?Dylan gave me the name of hers.?

?Good choice.?

The next half hour was spent discussing the health and life insurance benefits displayed in the contract, and answering any questions Hodge had about what she read.

After there were no more questions, Hodge stood and thanked Mac for his time. Mac stood as well. ?Are you headed for home tonight??

?No. I?m booked for the week. I figured I?d take that time to contact the realtor, but now it looks like I?m gonna be phoning lawyers.?

?Do you have any in mind??

?No, but I?ll look for one, that?s for sure. I?d like to get this contract signed.?

?Why don?t you go ahead and get with the realtor. Let me see what I can do from the lawyer end.? He held up a hand. ?No, I?m not talking about retaining one directly for you. Just let me call around and see who?s available, alright??

Hodge grinned. ?Thanks for doing this for me.?

?No sweat. Let me make a few phone calls and see what?s up. Do you have the number where you?re staying??

Hodge handed over a slip of paper with her phone number written on it.

?Good. Ok, you go on, relax, meet up with the realtor, and I?ll see what I can do from this end, ok??

?Sounds good. Thanks again.?

?No sweat. Now g?wan, get outta here so I can get to work.?

As soon as Hodge left the office, Mac crossed to his desk and picked up the phone.

Groaning, Dylan lowered herself onto the couch and propped her leg on the two pillows situated for that purpose. Covered with three bags of ice and wrapped in an ace bandage, her knee throbbed like a rotted tooth.

She had no sooner settled into a somewhat bearable position when Brunhilde trotted over, sat, and with a sigh worthy of a martyred mother, put her large head on Dylan?s bare belly. ?I know, I know, I overdid it.?

Baleful eyes blinked up at her.

?Well you try spending more time up in the air than on the ground and see what it does for your conditioning!?

Brunhilde sighed again.

?Thanks for the sympathy, sweetheart. See how many treats you get from now on.?

The Doberman wuffed softly at the sound of one of her favorite words, but when no such treat was immediately forthcoming, she rested her head on her master?s belly again.

?It wouldn?t have been so bad if your fleabitten excuse for a brother hadn?t decided that a fast break drill was the perfect time to suddenly learn how to play fetch.? She looked around. ?Speaking of which, where is the old fleabag anyway.?

Lifting her head, Brunhilde looked over her shoulder. Dylan followed the gaze to see Siegfried sprawled out on his back, legs splayed to the wind, tongue out, drooling, and dead to the world. Dylan snorted. ?Men.?

An annoying chirping sound caused Dylan to dig beneath her back for her cell phone. Checking the caller ID, she flipped the phone open. ?Yeah, Mac. What?s up.?

?Our chick has flown the nest.?

Dylan scowled. ?Did I just get dumped into a James Bond film when I wasn?t looking, C-7??

Mac laughed. ?No. Catherine Hodges just left.?

?That was pretty quick.?

?Would probably have taken longer, but her lawyer punked out on her, so I just took her through the contract and held off signing till she can find someone else.?

?Great. You have anybody in mind??

?No,? came Mac?s contrite response. ?I?m all tapped out. I was hoping you could?.?

?Fine,? Dylan sighed. ?Let me see what I can do.?

?Thanks, D!?

?You owe me for this one, Mac.?

?Yeah, yeah, put it on my tab.?

?Later.? Dylan closed her phone just as the house phone began ringing. Reaching behind her, she picked up the handset. ?Lambert.?

?Good afternoon, Ms. Lambert.? The heavy southern twang of Horace Johnson?s voice oozed through the phone line and into Dylan?s ear. Her lips curled up in disgust.

?Afternoon, Horace. What can I do for you??

?Well?I just got a call from the owner of the Tropics. Seems his coach lobbied a sweet little deal for us, and you turned her down flatter than a two dollar whore.?

?That?s right, I did.?

?Mind telling me why? Jack says our pick would have still been there in the second round. Sounds to me like you might have put the cart in front of the horse.?

?Probably because I didn?t like the load of fertilizer she was trying to sell me. Horace, you know as well as I do that Michelle Madison is an over-the-hill grunt with knees worse than mine. She won?t even pass a physical this season. You know it, I know it, and the league knows it. Milton was trying to peddle her off to anyone blind enough to look twice at her. And her second round picks were so low that we couldn?t have gotten anyone worth spit.?

?Still?.?

?Still nothing, Horace. Think about it. They?re our conference rivals, and she was selling this shit just to get her hands on that hot new center. You know?last year?s shot blocking leader? Did you really want us to go up against that all season??

?Well?I suppose you might have something there.?

?You know I do, Horace. Catherine Hodges is going to lift this team to the next level. I wouldn?t have picked her if I thought otherwise.?

?Still don?t like her, though.?

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Dylan contemplated slamming it several times against her table, then decided not to scar the wood. ?You don?t have to like her, Horace. But I bet you?re gonna start liking her when you see the money she?s going to bring in.?

?I hope you?re right.?

?I know I am.?

?Alright then,? he said after a long pause. ?Just remember our deal.?

?I remember, Horace. Believe me, I remember. Anything else??

?Nope. Goodbye.?

?Goodbye to you too, you sanctimonious, bigoted shithead,? she growled into an empty line.

She had just hung up the phone when it rang again. ?What the hell is this, Grand Fucking Central Station?!?? She picked up the handset. ?Yeah!??

There was a moment of silence before a hesitant voice came on the line. ?Is this Dylan??

Dylan rolled her eyes to heaven. ?Yeah, Hunter, it?s me. What?s up??

?Are?you okay??

Great. Trade one shithead for another. This really isn?t my day. ?I?m just fine, Hunter. What can I do for you today?? I know what I?d like to do, but I think it?s still illegal in most states.

