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Before he even gets a chance to sit down in the cab waiting for him outside the courthouse, Matt Engarde gets a call from Global Studios. Offering the driver a dopey, apologetic smile, he sits down, closes the car door, and buckles his seatbelt, finally flipping his wristphone open and cutting off the incessant ringing. “Hey!” He says, the smile on his face fit for the cheeriest of press videos. “Looks like I hired the right lawyer, huh? Your handsome samurai isn’t going anywhere yet.”
“About that, Mr. Engarde. We need to speak.”
Matt’s hesitation is too conspicuous. His eyes flick over to the rear-view mirror, meeting the driver’s stare, and he realises his hair is swept back, his scar left out in the open.
Damn. That doesn’t suit his perfectly crafted image, does it? He breathes in, offering a smile and a confused handwave, but doesn’t look away until the driver does.
“So…” He finally starts, wrist held up to his mouth, “You’d usually discuss this with Adrian, right?”
It’s a shame she had to take the fall for him. She was a damn good manager, even if otherwise spineless. “I’m in a cab right now. Any chance you could call me back in like… Twenty minutes?”
He wants time to think. And he needs – no, deserves a drink.
Global Studios doesn’t wait. Matt has to hand the cab driver a wad of cash, unlock the door to his mansion, and give Shoe an awkward cuddle while fumbling with the wristphone and listening to a man drone on and on.
Boring. He needs a new manager.
When the call finally ends, he settles on the couch, swirling a glass of brandy. Things aren’t as bad as they could be. Not as good, either – “Your continued employment depends on how the press responds to the… Facts relayed in court today,” – they’d said, but how does the saying go?
Matt takes a sip from the glass in his hand, watching as Shoe jumps up onto the couch beside him. No press is bad press.
He’ll swing this around. He has the password to Adrian’s press e-mail lying around somewhere. Journalists will want interviews. And just like always, he’ll flash them that innocent grin and make some stupid babbling comment, and they’ll all fall in love.
He’s Matt Engarde, after all.
Who can resist him?