35. Beau
BEAU
“Are you sure we shouldn’t tell Ethan about this?”
Shelby shoots me a look. “Tell our agent that we’re about to try and make a loan shark confess to extortion and other shady money dealings and, if we’re lucky, why he’s a shitty human while we record it all? Yeah, babe. Great idea. Maybe he can press the record button on the camera for us.”
“You’ve never called me ‘babe’ before. I kind of like it.”
Shelby lets out a long sigh as she pinches the bridge of her nose. “Nicknames later. Focus on the plan now.”
What Shelby calls a plan is at best a loose idea of what we’re going to try to get Chad to confess to. We don’t know exactly how this is going to work, or where the conversation is going to go when Chad arrives, so we’ve kept the plan open and loose.
All we know is that he can’t keep getting away with this shit. And it ends tonight. So I’m going to get him talking and let him dig his own grave. If I have to steer a little bit to get him to spill some shit? Then steer away I shall.
“I can’t believe he agreed so quickly,” Shelby says.
“I can’t believe he offered to bring food.”
Shelby snorts out a laugh. “I’ve long wondered if this man is right in the head. His mood swings are all over the place. Does he actually think, in his de-lu-lu brain, that you two are going to talk over a pizza and a few beers and everything is going to be right as rain?”
“Maybe,” I say. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just hope it works.”
We want him to bury himself. We want him to admit the extortion and blackmail. And if, along the way, I can get him to admit to what he pulled twenty years ago, and confirmation that he tried to sabotage Shelby, that’ll be icing on the cake.
Hopefully he does it while not realizing Shelby’s phone is strategically hidden, ready to capture every moment on video. All while she hides in the closet.
I told her to leave. Her response was, “Like fucking hell I’m going to miss this.” Then she promised to breathe quietly and give me a blow job tonight.
I caved in a second.
A knock on our hotel door signals that it’s go time.
“You ready?” Shelby whispers.
“As I’ll ever be,” I say as I shove my cell phone into her hands. “Take my phone in case something goes weird and you need to call security. Or Ethan.”
She gives me a quick kiss before an “atta boy” slap on the ass. “Go get ‘em, Big Boy.”
I try to stifle my laugh as Shelby positions herself in the hall closet of our hotel room, while I pull myself together before letting Chad in.
“Hey, man. Thanks for coming. Shit…is everything okay?”
There’s nothing about this interaction I’m going to be able to predict, and that’s starting with Chad’s demeanor.
Yes, he brought pizza and beer—staples that we always used to have when it was just him and me playing video games or hanging out.
But what's throwing me is that he looks like he’s been crying.
“Yeah,” he says, sniffling back a tear. Maybe. I didn’t actually see a tear come down his cheek. Is he faking it? I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m definitely keeping my guard up even higher than it was before.
“Okay…well…thanks for coming.”
I pull open the door fully and extend my arm to welcome him in.
“I’m just glad you messaged. I’ve been really wanting to talk to you,” he says, looking around the hotel room. “Is she here?”
For the sake of the ruse, I have to ignore the bite he has in his tone when he brings up Shelby.
“She went out to dinner. Looks like she's making friends with a few WAGs.”
Chad huff's out of laugh. “Who’d have thought there would be a day when Shelby would become a WAG?”
“Definitely not me,” I say, signaling for him to sit down on the side of the couch that will have him facing the hidden camera. “But yeah, she’s been talking with a few of them. Seems to be getting along pretty well.”
“Huh,” is all Chad can say as he hands me a beer.
“Something you want to say?”
I internally slap myself for letting my tone get away from me there. I can’t be combative. I have to keep my cool. It’s the only way this is going to work. Even if I already want to go for a three-peat on punching him in the face.
Chad shakes his head, apparently not bothered whatsoever by my semi-aggressive words. “I came here to talk. Clear the air. If we start arguing about Shelby, we’re going to be in the exact same place.”
Neither Shelby nor I had any clue how or when I’d be able to segue the conversation toward Chad’s side hustle. I’ve prepared to go with his flow. So…here goes nothing.
“You’re right, she seems to be a sore spot between us,” I say, knowing I need to gain his trust and make him believe I asked him here to make amends. “Hey, I'm sorry I didn't give you an answer today about us talking. It’s just…with everything going on…”
I trail off for dramatic effect, but also to remind myself I need to not lay this on too thick. For everything to work, I have to make Chad think there's a path to friendship again for us. That I need him. That he's the only one who can help me.
“Are things good between you two?” Chad asks.
