“My ex isn’t from Comfort, next question,” I stated.
His brows went up. “So you won’t talk about if any of your songs are written about the girl you left behind.”
I leaned forward and Robert stood. “No, I don’t want to talk about her. Now, we either move on or this interview is over.”
The little prick smirked. “Are the rumors true about your relationship with Lindsey Ashton?”
“That we’re friends?”
He scoffed. “Seriously? Are people really supposed to believe that? The chemistry between the two of you was off the charts.”
I felt my blood boil. “Yes, you really are supposed to believe it, because it’s the truth. We really were only friends.”
“Were? As in past tense? Are you no longer friends because she’s now engaged?”
I glanced at Robert. This little bastard was one of those types of reporters. The ones who liked to twist your words. That never sat well with me.
Robert slowly shook his head, his way of telling me to answer and move on.
“We are friends, and I’m happy that she’s getting married. And no, there was never anything other than friendship between us.”
“What do you think about your reputation in country music as being a bit of a bad boy?”
I laughed. “I think it’s all overrated.”
Lanny moved slightly in her seat.
“What about the rumor that you’ve had an ongoing fling with Lori Miller.”
That caused me to nearly choke on my own tongue.
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve got an anonymous source that tells me you and Lori Miller, from Country Weekly magazine, have had a relationship off and on for the last few years.”
I cleared my throat and looked directly into his eyes. “Your source is wrong. Now, are we going to talk about music, or would you like a complete list of women I’ve fucked in the past?”
“Anson,” Robert said coolly.
“Oh, Lord,” Lanny said as she slowly stood.
“Are you offering to supply one?” the reporter countered.
I stood. “We’re done.”
The reporter nodded and stood. When he went to turn, I couldn’t help myself and had to ask, “Where in the hell did you hear the nonsense about Lori Miller?”
He grinned like the cat who had just caught the canary.
“From Lori herself.”
I was positive my jaw had dropped open.
Robert walked up and got in the young reporter’s face. “You print any of that and we’ll sue you and the magazine. And if Ms. Miller is indeed going around spreading rumors about Mr. Meyer, she’ll be sued as well.”
That seemed to wipe the smirk off the little prick’s face. He held up his hands, nodded, then walked out of the meeting room of the hotel and didn’t look back.
Robert faced me. “When was the last time you saw Lori?”
I shrugged. “Six months, at least.”
“She showed up at his concert in Atlanta. Wanted an interview with him,” Lanny said.
Robert looked between us. “What happened?”
Lanny spoke. “I told Anson she was in his dressing room after the show, and he left. I went and told her Anson had left immediately after the show. Before I entered the room, I acted like I was on the phone with the hotel and said Anson was on his way there. I mentioned the wrong hotel to throw her off.”
Robert nodded. “How many times has she done this? Showed up at the concerts?”
“Uninvited?” I asked.
He nodded.
“That was the first time she’s shown up without telling me she’d be there. She’s reached out a handful of times since the last time I saw her. I got tired of telling her I wasn’t interested, so I started to ignore her calls and texts. Atlanta was the first time she just showed up and waited in my dressing room.”
“She’s requested interviews through me, but I was told by Anson to tell her no,” Lanny added.
Robert cursed. “So she’s pissed off and feeling jilted? Is that what we’ve got here?”
“Jilted? We fucked a couple of times, Robert.” I looked at Lanny. “I’m sorry, Lanny.”
She lifted her brows and frowned.
I focused back on him and said, “I never promised her shit. We weren’t even dating.”
He rubbed his neck and started to pace.
“So why would she tell this reporter you slept together?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she wants her five seconds of fame?”
He leaned in and said, “Find out…directly from her. And be quick about it. Public places only. It wouldn’t look out of sorts for you to be seen with her, since she is a reporter, and if it’s not public, Lanny or someone else needs to be with you.”
With a nod, I replied, “I’ll text her right now.”
Lori walked into the Oak Steakhouse located in the Westin hotel and looked around. I stood so she could see me. With an instant smile, she made her way over to me.
“Such a public place, Anson.”
I glanced around. “I was in the mood for steak.”
She smiled. “Me too.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. The second she sat, she ordered a glass of the most expensive wine and then looked at me. I dropped my smile and glared hard at her.