“How the fuck did they get those pictures? She took those with her cell phone, so…”
“You said it yourself now. The pictures are from Camilla’s cell phone, so you tell me.”
“If you’re insinuating that she sold them to that tabloid, then you’re so wrong.”
“Then how did the tabloid get those pictures? How do you explain that?”
“There must be some explanation. Camilla wouldn’t do something like that.”
“And how do you know that, Merritt? For how long have you been with this girl? How do you know she’s really trust-worthy? For all we could know, she might be some gold-digger who has approached you only to get money and publicity.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, so shut it. I won’t let you talk about Camilla like that. And I’ve known her and her brother for years.”
Shit Carter, I had meant to sit down with him when I got back from campaigning. This was not how I wanted him to find out.
“At this point, we can’t trust anyone, and we have to be ready for everything. It wouldn’t be the first time that some aide did this to a congressman.”
“Maybe she got her phone stolen or something like that.”
“That’s not likely, because, as I told you, the article has details about your relationship. If her phone was stolen and someone sold those pictures to the media, they wouldn’t have the whole story about you two.”
“Look, we’re trying to minimize the damage, but I’ll be straight up with you,” she continued. “You need to do a series of interviews to clean up your name. You’ll have to say you acted in the spur of a moment—say that you were three sheets to the wind, emotional, anything that could explain why you would make such a foolish mistake. My advice to you is to blame it on her.”
I didn’t reply immediately, flabbergasted. Had she actually said that? “What? Are you serious?”
“I’m dead serious,” she replied, completely unperturbed by my judging tone. “We can make a story. We can say she was flirting with all congressmen and had a long history of affairs—”
“No. I’m not going to do that to Camilla.”
“Merritt, get serious. We’re not in the kindergarten and playing games. This can seriously damage your career. Your own party can go against you if they want. They are not going to bail you out of this.”
“I know that, Marissa. Goddamn it! Don’t treat me like I’m some idiot.”
“Well, excuse me for being brutally honest now, but you acted like one when you started seeing that woman.”
“Careful, Marissa,” I growled. “You’re crossing the damn line now.”
“I know, but what do you want me to do? Congratulate you and pat you on your back? As I said, the smartest thing for you would be to say that she seduced you and that you weren’t in your right mind when you hooked up with her. Say that you regret everything and that you’ll make sure she’s fired—”
“No. Absolutely not. I don’t care what you or the rest of the PR team says. I’d rather fire all of you than do that to Camilla. Understand? So don’t push it, because I’m seconds away from giving the whole team the sack.”
She let out an exasperated sigh, clearly annoyed with me. “You know you can’t do that. You would breach the contract and then you’d have to pay—”
“I don’t care about that. So you better watch your mouth from now on.”
“You don’t care about that? Are you aware of the negative publicity that stunt would bring you? You don’t need that at this moment.”
I didn’t answer anything to that. I couldn’t when she was right.
I hit my fist on the mattress, feeling terribly powerless. This was exactly what I had wanted to avoid. How the hell did this happen?
I didn’t understand, because we had both agreed to keep it hush-hush. And the pictures were from Camilla’s phone. If she hadn’t sold them to that tabloid, then how did they get them? And isn’t that such a big coincidence? She took those pictures just a few days ago, and bam, we had this story today? On top of that, she was the one who had insisted on taking those photos.
Did she break the story? But why? I couldn’t quite comprehend why she would do that. Was this all just to get further in her career? Would this hurt her brother too? She cared about him. I thought she cared about us.
I needed to call her ASAP.
“I understand, but I won’t do anything that could harm Camilla. That’s not my style.”
“But you do realize she might not be as innocent as you think?”
“I know, but as I said, I won’t do anything to ruin her career, and that’s my final answer.”
“I see. Well, then we have to think of a damn good story. We can’t issue an official denial since they have your pictures. So we have to admit to it. You can say that you weren’t aware that she was an aide of another congressman.”
I snorted. This was getting more ridiculous by second. “And you think the public would buy it? They’re not stupid.”
“Then you can also say that it was something temporary and you deeply regret it. You fully understand the consequences of your actions and you’ll make sure not to repeat your mistake again. Until the end of the press conference, you’ll shift the attention to the bill that you passed recently. Emphasize how important it is and how much good it will bring to the citizens.”
“Then you’ll remind them of all the good decisions you’ve made so far and insist that you’ll continue to work your hardest for this country and the benefit of its people.”
“Yeah, I know the drill in these situations. You don’t have to feed me with every single detail.”
“It doesn’t hurt to remind you. I will prepare the full statement by noon, and we can have the press conference at two. We need to do it before other media outlets break this news.”
“Fine. Whatever. But don’t put the blame on her in any case. Don’t even mention her.”
“I understand.”
“Good.”
I started tapping my fingers on my bed, anxious to finish with this call. I needed to call Camilla.
“Oh, and one more thing. You have to break all your contact with her immediately.”