?Well, I was getting worried because you weren?t returning my phone calls.?

?Well, Hunter, that?s probably because I was busy. You know, with the draft and all??

Comprehension dawned. ?Ohhh. Yeah, I remember something about that.?

Dylan rubbed at the bridge of her nose, begging for strength. ?Is there anything else, Hunter, because I?m just about to step into the shower and?.?

?Well yes, yes! There is something. My second movie is premiering on Friday at Mann?s and I was wondering if you could attend it with me??

It was on the tip of Dylan?s tongue to refuse. Her leg was shooting bolts of pain up into her belly, her head ached like an anvil had been dropped on it, and she really wanted to just find someplace cool and dark and curl up in a ball until it all passed. The thought of spending even one minute with the man on the other end of the phone made her guts churn.

Then a thought struck her. A thought which caused a truly evil grin to spread over her face. ?Is your family going to be there??

?Yes.? The word was drawn out. ?But you don?t have to worry, they?ll be sitting behind us.?

Oh I?m not worried, Mr. Stud Wannabe. Try touching me in the dark and you?ll be minus a few fingers. ?Hm. Well, I don?t think I?m doing anything on Friday, so I suppose I could make it.?

?Great! Great! Wonderful! I?ll have the Lear sent down to pick?.?

?No, no. That won?t be necessary. I?ll just book a flight.?

?But Dylan?.?

?I said I?d take care of it, Hunter. Will that be all??

?Well?I guess so.?

?Good. I?ll see you Friday, then. Goodbye.?

She hung up the phone with a sense of dawning relief. ?Well, girl, looks like I just killed a couple of birds with one stone.?

Brunhilde cocked her head, and Dylan laughed, suddenly feeling much better than she had not a minute before.

Camera flashes turned night into day as Dylan stepped out of the limousine, grasping the chauffeur?s guiding hand and straightening to her full height. Hunter stepped out behind her, laying a gentle, if proprietary, hand on the small of her back. His thousand megawatt smile outshone all the lights as he looked upon the teeming, fawning crowd.

Of course, he had every reason to smile. His new movie was a hit before it had even been released, and he had on his arm one of the most beautiful women in the world.

Dylan was stunning in her black, silk dress. Cut to mid thigh, it had spaghetti straps and a neckline deep enough to tantalize. Her hair flowed freely over her shoulders and back, and small diamond studs winked brilliantly in her ears.

The two began to walk the gauntlet of paparazzi, smiling and nodding with practiced ease while avoiding the outstretched arms of a crowd straining the barriers on either side of the carpeted walkway.

The theater, by contrast, was quiet and dim. Two uniformed guards escorted the pair down the carpeted aisle and into plush seats near the front where they would have an unobstructed view of the movie. They remained, positioning themselves at either end of the row of seats, in order to keep the crowds away.

Dylan was, as always, less than thrilled with this. While she valued her privacy, and understood the need for security measures in some public venues, she hated the obvious lines drawn between what the public perceived as the ?haves? and the ?have nots?.

Still, she reminded herself of the reasons for being in this place, and resolved to grin and bear it as best she could.

She surprised herself by actually enjoying the movie. It was a light romantic comedy that was a vast departure from Hunter?s usual ?he-man? roles, and he was quite good in it. Ever gracious, she told him as much, and by the smile on his face, one would have wondered if she had just accepted a proposal of marriage.

The two ran the gauntlet again on their way back to the limousine for a quick trip to the post-premier party being held at a popular, and trendy, nightclub nearby.

Once they were inside the already packed club, Hunter?s agent swept him away to meet with the fawning critics, leaving Dylan blessedly alone at last. The throbbing bass made her eardrums vibrate as she made her way to the bar to order a mineral water from a starry-eyed bartender.

Turning her back to the bar, she sipped the water as she eyed the crowd. Her height, easily topping all but the very tallest men, gave her a decided advantage, and her eyes lit up with a predatory gleam as she spotted exactly who she was looking for shaking it up on the dance floor.

Easing her way through the crowd with sinuous grace, she approached the dance floor and laid a hand on the shoulder of her prey, causing the tousle-headed brunette to jump and spin and almost land in Dylan?s arms.

The young woman?s eyes widened. ?My shrink was wrong,? she breathed. ?There really are Goddesses still roaming the earth.?

Dylan rolled her eyes, grinning. ?Evening, Haley.?

A slow smile lit up Haley?s face. ?Dylan Lambert. God, it?s good to see you!?

The two women hugged, then pulled slowly away. ?Jesus, Dylan?you look fantastic!?

?You?re not looking so bad yourself, my friend.?

?Maybe not, but?wow! What are you doing here? I mean?this isn?t exactly your type of hangout, you know? And this getup!?

Dylan laughed softly. ?I see you and your brother still aren?t talking.?

?Hunter? What does he?.? Her dark eyes widened again. ?You?! You?re his date for the premier?!? Damn! If I would have known that, I?d have gone to the damn thing!?

?Yeah.? Dylan looked around. ?Can we go someplace a little quieter??

Haley grinned. ?Lead on, baby. I?m allll yours.?

Shaking her head, Dylan led them to a small enclosed patio at the rear of the club. The night was blessedly cool and quiet. ?I need to ask you a favor.?

?Oh yeah?? Haley asked, grinning and moving closer to her tall companion. ?What kind of favor??

?Slow down, Romeo,? Dylan said, putting a hand on Haley?s shoulder. ?A business favor.?

Haley pouted. ?I haven?t seen you in months and you want to talk about business??

?Yes. I do.?

?Alright,? she replied, sighing. ?What do you need.?