Read Online On the Surface (In the Zone) by Kate Willoughby - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kate Willoughby
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probably better that she doesn’t know about Bottlegate, that way her viewpoint isn’t biased one way or the other. Yeah. I think that’s the way to go. So, Erin? Just be yourself. Or Anne,” he added with a laugh.
Atwater pushed open the doors.
Lights blazed to life. Cameras zeroed in on them. Adrenaline zinged through Erin as the three of them took their seats at the table, Atwater off to the side. She wished she hadn’t said yes to this. What had she been thinking?
Atwater ran the show. Several hands went up and he acknowledged a television newscaster she recognized, Sam Harris from KSDN TV.
“Tim, what caused you to blow?”
Tim leaned toward the microphone. “He pushed her down. The way I was brought up, you don’t lay hands on a woman that way. Ever. End of story.” He turned and made eye contact with Erin. His direct gaze did stuff to her insides and as a modern woman, she sort of resented getting a cheap thrill from his He-Man mentality, and yet, if she had a son, wouldn’t she teach him the same thing?
Sam Harris ignored him and continued, “But come on, Tim, surely a strongly worded reprimand would have sufficed. Do you regret having resorted to violence? And at a fan event, no less?”
Bastard , Erin thought, irritated. Hindsight’s twenty-twenty.
“I just reacted. Now that I’ve had several hours to think about it, I can think of dozens of other, better ways to handle it and I’m sorry it happened, but what’s done is done.”
“Tim, do you think the man is going to press charges?”
Tim’s inscrutable expression didn’t change. “I have no idea.”
“He’d better not,” Erin said, riled up again at the thought.
All eyes turned to her.
Whoops.
A female reporter asserted herself. “Erin, Rochelle Narritt with the San Diego Tattler. How terrified were you when that man pushed you?”
Erin gathered her courage. “I didn’t really have time to be scared.” Tim moved the microphone closer to her. “Mainly, I was annoyed with him. That’s why I said what I said. I didn’t want him to get away with his cock-and-bull story about being a Big Brother. Have any of you guys checked that out yet? I’m sure the Big Brothers organization keeps records. Someone should be interviewing him and finding out what his background is. He probably has a criminal record.”
Atwater cleared his throat. “So, here’s how it usually goes, Erin,” he said with exaggerated patience and a slight grin. He gestured toward the crowd. “The reporters ask the questions.” He inclined his head toward her. “And you answer them.”
Everyone laughed and Erin felt a little less nervous. This wasn’t as hard as she’d thought it was.
Rochelle Narritt asked another question. “Do you think that guy would have hurt you if Tim hadn’t stepped in?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” She glanced at Tim who sat there like a statue. His lips were pressed together tightly. “Maybe.”
Atwater clucked his tongue. “Erin, Erin, Erin. That is not the answer we talked about before. You were afraid for your very life and Tim deserves a medal, remember?”
She laughed. Atwater clearly liked to keep things light with humor. Tim wasn’t laughing, though. He wasn’t even smiling. He seemed tense, which was odd considering how often he probably did this sort of thing.
“Who started the fight, Erin?”
Erin felt her cheeks get hot. “If you want to get technical about it, I did. The guy asked Tim if he was going to sign the stuff or not, and he was being a real jerk about it. I ended up muttering, ‘I wouldn’t if I were you,’ and the guy flipped out. So, it’s not Tim’s fault at all.” She put a hand on Tim’s arm and tried to ignore how solid it was and how much she wanted to squeeze it a little.
“So, you don’t think Tim was looking for a fight? Terry Oliver, SoCal SportsNews. Maybe provoked this guy? I mean we all remember Bottlegate.”
Atwater said, “I think you’d better do some
Atwater pushed open the doors.
Lights blazed to life. Cameras zeroed in on them. Adrenaline zinged through Erin as the three of them took their seats at the table, Atwater off to the side. She wished she hadn’t said yes to this. What had she been thinking?
Atwater ran the show. Several hands went up and he acknowledged a television newscaster she recognized, Sam Harris from KSDN TV.
“Tim, what caused you to blow?”
Tim leaned toward the microphone. “He pushed her down. The way I was brought up, you don’t lay hands on a woman that way. Ever. End of story.” He turned and made eye contact with Erin. His direct gaze did stuff to her insides and as a modern woman, she sort of resented getting a cheap thrill from his He-Man mentality, and yet, if she had a son, wouldn’t she teach him the same thing?
Sam Harris ignored him and continued, “But come on, Tim, surely a strongly worded reprimand would have sufficed. Do you regret having resorted to violence? And at a fan event, no less?”
Bastard , Erin thought, irritated. Hindsight’s twenty-twenty.
“I just reacted. Now that I’ve had several hours to think about it, I can think of dozens of other, better ways to handle it and I’m sorry it happened, but what’s done is done.”
“Tim, do you think the man is going to press charges?”
Tim’s inscrutable expression didn’t change. “I have no idea.”
“He’d better not,” Erin said, riled up again at the thought.
All eyes turned to her.
Whoops.
A female reporter asserted herself. “Erin, Rochelle Narritt with the San Diego Tattler. How terrified were you when that man pushed you?”
Erin gathered her courage. “I didn’t really have time to be scared.” Tim moved the microphone closer to her. “Mainly, I was annoyed with him. That’s why I said what I said. I didn’t want him to get away with his cock-and-bull story about being a Big Brother. Have any of you guys checked that out yet? I’m sure the Big Brothers organization keeps records. Someone should be interviewing him and finding out what his background is. He probably has a criminal record.”
Atwater cleared his throat. “So, here’s how it usually goes, Erin,” he said with exaggerated patience and a slight grin. He gestured toward the crowd. “The reporters ask the questions.” He inclined his head toward her. “And you answer them.”
Everyone laughed and Erin felt a little less nervous. This wasn’t as hard as she’d thought it was.
Rochelle Narritt asked another question. “Do you think that guy would have hurt you if Tim hadn’t stepped in?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” She glanced at Tim who sat there like a statue. His lips were pressed together tightly. “Maybe.”
Atwater clucked his tongue. “Erin, Erin, Erin. That is not the answer we talked about before. You were afraid for your very life and Tim deserves a medal, remember?”
She laughed. Atwater clearly liked to keep things light with humor. Tim wasn’t laughing, though. He wasn’t even smiling. He seemed tense, which was odd considering how often he probably did this sort of thing.
“Who started the fight, Erin?”
Erin felt her cheeks get hot. “If you want to get technical about it, I did. The guy asked Tim if he was going to sign the stuff or not, and he was being a real jerk about it. I ended up muttering, ‘I wouldn’t if I were you,’ and the guy flipped out. So, it’s not Tim’s fault at all.” She put a hand on Tim’s arm and tried to ignore how solid it was and how much she wanted to squeeze it a little.
“So, you don’t think Tim was looking for a fight? Terry Oliver, SoCal SportsNews. Maybe provoked this guy? I mean we all remember Bottlegate.”
Atwater said, “I think you’d better do some
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