Annihilate Me (Vol. 3) (The Annihilate Me Series) by Christina Ross Page B

days for reasons you might have read
about.   Or not.   Either way, are you ready for your last
shot?   Because this will be your last shot.   I can promise you that.   But I won’t cheat you.   We will give you a shot to remember.   And then you can give it to whichever
paper you’re working for.”
    “The Post , Mr. Wenn.”
    “So Page Six?”
    “This has Page Six written all over it.”
    “Actually, what’s about to happen has Page Six written all over it.   Are you ready?   And you, Immaculata?   Are
you ready?”
    “Go to hell, Alex.”
    “And spend the rest of eternity there with you?   No thanks.   I see no shame in having a moment with the woman I
love.   So, take the photo—if
you can handle it.   And by that, I
mean both of you.”
    I noticed that Tank had moved beside the photographer.   He towered over him in such a way that
his sheer muscular girth and his broad shoulders had nudged a very pissed off
Immaculata off to the side.  
    Alex whispered in my ear.   “Kiss me like you mean it, OK?”
    I bit my lower lip.   “You’re wicked,” I said.
    “Just in love.   Why
not share it with the city?   Some
have been waiting for this day for too long.   I want them to see how lucky I am.”
    “And how lucky I am.”
    He cocked his head at me when I said that, and then he very
carefully wrapped his left arm around my waist and kissed me with such
intensity that I barely was aware of the lights as they began to flash.   Except for those in my head, of
course.   Those lights were going
off in ways that were as wonderful as they were all consuming.   I was lost in them and in him.   When he pulled away from me, the
cameraman stopped.   I looked over
and saw Tank beside him with his hand on the man’s shoulder.
    “Did you get your shot?” Alex asked.
    “I did, Mr. Wenn.”
    “Do me a favor, will you?   There are two ways you can play this story.   You can use one of the more salacious shots you got earlier
with the help of Immaculata, and that will get a buzz.   Or you can use one of the more romantic
shots we just gave you.   It’s no
secret that the press in this city has been waiting four years for me to fall
in love with another woman.   Time
and again, your own paper has asked when and if that will happen.   So, why not answer that question with
one of those shots?   Because it has
happened.   If you choose that
route, Jennifer and I will sit down for an interview with the Post after
we get married.”
    “You’re getting married?” Immaculata asked.
    “I am if she’ll accept.   But unlike you, Immaculata, I have respect for others.   And I respect Jennifer too much to rush
her.   As soon as I know, I’ll let
this fine young man and his paper know.”   Alex turned to him.   “That’s
a promise, but only if you do us the courtesy of choosing the proper
photographs.   If an announcement is
made, I’ll personally make sure that you’re the photographer who covers the
interview.   That should assist you
in your career.   Does that suit?”
    “What gets run is really up to my editors.”
    “I understand that.   That’s why you need to tell them everything I just promised you, and
sell it to them.   My word is
good.   You and I both know how much
my pending nuptials—if I’m lucky enough to earn them—are worth in
this city.   Fair enough?”
    “Fair enough.”
    “I hope to see you sooner than you think, if you catch my
drift.”
    “She’s a lovely woman, Mr. Wenn.”
    “I appreciate that.   And I’m a very lucky man, considering the quality of some of the women
in this city, which is rather base.   Consider the woman who brought you over to us tonight, for example.   So, I hope to see you soon?”
    “I’ll do my best.”
    “Take care, Bob.”
    As Tank led the man away, I heard him say, “Mr. Wenn remembered
my name....”
    Immediately, Immaculata started to leave with them.   Since I knew that if Alex put his hands
on her, it