Caught(19)

“Oh,” she said, at a loss.

Oh, wow.

“But I wanted the complete Video Girl experience,” Viv joked, trying to make light of her own experience so he wouldn’t know how profoundly he affected her.

“There’s still time, baby,” he taunted.

“Oh, no, you don’t. We’re even. You’ve seen me. I’ve seen you. And now the monkey is off my back. From this point forward, this relationship is strictly business.”

“If you say so.” Jarod laughed.

Viv went to open the door. She couldn’t get him out of there fast enough. It was a lot to take in for a morning.

He shoved a hand in his pocket in that easy way of his, taking Viv’s hint with grace. It disarmed her completely.

How did he do that?

“Well, I better be on my way, then,” he said.

“Don’t forget, we have the thing tomorrow,” she reminded him, trying to keep it as casual as possible. She didn’t need him freaking out over a press conference.

“On Uncle Sam’s birthday?”

“No rest for the horny,” she quipped. “Plus, it’s the best day for a press conference. You’ll make one news cycle and then you’ll be able to put this all behind you. Especially once people see all the good you’re doing.”

“What do you mean, all the good I’m doing?” he questioned.

“Let’s just say, I have a lot of plans for you.” She went back to her desk. “See you tomorrow.”





Chapter Four

Well, that happened.

Jarod wasted no time jumping in his Tundra for the trip home. He loved to drive his truck, and it usually provided the perfect way to decompress from his exhausting life. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a comforting thought in his head at the moment. His mind raced, trying to make sense of what had just happened. And he was not the type of person to second-guess his instincts, especially when it came to women.

Maybe it was time to change that after his back-to-back fuckups.

And for the foreseeable future, things were only going to get worse. In exactly twenty-four hours he would have to spill his guts on television for the world to see.

My poor fucking mother.

That was his most disturbing thought since he first watched the clips of his seedy sex tape after it surfaced online. He had cringed, straight-up cringed, at the scene on the monitor—his naked ass proudly featured on page one of some media hack’s site. He couldn’t make out everything, peeking through the fingers that had covered his eyes.

And now he’d be on display once again, rehashing it all and bringing a brand-new variety of embarrassment to his family.

He may have appeared unaffected while he was at Elite, but that was all an act. He was sick over the whole thing, especially knowing the grief he put his family though. Jarod had no problem taking responsibility for his actions. Bar sex was not a wise move—that much was true. But the question that haunted him was: why would someone tape it?

He didn’t care what his manager said. He wasn’t paranoid. Hopefully now, after this latest blow, Henry would believe there was a conspiracy to get him out of racing.

“Hey, Candy,” he said, making the needed call to Candace. “Are you surviving, girl?”

“I’m fine,” she said, stiffly, not her usual tone with him. He’d known her forever, and they had a lot of water under the bridge, but this was the worst trouble they’d gotten into by far.

It was true he could never give her more than a night here and there, but that was their arrangement. And they’d had a lot of good times together. One of his best friends on the circuit was married because the two of them set him up with Candy’s best friend.

Damn, he hated that this hurt her.

“I’m so sorry for all this shit,” he said. “I hope people aren’t being too hard on you after that fucking video surfaced. We had the attorneys take it down, but I know the damage has already been done.”

“Not your fault, hon,” she said quietly. “Not at all.”

“Are you okay, though?” He gripped the steering wheel, waiting for her answer. “Tell me the truth now.”

“I’m fine, just a little drama, that’s all. You know what this place is like. People hate you one minute and love you the next. I’m sure another scandal will be coming right around the corner. I can’t be the center of attention forever.”

“I hope you’re right,” he said. “Seriously though, is there anything you need?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “You?”

“Hanging in there,” he said. “The same, just waiting for it to all blow over. And hoping I don’t get fired in the meantime.”