"Sure." The newspaper sitting on the corner of his desk warned of traffic delays due to an animal rights protest. It might do the trick.
"Great idea," Bob said when he told him. "Come pick her up later." He sounded happier already.
Zack on the other hand, wasn't so sure seeing Annie so soon after the previous night was such a good idea. He'd planned on waiting until they'd cooled down, met other people.
Except now that the decision had been taken away from him, he felt okay. Bob needed him. He would see Annie for Bob's sake.
***
Creep. Pool scum Spawn of pool scum.
Annie wished she'd actually said these things to Zack's face, but she had to settle for email. Unfortunately she didn't know his address so she deleted the message without sending it. At least she'd got it off her chest.
Thankfully, her busy morning consisted of fending calls and reading mail from clients and venue managers and she didn't think about Zack more than fifty times. Maybe sixty, but definitely no more than that.
Eventually she grew tired of inventing new insults although son of a toe-sucking alien had been a good one. Besides, part of her knew he was right.
Everything about the Zack and Annie picture was wrong. She was almost a foot shorter than him for starters. But he was a billionaire playboy and she was a goody-two-shoes turned crappy agent. So he'd pointed out.
When she'd finally admitted that to herself, she felt strangely lighter. Although it had hurt at the time, Zack had been right—she sucked at being a music agent. Not completely sucked—she was good at organizing, good at setting up gigs, but she hated the schmoozing part. Pity that was the most essential part of her job.
Her father had been an expert at it. He'd loved the LA lifestyle. After her mother had died, when Annie was only seven, her father turned everything up a notch. His parties got wilder, his drinking more excessive, his attitude more devil-may-care. And the further he descended into decadence, the further Annie went the other way. She'd had to. Someone had to pour him into bed at four A.M. Someone had to clean up after the party goers left. Someone had to make sure the bills got paid on time.
Despite hating his lifestyle, she'd loved him. Maybe more than ever. He needed her, and it had felt nice to be needed. And he'd certainly loved her. Showering her with gifts, taking her everywhere with him all over the country, and showing her off to everyone. But she'd hated that part. He'd never seen how much though, encouraging her to go out, have fun, loosen up. She'd wanted to stay indoors and read a book but he'd wanted to take her to the pool party thrown by his rock star client. He'd encouraged her to drink at eighteen, but she'd never liked alcohol much. She'd wanted to go to college and study journalism or maybe architecture, but he'd wanted her to follow in his footsteps and be an agent. So much so, he'd made her promise on his deathbed.
"Bob needs you," he'd said. "He can't run the agency without a McCallum."
She'd believed him, believed she was doing Bob a favor while fulfilling her father's dream.
But now, thanks to Zack's impertinent question, she realized she wasn't happy. But Bob did need her, especially now, to get Dug-E. She couldn't flake out on him.
When this was all over and Dug-E had signed on the dotted line, maybe she'd look at a career change.
In the mean time, she'd have to get Dug-E without Zack. He'd taught her the essentials—she could ride a motorbike, she had the clothes, and she could flirt if she had to. If she really, really had to.
Sure, Zack could have helped her further, but if she wanted to keep her dignity and her heart in tact, she had to do it without him. Had to. She couldn't stand being around him knowing he wasn't interested in her beyond casual sex. She shouldn't have even allowed it to go that far. They were totally wrong together. One look at his female friends told her that. So why hadn't she told him so from the start?
Before he completely shattered her fragile heart, she needed to forget about him.
"Hey, Annie," Bob shouted from his office door. "Come here a minute." Typical Bob. No charm. But that was just the way he was, and she liked him all the more for it. He was so different to her father, and yet their partnership had worked so well. If only she'd been more like her dad, she wouldn't need Zack now.
"Zack called me," he said gruffly, not looking up from the chocolate doughnut between his fingers.
Sound casual, breath deeply. "Yeah? What for?"
"He asked if you could take the afternoon off. I said it was okay."
Probably she should tell Bob it was all over with Zack, that she didn't need him anymore. "Why?"
He glanced up and she noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. "He's got a bright idea about taking you to a rally this afternoon."
"A rally? Like a car rally?"
"No, a protest rally. He wants to get you into the newspapers, get some rumors started about you around town. He thinks Dug-E might go for that kind of person."
She nodded and bit her lip. She should say something. She should tell him she and Zack were over. But after one look at his tired eyes, she suddenly dismissed those thoughts. Something was very, very wrong. "You okay, Bob?"
He rubbed his thumb and finger into his eyes. "Yeah. It's just been a tough few days."
"Anything wrong with Doris?"
"No, she's fine." He smiled weakly. "Don't worry. Just get Dug-E to sign this contract and everything'll be okay."
She nodded and closed the door behind her. She got as far as the empty secretarial desk outside Bob's office. She flopped into the swivel chair and nearly swiveled right off it.
She tried to steady herself and her nerves but without much success. So much for not seeing Zack again. Bob and the agency needed Dug-E to stay afloat, that much was clear. Tears stung her eyes and the beige office suddenly went blurry. Oh, hell. Bob had been her father's best friend as well as business partner. He'd given her this job out of pity and a sense of duty to the man who'd helped him start the agency over forty years ago. And now he needed her to stop his business from going under.
The weight of it all pressed down on her shoulders, and suddenly her problem with Zack seemed miniscule. As much as she wanted him, as much as it hurt knowing Zack was only interested in her for sex, she had more important things to worry about. Bob needed her and she needed Zack. She couldn't be a rebel without him. End of story. She had to shove aside any feelings she had for him and get on with business. She could definitely do that. She had to. For Bob. And her father.
***
Despite her determination to forget about the night before, when Zack picked her up that afternoon and handed her flowers, Annie's emotions were still warring. She wanted to kiss him but the urge to throw the flowers back in his face was equally overwhelming. She settled for a demure "Thanks" and put them in a vase on her desk before heading out with him.