The Stripper Equation

Pizza My Heart

As we were walking down a few blocks something Tanner said to me kept replaying in my head.  When he saw me looking for the drugs in Mark’s office he tried to convince me that there wouldn’t be any there.  When I contradicted him he said, ‘if you were really into drugs you would keep it on yourself at all times.’  I couldn’t help but think that maybe it was a set up.  Maybe he thought I was going to go to Mark’s to look there too.  Had he beat me to the punch?  If so why was he going back in their now?

Although both Tanner and Kiera knew I had left early.  Maybe they had hoped they would catch me in the act.  Maybe they knew that’s exactly where I was going.  I wondered what they had planned on doing had they found me.  I couldn’t help but doubt they would’ve hurt me, maybe just blackmailed me.  Or maybe they would’ve just tried to convince me that I had beat them and there wasn’t anything there.  Convinced me to give it up.  I don’t know.  My head couldn’t wrap itself around all the different alternative “what ifs”.  “Are you okay?”  Noah’s voice broke through my thoughts.  I nodded.  “I know you’re disappointed.  We will just have to put our heads together and think of something else.”

This should be where I tell him about the locked drawer in Mark’s office.  “I need to tell you something else that happened today.”  We stopped walking. 

Noah pulled me off to the side and faced me.  “That’s never the beginning of anything good.”

He looked hopeless and lost.  I smiled, reassuring him.  “Nothing like that.  I just wanted to tell you that when I was in Mark’s office today searching for the drugs,” he was looking at me anticipating what I was going to say next, “Kiera came in.  I told her what Mark had done and she actually wanted me to give him another chance.”  He looked confused.  “I mean isn’t that demented.”  I couldn’t tell him about the drawer.  He was beyond reluctant about Mark’s apartment so why would he be any different about this.  Besides how was I going to get him into the club without it looking suspicious?

He cocked his head at me.  “She obviously isn’t the most rational person.  She has a pretty good rap sheet.”  He reached for my hand.  “If I remember correctly she has a few domestic violence disputes too.”

“Really?”  I felt a twang of guilt and I don’t know why.  I hated Kiera.  “As the aggressor I bet.”  I sounded hopeful.  I wanted to continue to hate her.

Noah shrugged.  “I don’t exactly remember.  A lot of her file is just charges, most of them get dropped.  She has a very good lawyer.”

“Yeah I’m familiar.  Lance Van Burren.  He is a total ass.  We graduated together.”  I still have no idea how Kiera could afford him.  Selling drugs must make her a lot of money.  Seems kind of like a vicious cycle.  She has to sell drugs to afford a good lawyer but she wouldn’t need a good lawyer if she would quite selling illegal goods, herself included.

Noah looked like he was trying to figure something out.  “Van Burren?  Isn’t that the senator’s son?”

I shook my head.  “His grandson.”  I clarified.

“You’re not going to tell me that’s another one of your exes are you?  Can’t you date normal nobodies?”  Noah put his hand on his heart like he was heartbroken.