The final preparations came and went. Vince adjusted in the chair, getting as comfortable as he could. The lights lowered, Kyle gave him a nod and they were off.
“Kyle Adamson here from the Toronto Gleaner, and this is a Gleaner online exclusive. Today I’m here with Bull Rush star and celebrity investor, Vince Taylor. Vince, thank you so much for coming today.”
The easy smile slipped into place like a reflex. “Great to be here.”
“First, let’s start off by saying the upcoming season of Bull Rush is shaping up to be the best yet. Want to give the viewers a preview of what we’re going to see?”
He’d been thankful that Nate had negotiated some softball questions to help ease him into the interview. Vince rattled off the previously established sound bites and laughed at Kyle’s lame joke. It was all part of the setup. When Kyle’s face drew serious, Vince knew everything was about to change. He took a breath and got ready. Please, let her see this. Let her know.
“I have to say, this next bit caught me off guard when I learned about it. I’m hoping you’ll be able to shed some light. There’s a rumor out there that you participated, had an account even, on a sugar daddy site. Is that true?”
Vince leaned forward in his chair. He leveled his gaze on Kyle, giving him the look he’d fired off at so many Bull Rush contestants. “Partially. It was my father who’d initially made the account on the site, but I was the one who eventually met the woman and engaged in a relationship.”
The words came out smoothly, but inside Vince’s heart pounded. In so many ways, this was worse than the video of his fight with Thea. That had been a private moment caught without permission. This was deliberately exposing his underbelly to the world for everyone to take a swing at. He’d never felt this vulnerable in his life. I’m so sorry, Marissa.
Kyle tapped the top of his notebook. “Sugar daddy sites. Aren’t they nothing more than a form of prostitution?”
“If they were about sex, you might be able to argue that. But they’re not. Our arrangement was based on companionship. She attended a business function, she was my date. In turn, I financially assisted her. It was a win-win arrangement.”
Kyle’s frown deepened. “Why on earth would a multimillionaire television personality need to date someone like this? It’s not as though you’re hurting for women.”
“Come on, Kyle. This isn’t about dating. Though my relationship with…my companion turned into friendship. In my world, it’s not always an easy thing to find the right someone. While this isn’t a path I set out to follow on my own, when the situation changed and I had the opportunity to partner up with this woman, I knew it was the right thing to do.” Leaning back, he reached up and casually brushed the pin he’d worn specifically for her.
Marissa had quietly worked her way into his heart, so much so that he’d been blind to how much he’d grown to care. She didn’t need protecting from the world. She was strong, caring, intelligent, and more than capable of dealing with whatever the world threw her way. He missed her smile, her laugh, and wanted nothing more than to wrap himself in her arms.
Kyle cleared his throat. “If she were sitting here right now, what would you want her to know?”
“I’m sorry for what I said. She was right, I was scared. I was doing what I thought was best, instead of listening to what she was trying to tell me. I was slipping back into old habits. I know she’ll probably not forgive me for what I’d done, and that’s no less than I deserve. But I am so sorry and I wanted her to know that.”
The ache in his chest grew to epic proportions. Marissa might never see this, or even if she did, she might ignore him. It would be his fault if that was the case, something he’d have to live with.
“I take it from the lack of a name, your friend would like to keep her identity private?”
“Yes. And while I know the speculation will run rampant, it’s important to respect that. She never wanted the attention, and I’d appreciate everyone to please keep that in mind when speaking about her.”
“You know the speculation will be there. Any chance we’ll be able to meet the young lady in question ourselves? Perhaps another interview?” Kyle laughed, making the entire confession seem trivial, almost normal.
Vince relaxed back into his chair, glanced toward the camera and smiled. It wasn’t his practiced one that he’d haul out at parties and events. This was the private one that he’d shared with her when they were in bed, or in the limo. When it was just the two of them and for once he could be himself. “That will be her decision.”
Kyle shifted papers. “I’ve also been told that you’re launching a new company. This isn’t in the vein of your Bull Rush investments. Can you tell us a bit about GreenPro?”
“I’d love to. While the company has been around for a while mostly doing research and development, we are finally ready to take this exciting idea to production in the world of alternative fuel sources.” It was easy to get excited about GreenPro, especially since he had his plan already set into motion. Kyle clearly could care less about poop power, but it was a great way to bookend the interview.
