he’d watched one too many enforcer movies…The more I tried to make sense of what Rob told me, the more convinced I became the only place it could have happened was in Rob’s mind.No one liked being pressured.Rob had said no on both occasions and usually that was enough.But if this guy had kept coming with no let-up, and with his back to the wall, Rob could well have freaked out.Add to that a bottle or two of liquor and a few heavy-duty prescription pills to help calm him down.By the time the dust settled, he could have genuinely believed what he said had actually happened.It wasn’t the kind of incident he could tell a friend, laugh over, and then forget.The longer something like that stayed and festered in a person’s mind, the more convinced he became it was true.And what if it was true?I would make a few discreet inquiries.If I found anything to confirm Rob’s story, I’d try to find out if there had been other victims.If I came up dry, I’d assume it was the result of a bad trip from too many pills and… In that case, I’d have to think of something.I couldn’t simply tell Rob he needed therapy, and he should look up shrinks on the Net and make an appointment.Rob handed me a balloon glass containing a small amount of cognac.“Cheers,” he said, taking a sip from his own drink.“Cheers.” I took a tiny sip of the potent liquor and let it sit on my tongue, then I swallowed, relishing the warmth as it traveled all the way down to my stomach.“So, have you any thoughts about what you’d like to do now?” Rob had relaxed considerably after unloading his nightmare of a story, so I took it as the perfect time to change the subject.“You mentioned something about doing a West End play.Were you serious?”“It’s an option, but I don’t know if I want to go that route.Bring your drink with you, and we’ll find somewhere more comfortable to sit and talk.”* * * We left the dining room, and Rob took into me what he said had once been his father’s study.It was small room with a large mahogany desk, a glass-fronted bookcase and an office chair in one corner, and a couple of easy chairs in front of the fireplace that currently displayed a vase of fresh flowers.The floor covering was a faded oriental rug and the drapes a dark red velvet.I could imagine how cozy the room would feel on a coldwinter’s night with a log fire burning and snow gently falling on the garden I could see out there beyond the windows.“You have any other ideas? Or are you content to hang out here for a while longer?”He laughed and left his own chair to sit on the floor beside mine with his head pressed against my knee.This was the old Rob, the guy I knew who was just dying to tell me something, but wanted to stretch out the moment until he was sure he had my full attention.The Rob I loved so damn much it made my heart hurt.“Come on, babe.Spit it out.What’s on your mind?”“I’ve been hanging out here since Father died, feeling depressed and miserable, and enough is enough
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Tematy
IndexChristine Amsden [Cassie Scot Cassie Scot ParaNormal Detecti
Christine Wood [Life Plan 01] A Life Plan Without You (epub)
Christie Craig [Divorced, Des Divorced, Desperate
Moore Christopher Ssij, mała, ssij (II)
Christine Cody [Bloodlands 01 Bloodlands (epub)
Christina Ross [Unleash Me, A Unleash Me, Vol 3 (epub)
Christian Fletcher [The Left Left on the Brink (epub)
Stasheff, Christopher Wizard in Rhyme 6 Haunted Wizard
Christopher G Nuttall [Royal The Royal Sorceress (epub)
Christine Feehan Mroczna Seri Mroczny Demon