On the Record

Brady sighed and stopped in the doorway. Great. He had riled Clay up. He should have just beaten the shit out of him. Then his brother wouldn’t have had any comebacks.

“Clay, don’t be an ass,” Sava

“Me? He’s the one who was banging a UNC student ten years younger than him, and thought he would get away with it. Everyone thinks he’s so i

“What?” Sava

“You have no idea what you’re talking about, Clay.”

“Play i

“Brady, what is he talking about? All of that stuff about the UNC student was made up. You’d never . . . You’re not that kind of guy.” She tried to laugh but cut it off. “Wrong brother. Right?”

“Oh Jesus Christ, you too?” Clay cried, throwing his hands up.

Brady sighed and faced Sava

“Wow.” Sava

“I was going to wait to talk about it with everyone,” Brady said simply.

Clay started laughing. “You believe he’s actually going to tell everyone everything, Savi?”

“Leave him alone. He’s had a rough week!” Sava

“Defend him like normal. She’s a reporter,” Clay a

“What?” Sava

“Savi, you’re going to be a reporter,” Brady reminded her.

“I’m different. Who is it? What reporter could possibly interest you?” Sava

God, this was not how he had wanted this conversation to go. He knew Liz and Sava

“Before you punch me, please remember this was before you knew her,” Brady warned.

Sava

“It’s Liz,” he blurted out.

Sava

“Yes.”

“Oh, what, you’re not going to beat her up because she claims your girlfriend?” Clay grumbled across the room.

“She didn’t try to sleep with her!” Brady shot back.

“Girlfriend? Liz is your girlfriend?” Sava

“Well, yeah.” Brady shrugged. What else was he going to say? He was going to have to have this conversation one way or another. He just hoped Sava

Sava

Brady’s eyes turned molten at that name. He couldn’t even think about Hayden without wanting to put his fist through Hayden’s face and tear him apart limb from limb.

“No. He is so far out of the picture. He didn’t find out any of it happened—no one did, until the week before the article released.”

“So . . . how is she your girlfriend? And wait . . . did you just say Clay tried to sleep with her too?” Sava

Brady shifted his eyes from Sava

“She’s my girlfriend since yesterday. Everyone is just going to have to get used to the idea. I have to deal with the rest of the world having an opinion, so I just can’t take any more shit right now,” Brady said sternly. He hadn’t meant to snap, but he was so over it already.

“I wasn’t trying to give you shit,” Sava

“I know.” He tried to clear his head. “I know. I’m just about to break it to Heather.”

Sava

Brady chuckled at Sava

He walked back over to Clay, who stood taller as he approached. He probably thought Brady was going to hit him after all. It would be what the asshole deserved, but he wasn’t going to actually start a fight when he had won in the end anyway.

“What do you want?” Clay asked.

“Don’t leave your phone where reporters can take it next time,” Brady said, pulling Clay’s phone out of his pocket and tossing it into his brother’s hands.

“She took my phone? What a . . .”

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence,” Brady said. He glared at Clay before turning, nodding at Sava

As he walked to the staircase, he wondered about what he should expect from Heather. She had been there since day one, and her opinion had always been important to him . . . until Liz. Heather just couldn’t see clearly about his relationship with her. He knew that it was because she saw Liz as a liability. It didn’t matter now, though, because there was nothing she could do but accept it for what it was.

As Brady descended the staircase, he saw Elliott standing at the base of the stairs typing away on his iPad. If Brady knew him at all, he was probably trying to get away from Heather.

“Hey, man,” Brady said as he approached.

Elliott jumped. “When did you get back?”

“Not too long ago.”

“Where the fuck did you go?”

“Away, but now I’m back and we can deal with all of this.”

“Good.” Elliott shut down the iPad and tucked it under his arm. “Heather has been driving me mad.”

“Sounds accurate.”

“You with that girl again?” Elliott asked all nonchalant as if it didn’t make a difference one way or another.

Brady laughed and nodded. “Yeah. I am. You going to help me break it to Heather?”

“I think she’s been preparing to slaughter you all weekend. She’ll come around.” Elliott clapped Brady on the back. “I’m surprised it took you this long.”

“Stubborn, I guess.”

Brady never knew how to read Elliott. They had known each other a long time. Sometimes Brady thought the man was going to blow up on him, and other times Elliott was completely chill. Brady was glad to have him as a friend on the occasions when he just rolled with the punches. Made him a good lawyer.

“Stubborn,” Elliott said with raised eyebrows. “Now who would possibly describe you that way?”

“Everyone.”

“Right.”

“How’d you know I’d go back to her?” Brady asked him. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited. He hadn’t even known that he would go after her. She had his heart, but fuck, she had messed him up. He had struggled with the decision up until the minute she had gotten into his car.

“Do you remember what you said to me the day of your primary victory, when I asked you if you really loved her?”

“I said that it didn’t matter.”