The Set Piece Read Online Free Page A

creating a diversion, and you would be that diversion.”
    “What are the proclivities? I’m not getting involved with drugs or anything illegal.”
    “No. It’s nothing like that,” Horowitz said. “Our client prefers the company of men.”
    “He’s gay?” Amy asked.
    “Yes,” Knight said, and looked as if the admission had personally wounded him.
    Amy’s mind whirled, putting the puzzle pieces together as fast as she could. “How’s that a problem? This is LA, after all. And Diego Torres would be the second person to come out in the league this year. What’s the big deal?” She took a calculated risk by naming Torres. Of course, she didn’t know for sure that the conversation was about him, but Knight was his manager and concern over these “certain proclivities” going public would go a long way to explain what was troubling his game lately. More important, if she was right, she might get a leg up on these men and this situation.
    “I told you she was smart,” Knight threw at Horowitz.
    “No matter. It’s better to have it all out in the open.” Horowitz focused all his attention back on Amy. “But you couldn’t be more wrong, Ms. Kimball. If Torres came out, it would be a very big deal. So big, it might ruin his entire career. Most people aren’t as liberal as the ones in this office.”
    “Is Torres with someone? Is that why you guys are so worried?” Amy asked.
    “No. He says there’s no one,” Knight said, “Just the fear of being found out is killing Diego and his game.”
    “To put it in simple terms, Ms. Kimball,” Horowitz said, “we would like to pay you real money to have a fake relationship with Diego Torres.”
    “So you need a beard. Torres and I would date?” She settled deeper into the chair. The possibility was intriguing. Tell a little lie here and there. The money was great, and it might even be fun, and best of all, she wouldn’t have to go crawling back to Reggie. “Why me?”
    “You met all the criteria when we did the background search,” Knight said. “You’re smart. You graduated summa cum laude from an Ivy League School. I saw you in action at the Valley bar, so I know it’s not just academic smarts. You played soccer at a competitive level at Penn, and you were a starter every year, except for your junior year out in London where, I believe, you played on a coed team for King’s College?”
    Amy nodded. They had clearly done all their homework.
    “You have no family to question whatever you do next,” Knight continued. “And you don’t seem to have had any relationships, long-term or otherwise, that could compromise you now.”
    Their first misstep. But how could they know about Darla? She should tell them that she was into girls. Full disclosure and all.
    “And I’m broke,” she said instead.
    “Yes, I guess that’s the most important factor for you,” Horowitz said. “And a major bargaining chip for us. We’re willing to make this worth your while, Ms. Kimball.”
    “Okay. So we would go to dinner and movies and make appearances together?”
    “No. We want to completely squash this thing before any rumors start escaping. So we would need more of a commitment from you.”
    “Like what?”
    “There would be dating, of course, but we need you to move into his house within a few weeks. You would have to get engaged.”
    “Engaged? In a few weeks? No one’s gonna buy that. You might as well sew a rainbow flag onto his uniform.”
    Horowitz suppressed a laugh, which was not the reaction Amy was expecting. “We have a fake relationship already in place. If you agree, you have been secretly dating Diego for months. He loves you desperately, but it’s a Romeo and Juliet kind of thing. His family wants him to marry a Latina and a Catholic. So keeping this kind of secret from his family has been tearing him apart. On and off the field.”
    A thousand questions flew into Amy’s mind. “And Torres is completely on board with all this? He