heard the news by now.”
“Yeah, I did. Some broad’s accusing him of beating on her. All speculation and rumor, but it’s getting around. She’s putting her feelers out. Tell me you got to talk to her.”
“I don’t want to talk to her; I want to talk to Dante. And I will.”
“Oh yeah? What do you have?”
“Unlimited access for the rest of the season. The arrangements are still being made, and we’ll have to wait for confirmation on a couple things, but Dante Rock is mine for the rest of the season, whenever and wherever I want to talk to him. They go on the road, I go on the road. They play home games, I go to them.”
“You got Dante to agree to this?”
“Mm-hmm,” I said sweetly.
“How?” he asked, obviously impressed.
“You heard about the woman, right? Well, Dante is desperate to clear his name, and I offered him a way to do that—on condition that I got to have him available to interview whenever I wanted.”
“What if he really did do it?” he asked.
He didn’t, but I wasn’t going to sit there and tell Daniel that because then I would have to tell him how I knew, probably sharing a lot of stuff Dante had told me in confidence.
“If he is, then I am going to run him into the ground.”
“No mercy, huh?”
“None.”
Daniel was like one of the guys from Mad Men . He drank a lot, and he called me ‘ doll’ or ‘ sweetie’ sometimes. He was kind of gross sometimes, but he always gave credit where it was due. He probably wouldn’t have been able to swing what I had managed to swing with Dante Rock and he realized that and gave me credit for the fact that I had been able to.
The opportunity really had just fallen into my lap and all I had had to do was grab it before it slipped out of my reach. Was it exploitative of a man in need? What news wasn’t? This was going to help him in the long run. If anything, he owed me one.
“I’m impressed, Quinn. Good job.”
“I know.” I got up to leave.
“Hey, Quinn, hold on a second,” he said.
“What?”
“Sit down. Just sit for a second,” he said. I sunk back into the seat. What did he want? Was I in trouble? Was he about to take the assignment from me and give it to someone else? I knew I was young and had been working for a shorter time than most, but I wasn’t giving up this opportunity. No way.
“It’s probably better if you…”
“If I what?”
“You’re young and attractive, Quinn, just be careful.”
“I’m always careful. This isn’t the Gaza strip ; it’s sit-down interviews with Dante Rock.”
“All I’m saying is that you should keep your distance.”
I smiled tightly. It was a little too late for that now, wasn’t it? I mean the last time we had been in a room together alone, we’d had sex. That was a line we had crossed already; we couldn’t go back and reverse that. I wasn’t ashamed or anything, but it wasn’t my best moment.
In addition to that, Daniel asking me to be careful… that was sweet of him, but I could handle myself. I wasn’t as wet behind the ears as he maybe thought. I had gotten an idea of the sort of man that Dante Rock was, and I had experienced his… his what? Seduction ?
“I know what I’m getting into; you have nothing to worry about.”
“If he harasses you, we can assign someone else to do the series.”
“I don’t want anyone else to do the series.”
I thought about it. The man was just being dramatic. He was protective, and I could sort of see why. He thought I was young and I was going to be put in a potentially dangerous position. There was likely also the thought that I wouldn’t actually get any reporting done and I would just, I don’t know , spend the entire time fucking Dante Rock only for him to leave me in the end, bereft and storyless.
There was also the chance that he was just trying to cover his ass a
“Yeah, I did. Some broad’s accusing him of beating on her. All speculation and rumor, but it’s getting around. She’s putting her feelers out. Tell me you got to talk to her.”
“I don’t want to talk to her; I want to talk to Dante. And I will.”
“Oh yeah? What do you have?”
“Unlimited access for the rest of the season. The arrangements are still being made, and we’ll have to wait for confirmation on a couple things, but Dante Rock is mine for the rest of the season, whenever and wherever I want to talk to him. They go on the road, I go on the road. They play home games, I go to them.”
“You got Dante to agree to this?”
“Mm-hmm,” I said sweetly.
“How?” he asked, obviously impressed.
“You heard about the woman, right? Well, Dante is desperate to clear his name, and I offered him a way to do that—on condition that I got to have him available to interview whenever I wanted.”
“What if he really did do it?” he asked.
He didn’t, but I wasn’t going to sit there and tell Daniel that because then I would have to tell him how I knew, probably sharing a lot of stuff Dante had told me in confidence.
“If he is, then I am going to run him into the ground.”
“No mercy, huh?”
“None.”
Daniel was like one of the guys from Mad Men . He drank a lot, and he called me ‘ doll’ or ‘ sweetie’ sometimes. He was kind of gross sometimes, but he always gave credit where it was due. He probably wouldn’t have been able to swing what I had managed to swing with Dante Rock and he realized that and gave me credit for the fact that I had been able to.
The opportunity really had just fallen into my lap and all I had had to do was grab it before it slipped out of my reach. Was it exploitative of a man in need? What news wasn’t? This was going to help him in the long run. If anything, he owed me one.
“I’m impressed, Quinn. Good job.”
“I know.” I got up to leave.
“Hey, Quinn, hold on a second,” he said.
“What?”
“Sit down. Just sit for a second,” he said. I sunk back into the seat. What did he want? Was I in trouble? Was he about to take the assignment from me and give it to someone else? I knew I was young and had been working for a shorter time than most, but I wasn’t giving up this opportunity. No way.
“It’s probably better if you…”
“If I what?”
“You’re young and attractive, Quinn, just be careful.”
“I’m always careful. This isn’t the Gaza strip ; it’s sit-down interviews with Dante Rock.”
“All I’m saying is that you should keep your distance.”
I smiled tightly. It was a little too late for that now, wasn’t it? I mean the last time we had been in a room together alone, we’d had sex. That was a line we had crossed already; we couldn’t go back and reverse that. I wasn’t ashamed or anything, but it wasn’t my best moment.
In addition to that, Daniel asking me to be careful… that was sweet of him, but I could handle myself. I wasn’t as wet behind the ears as he maybe thought. I had gotten an idea of the sort of man that Dante Rock was, and I had experienced his… his what? Seduction ?
“I know what I’m getting into; you have nothing to worry about.”
“If he harasses you, we can assign someone else to do the series.”
“I don’t want anyone else to do the series.”
I thought about it. The man was just being dramatic. He was protective, and I could sort of see why. He thought I was young and I was going to be put in a potentially dangerous position. There was likely also the thought that I wouldn’t actually get any reporting done and I would just, I don’t know , spend the entire time fucking Dante Rock only for him to leave me in the end, bereft and storyless.
There was also the chance that he was just trying to cover his ass a
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