I froze, staring at one spot on my sheets as I processed what the hell she had just said to me.
“Hell, no. I won’t do that.”
“Don’t push this. We can’t have it any other way. If you stay in contact with her, all this damage control would be useless. You need to stop seeing her for this to work. Remember that this is your career we’re talking about. Do you seriously want to risk everything you’ve worked on so hard because of one woman? If you continue seeing her, your party won’t take this so lightly, and there will be much worse consequences. Think about the incoming elections.”
I closed my eyes, the headache forming in the back of my head. This was so messed up, and I hated being cornered like this. Just when I thought everything was going well, this happened, and I was left with no choices. I didn’t want to lose Camilla, but how could I fix this? I was forced to choose between her and my career, and it was an impossible choice.
Then again, if she was the one who had sold the story to that tabloid… Once more, anger rose in me, and I fought against the anxiety that grew stronger in me. If she’d done that, I wouldn’t be able to forgive her. I needed to talk with her to know the truth.
“Okay, Marissa. I get your message loud and clear. At least, let me think about it, okay? In the meantime, make that fucking statement and organize everything.”
“I know my job, so don’t worry about my part. I’ll call you later.”
“Fine. Bye.”
I ended the call and dialed Camilla’s number right away, jumping to my feet. I was pacing around my room as one ring followed another and another…
She didn’t answer. I called her again and then again, and when the answering machine filled the line, I ended the call and threw the phone on my bed.
“Damn it! Camilla, what a
re you doing? Why aren’t you answering your phone?”
This could mean only one thing.
She had actually sold the story to the tabloid. There was no other explanation.
I sat down on my bed and buried my head into my hands, devastated. We had been really starting to get somewhere, but I guessed that it had all been an illusion. She’d never liked me. Hell, she had probably made all that fuss about playing safe only so she could have me running after her like a fool. She had acted disinterested to attract me. To make me crazy about her, wrapped around her little finger.
She had been using me from the start. She had used me to find her a job, and now she was using me so she could climb up her career ladder. She was clever, I had to hand it to her. Maybe Carter was even in on it. He had pushed me to chase after her. Damn, you think you know people.
And I was such a fool. She didn’t feel anything for me. Instead, she was this conniving fox who waited for the right moment to strike and get what she wanted.
But she was wrong if she thought I would let her get away with this just like that. I would confront her and hear the whole truth. And then I would make sure to stay the hell away from her. For good.
18
Camilla
I was making coffee for the office, wondering how I could have forgotten my cell phone at home. There were two things I always, absolutely always, carried around with me, and those were my wallet and my cell phone.
But this morning I slept in and I had to rush out of my place so I wouldn’t be late for work. I almost went out with a mismatched jacket and skirt, having dressed in a hurry. I was so lucky to arrive here before my shift started.
“I’m dying for that coffee right now,” Megan whined behind me, typing something furiously on the keyboard. She had been talking about the coffee for the past half an hour, until I caved in and decided to make it. “I feel like I’m going to fall asleep any moment.”
“I feel ya,” our colleague, Ben, added. “I stayed up too late. I was playing Counter Strike.”
“You and your games,” Megan told him. “How old are you, again? Thirty-five? And you’re still playing games? No wonder you don’t have a wife.”
He flashed her his grin. “Who needs a wife when I can spend all my time on my computer? Games are way better than women. And they are way less demanding.”
“Amen to that,” Joshua, our other coworker, said. “I had an argument with my wife last night and she made me sleep on the couch.”
“Did you, really?” Megan asked him. “Sleep on the couch?”
Joshua blushed, looking sideways. “Yeah.”
“You’re crazy,” Ben told him. “If I had a wife, I would never let her treat me like that.”
“Well, you don’t have a wife, so don’t act like you’re a know-it-all,” Megan rebuked him. “Each marriage is different, so don’t judge them that easily.”
“What’s there not to judge?” Ben bit back. “She forced him to sleep on the couch, for God’s sake. Would you want your husband to force you to sleep on your couch?”
Megan rolled her eyes. “Like I’d let him.”
“That’s my point. And Joshua, our man here, is a wimp.”
“To each their own, people,” Joshua replied to them.
I giggled softly, pouring our coffee in cups. And I’d thought I had it bad with all that sneaking around with Merritt.
“I think we’re all a bit jittery because of the lack of sleep. So we’ll have our morning dose and we’re all good,” I said to them, always the peace-maker.
I put the cups on the tray and carried them across the room to where Ben and Joshua were sitting, serving them their coffee. Then I proceeded to Megan’s desk and left her cup before I took mine, leaning against her desk.
“Mmm, Camilla your coffee-making skills are out of this world,” Megan said after she sipped her coffee.
I let out a chuckle. “It’s just coffee, Megan. It’s not rocket science.”
Taking a sip of my coffee, I glanced at the desk next to hers, and the world stopped moving. I choked, my eyes widening when I spotted a tabloid sitting on the desk and spit out my coffee all over Megan.
