“I don't have time to talk about this right now. I told you I'm busy," Duke said into his phone as he walked – mostly cleverly camouflaged – into the record store.
As she continued talking, Duke pulled the phone away from his face to provide a buffer from the tinny sound of Nicolette's voice blaring in his ear.
“Listen," he barked into the phone, “I'm going to hang up now. I'm walking into a meeting. I told you."
Nicolette wasn't listening and continued rambling on his phone, so in a moment of total frustration – and a refreshing dose of bravado – he hung up on her and slid his phone into his pocket.
With Amber's help, Duke had arranged to have the reluctant Crystal meet him that afternoon. Much of what she had said to him at her house the day before was still rolling around inside h
