Slick (67 page)

On TV, Mickey Rooney and his flock of happy halflings continued to dance, jump, and kick to beat of absolutely nothing.

“I guess it never used to be that way,” Madison mused.

“There were still plenty of illusions back then. They were mostly just happy illusions.”

“Do you think people are getting worse, Scott? Or are we just getting more cynical?”

I mulled it over. “I don’t really know. I mean I’ve worked for some of the world’s most disreputable businesses. And I’ve met some of the nicest people there. I’ve also met some real assholes who worked for nonprofits and charities. You just can’t tell at a glance.”

The movie ended with a grand splash. The credits began to roll.

“But there are good people out there,” I said, rubbing her back. “There always will be.”

“There’ll always be liars, too.”

“Yeah, but that’s nothing new. There have always been liars and there have always been lies. It’s human nature. That’ll never change.”

I kept my pensive gaze on the credits. I believed everything I told her, but now I had to wonder. When did we all get so good at fooling each other? When did we all get so goddamn slick?

Madison bunched up next to me. I held her close, resting my head on hers. The poor girl. She was going through such a hard time at home, at school. Everywhere. I wished she’d drop the brave face and share her troubles with me, but I certainly wouldn’t force the issue. In this apartment, she could wear any face she wanted. Around me, she could be whoever the hell she wanted to be.

That was pretty damn decent for a man who was secretly romancing her mother. There’d be hell to pay when Madison caught that twist. Another issue. Another challenge. Another crisis to manage. It would keep until I got better.

Madison curled in my grasp, yawning. “So what do you think’s going to happen with them?”

“With who?”

“With Harmony, Jeremy. Everyone.”

I didn’t have the slightest clue. The story was well out of my hands, and the future loomed ahead of me in branches. Maybe Harmony will get everything she wants out of life, every success she deserves and every success she doesn’t. Maybe she won’t. Maybe Jeremy will slip his way out of the Bitch’s fingers, into the background, into the forgiving arms of his estranged wife and daughter. Or maybe he won’t. Maybe Maxina won’t try very hard to ruin my career. Or maybe I’ll find a new one. Maybe I’ll track down Ira and turn his Move My Cheese thing into a profitable business venture for both of us. Or maybe I won’t.

One thing I know for sure is that somebody, at some point, will try to tell the story behind the story of Harmony Prince. Long after the stage has changed and the great American play has moved on to new dramas, somebody will revisit the tumultuous events of February 2001 and try to set the record straight. Maybe it’ll be an investigative report by Miranda. Or a strategic mea culpa from Alonso. Who knows? Maybe Harmony herself will be the one to come clean. I’d surely trust her version above all others, even if she makes me out to be the villain of the piece.

Will it be fair? Will it be accurate? Who can say? I just know it’ll make an interesting story. It might even make a great movie. Heck, I’d go. I’d relish the chance to sit in the theater, listening to the audience’s reactions as they watched the big-screen version of me: the cold and conniving bastard who schemed and toyed with other people’s lives like they were pieces on a chessboard. I’d look up with the rest of the crowd, but unlike them, I’d simply shake my head and smile. I’d smile because I’d know it wasn’t really me up there. They got me all wrong. The actor they cast won’t act a thing like me or sound a thing like me. He probably won’t even look like me. He’ll probably be short.

 

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Slick
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Slick
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