“Camilla!” Megan complained, jumping up to her feet. “What the hell, girl?”
“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled my apology and grabbed the tabloid before she could spot it. There, in huge, white letters, wrote, “A Scandal in the Congress! Congressman Dawson Sleeping with an Aide!”, and if that wasn’t humiliating enough, they had pictures of Merritt and me in the bed all over the front cover.
Oh my God. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Those pictures were from my own cell phone. How did they end up on the front page of this tabloid?
I had to get out of here before my coworkers saw this and started giving me the third degree.
“Camilla? What’s going on?”
“Um…” I lowered the tabloid, making sure she couldn’t see the front page. “I’m so sorry for spilling my coffee on you. Here.” I grabbed a package of tissues from my desk and handed it to her. “Use them before the coffee dries on your blouse. I’ll get you a new one.” I was already close to the door. “I’ll be right back.”
Wasting no time on explanations, I rushed out of the office with the tabloid in my hand. I passed several colleagues, but other than nodding at me in greeting, they didn’t pay attention to me, which meant they hadn’t read the article. Good.
I went to the nearest restroom and locked myself inside, my heart pounding wildly.
Before I could stop them, the tears welled up in my eyes, and the shock wore off, letting me realize how terrible this situation actually was. I was right on the front page. Naked. With Merritt. Anyone could see this. My parents could see this. My brother.
My boss could see this. Oh God.
This was a huge scandal. I pressed my hand against my mouth, battling against a strong wave of nausea. I couldn’t panic. I had to go through this as calmly as possible…
But first things first. I had to read this article and see what they had written about us.
With trembling hands, I opened the tabloid, afraid of what I might encounter inside. How did they know about Merritt and me? We had been extra careful not to let this happen. So how did someone do this?
I found the story in the middle and I started reading, my pulse quickening with each awful paragraph.
“Is this woman Dawson’s latest conquest? They have been seeing each other for weeks… They act like they don’t know each other at work… They spend time at his or her place… Her neighbors claim they can hear loud screams coming from her apartment during their passionate moments…”
And much, much more horrible details. They knew everything!
I was blind with tears, and my chest hurt. For the first time in my life, I had no clue what to do and how to get out of this mess. This would destroy everything I’d fought for all these years. When I went out, they would eat me alive. I was sure my boss would fire me. Then I would have to face a public backlash…
Oh no. I went to the sinks and gripped the counter, looking at my pale face in the mirror. I was shaking terribly, unable to will myself out of here. I needed to prepare myself. I needed to prepare myself for whatever mess I was about to face.
This was exactly what I had feared when I decided to date Merritt. I should have known something like this would happen sooner or later. But how?
Did Merritt do this? He could have been angry with me for rejecting him after I used him to get me a job. Maybe he wanted to get even, so he hired someone to hack my phone and have those photos sold to that tabloid.
This would explain a lot of things. After all, he was a playboy who wasn’t used to hearing “no”. Maybe his ego was hurt, and he wanted to get back at me.
I pressed my hand against my chest, dejected. If that was true, then all these days, all those moments… They had been a lie. He had lied to me when he said he liked me and he just acted like he cared about me. He had pr
obably been using me for sex and now that he got tired of me, he was exacting his petty revenge.
Only, it could ruin me completely.
No. I could go around in circles and torment myself with all these questions, but I had to talk to Merritt first and demand an explanation.
Taking deep breaths, I willed myself to calm down before I got out. I looked at the front cover of the tabloid again, feeling nauseous at seeing such intimate photos published like this for the whole world to see. I’d have to call my brother later and explain everything to him. And then my mom. Hopefully, she hadn’t seen this yet.
I ripped the tabloid in pieces until the front page and the article part were unrecognizable and threw it into the trash can. I washed my face and walked out of the restroom, planning to use the nearest phone in my office Merritt. Luckily, I had his cell phone number memorized.
Glancing over my shoulder to see if I was drawing attention, I picked up the phone and dialed his number. How many people had already seen that piece of trash?
I called Merritt, but he wasn’t answering. Ring after ring increased my anxiety, and I wished I could scream my frustration out. This was not what I needed now.
I had thought my life was going well. The work was good, and I grew closer to Merritt more and more. I was so sure my life had finally gotten on the right track, but I’d had to know better. Being with Merritt was a terrible mistake.
“Come on, pick up.”
I called Merritt again, but once more, there was no response, and I slammed the phone back to its place.
I wanted an explanation, so I wouldn’t let this slide. There was only one way I could reach him, since he wasn’t answering his phone. I would go straight to his office.
I took a deep breath and headed there, my legs wobbly. I had to confront him no matter how harsh the truth could be.
Thankfully, no one stopped me and claimed to know what was going on between Merritt and me. Everyone minded their own business, barely sparing me a glance, and I felt grateful for more moments of anonymity because all the hell would break loose after more people found out about this.
Say Yes, Senator: A Best Friend's Little Sister Political Romance Page 11