He heard the venom in her voice when she said the name 'Ryan.' For a moment he wondered whether he should remind her that ex-flames were rarely worth the emotional energy it took to seek revenge, but instead he gave her a gentle smile. "I think we can manage that... But you doknow that I'll be sorely tempted to take advantage of the opportunity to 'get fresh' right?" Just as he was about to lean forward to kiss her his phone vibrated. He winked instead and answered it, knowing who it would be.
"Right. Firebird. We'll be there for about an hour.... No. This isn't a joke. I'm on a date with a lovely young woman and I promised her that we'd make a splash tonight... No. I'm not the story. She's the story. I'm just the wealthy, well-known, completely adoring suitor that happens to be in the pictures. Just promise to frame this nicely when it comes to her--no backhanded compliments or petty digs... Fine. You do this right and I promise I'll sit down with you and talk about that book idea... Good. Bye."
He hung up and turned to KiKi shaking his head. "Well, kitten. I've done what I can..."