Hard Impact: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Novel Read Free Page B

and staring up at the ceiling. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
    “You asked me! And there’s nothing wrong with that show. It’s a feel-good show, you know?” Melanie stuck a finger in her mouth. “It used to be my mom’s favorite—”
    “That’s the point, Misty. It’s ancient history! You know, sometimes I get the feeling that you’re looking for something that doesn’t exist anymore.” I sat up in my chair, feeling offended, but she went on. “Do you ever watch any of the really old shows, like on TV Land…” she threw up her hands. “Like, I don’t know, the one about the little brother, I think they called him Beaver for whatever reason. And then there’s the one about the little boy growing up with his single father?”
    How does anyone not know Andy Griffith?
    “Where you going with this, Melanie?”
    “That ideal world you’re looking for! You know, that show about the Waltons actually took place in the 1930s… you get that, don’t you? And those other shows that were so popular in the fifties and sixties? Ancient history. You’re looking for an ideal that doesn’t exist anymore.”
    I frowned. “I don’t know about that, Melanie. I like to think that society cares about more than choosing a husband from a number of candidates on a television show, or watching families fall apart because of alcoholism or drug abuse or televising the bad behaviors of a bunch of silly sorority girls who have no idea how shallow they appear.”
    “I understand what you’re trying to say, Misty, but I do have to tell you, as a friend, that it’s time to step into the twenty-first century. The good old days are gone.” She suddenly glanced up at me, her eyes wide with alarm. “Please don’t tell me you’re looking for that perfect husband, the house with a white picket fence, the two-point-three children and a family dog. The guy goes to work every morning with his briefcase, nine to five work hours, and then comes home and asks for a martini and you live happily ever after.”
    “It’s the American ideal,” I shrugged lamely. “And no, I’m not looking for a man to take care of me. I can take care of myself. Past, present, and future. But is there something wrong with wanting stability?”
    Melanie shook her head. “No, of course not,” she sighed. “Anyway, to get back to our present, Blake’s ex-wife is a nasty piece of work and stirs the pot when it comes to him. She’s not at all happy with her prenup anymore. As you can guess, she wants more. Lots more. She’s pissed off at Blake and using the only weapon at her disposal to drag him and his reputation through the mud.”
    I held up a rival gossip mag. “And of course, we, as journalists, perpetuate the situation by printing everything that comes out of her mouth.” I grimaced and tossed the magazine back down.
    “I already told you, his ex, Celine Danvers, got the rumor mill started again when she and Blake broke up and he filed for divorce. To say that she wasn’t happy with him is an understatement. She’s been going for the jugular ever since, fanning the flames of the rumor mill, suggesting that he told her what really happened the day his father died, and hinting, though not coming right out and saying it, that Blake had something to do with it.”
    I thought about that. So I wasn’t so much assigned to define Blake Masters’ rise to success as I was to get to the bottom of the rumors regarding his possible involvement in the murder of his father. I sat back in my chair, not at all happy. How in the world was I supposed to dredge up something like that with an interviewee? Come right out and ask, “Hey, did you murder your dad?”
    “Was anyone ever charged with his murder?”
    Melanie shook her head. “No.”
    I glanced once again through the papers I held. No information regarding the murder of Blake’s father. I would have to get online, access the Kansas County Courthouse or the local police or