"No…yeah…they’re great,” I say, trying to sound as unsure as possible. Also, didn’t he just say he didn’t want to talk about her? “Getting settled into married life, you know?”
“So I’ve seen,” he says, and I can’t help but pick up the annoyance in his tone. Is he jealous? Mad?
“Yeah, you know, honeymoon phase and all. We can’t get enough of each other.”
Chad takes a pull of his beer before turning a little more toward me. “Can I ask a question?”
“Of course,” I say, wanting to lure him in a little more. “You’re my oldest friend. You can ask me anything.”
I swear I see his shoulders puff up a little at my words. “When you two got married…how drunk were you?”
I know Shelby can hear everything we’re saying, and she’ll see the video later, but I’m going to ask for forgiveness instead of permission on this one. Do I hate that I’m about to admit even a fraction of that truth to Chad? Yes. But, I’m willing to sacrifice that penny to get the bigger payoff.
“Between you and me? We were fucking trashed.”
“I knew it!” Chad yells, smacking his knee for good measure. “I knew you’d never marry her on purpose!”
“Yeah…it was definitely not something either of us planned.” I pause, trying to figure out which direction, and what lie, I want to take that will make this most believable to him.
“We barely remembered it the next day. That’s why no one knew.
And why we were in such bad moods. Hangovers and regret. ”
“You both looked like shit,” he jokes. “Which is why I don’t hold you responsible for anything you did or said that day. I know you’d never talk to me like that if she wasn’t around.”
Interesting way of phrasing that…but I don’t want to assume anything.
“Thanks. I know Shelby feels bad too.”
“Fuck her,” Chad says plainly.
Okay then… Chad hates Shelby. Noted.
“Are you saying you forgive me for punching you? Twice? But you don’t forgive Shelby for anything she’s done?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Fuck that bitch.”
I don’t know what I expected, but it’s not for his words to be so blatant.
I try to quickly peek toward the closet door as discreetly as possible. Shelby has to be seething in there. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m being shifty, but I’m also trying to prepare for her coming out of the closet and truly killing him.
“That’s…wow,” I say. “I didn’t realize you hated her that much.”
“There are not enough words in the English language to express how much I hate her.”
Okay, I know the main point of this conversation is to get Chad to say out loud that he’s extorting and blackmailing players. I also know Shelby has said she’s over the past and is focused on the now. But Chad is the horse that’s led himself to water, and I’m going to make damn sure he drinks.
And get him to admit every single thing he has ever done to us in the process.
“Can I ask why?” I tiptoe, not knowing what my leash is here. “If you hated her so much, why did you agree to work with her?”
Chad tries to size me up. “And I’m supposed to tell you? The dutiful husband?”
Please don’t cut off my balls, Shelby…please don’t cut off my balls…
“Listen, I don’t tell her everything,” I say in a whisper, really trying to sell this that we’re still friends. “Plus, I know she’s a pain in the ass. I married her.”
Chad is clearly wary of me. Which I get. I’d be too. Which is why I pray yet again that Shelby realizes what I’m doing is part of setting a trap. Otherwise, I’m never having sex again.
“Listen, I know Shelby is difficult. I can’t imagine working with her. You can tell me. Believe me. I’m a safe space.”
“She’s the worst client I’ve ever had,” Chad blurts out, and I have to remember to keep my face straight now that I know he’s never actually worked with a professional golfer. “She didn’t want to do anything I told her. Completely pointless.”
“Yeah, she’s hard-headed,” I add. “But I have to know…I saw what you were trying to do for her swing. That reverse grip? That wasn’t supposed to help her, was it?”
I expect him to at least take a second to think about his answer. To see if he can actually trust me. I guess he doesn’t need it.
“Hell no, it wasn’t,” he says smugly, sitting back on the couch, much like he does when he’s surrounded by pick-me guys at the hotel bars. “It fucked her up more than she already was. And it was a joy to see.”
It takes every fiber of my being to keep my control. Because I knew it. I fucking knew it. I knew he was messing with her. Trying to make her worse. But I can’t pat myself on the back now. I need more. I need him to bury himself.
“And she never suspected?”
“Hell no. Dumb bitch,” he says. “And the caddy thing? That was icing on the cake. Can you imagine if I actually helped her with her shots? Or should I say, not helping her.”
“Damn,” I say in disbelief. Which isn’t a lie. But now I need more. “Can I ask why? What did she ever do to you?”
I’m surprised that this is the question he decides to subvert. “I had my reasons.”