He wrapped up the explanation within a minute, and was finally able to relax. “I’m proud to be the owner and excited to see how far we can grow our idea.” He was also braced for the phone call he knew he’d receive from Geoff the moment this interview went live. “I also want to let everyone know that as a way of giving back to the community, I’ve also established a bursary for women who are pursuing business as a post-secondary degree at local colleges. There are a lot of people out there struggling to make ends meet, while trying to improve their future. I wanted to do something to help.”
“You can find the link to the program below in the video description.” Kyle smiled at the camera. “Thank you, Vince, for your time today. We hope you’ll check out our other videos in the stream below.”
“And cut!”
They shook hands and Kyle grinned at him. “That was fantastic. It should help get you out ahead of that asshole, and it’s going to be killer for our site hits.”
“I owe you one for this.”
“I just hope she forgives you for whatever it was you’ve done.” Kyle got up from his seat. “Which reminds me, I need to give my husband a call. I’ll let Nate know the moment this is live.”
“Thanks.”
And that was it. Vince knew the ball was now in Marissa’s court. She might never forgive him. Or worse, not care about his apology. All he could do was sit, wait, and hope for the best. In the meantime, he had to get across the city to his lawyer’s office. He jumped up from the chair and waived at Nate. “I’ll see you soon.”
It was time to remove the axe hanging over his head, once and for all.
Chapter 25
“I want her to know that I’m sorry for what I said. She was right, I was scared.” Marissa paused the video and stared at Vince’s face on her computer screen.
The video had been posted yesterday afternoon. Naomi had been the one to show it to her, going so far as to script how Marissa should tell Vince to go to hell, and exactly how to get there. They’d had a good laugh at that, even though Marissa wanted nothing more than to fall to her knees and cry.
He’d been wearing a Star Wars Rebel Alliance pin.
It had taken her watching the video three times before she’d picked up on it. He’d gone so far as to reach up and touch it at one point. There on the lapel of his suit jacket was the tiny gold insignia, clearly meant only for her.
She didn’t know if she should be excited, or annoyed.
“Do you want to know what I think?” Naomi had picked up a pizza on her way home from class. While Marissa hadn’t been publicly outed, the idea of going to class had been too much for her today. So, Naomi had grabbed her notes and food, both of which she set down on the table beside Marissa’s laptop. “I think you should sell your story to the media
. You’d make a small fortune and he’d get what’s coming to him. Men suck.”
“Not all men.” Naomi was right that she would make money if she were to sell her side of the story to the media. It would probably even be enough to pay off the remainder of her debts. But despite everything he’d said to her, she couldn’t do that to him.
Plus, he’d been wearing the pin.
“Oh, come on. Yes, he’s rich and famous and really good looking, but there’s more to life that wealth, security, and a hot guy.” Naomi frowned as she flicked open her text book. “Actually, scrap that. You should totally hunt him down and make him beg for forgiveness. That’d be hot.”
“You’re a jerk.” Marissa flopped back against her chair. “Seriously, I don’t know what to do.”
“What do you want to do? What’s that first terrible instinct that you’ve had to squash down more than once? The thing you know if you told your mom you were about to do it, she’d be all, that’s a terrible idea?” Naomi smiled, licked her finger and flicked the pages in the book. “Because that’s probably the thing you should do.”
She rolled her eyes. What she wanted to do was to go down to Vince’s office, ask Caroline to hold all his calls and have a serious face-to-face conversation about how much he’d been an idiot. She was no more like his ex than he was like hers. Tell him that despite their differences in financial status, she’d come to love him for who he was, not what he could do for her.
And she couldn’t help but wonder if he loved her as well.
Because if he didn’t love her back, she didn’t know how the hell she was going to move forward.
“I need to go for a walk.” She snapped her laptop closed and got to her feet. “I’ll be back.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
Marissa rolled her eyes. “You’ll do anything.”
“It’s great, isn’t it?” Naomi waved, before turning her attention to her reading.
Marissa slipped on her sneakers, grabbed her purse, and headed out. She didn’t have a destination in mind, but in her heart, she knew there were a few things that needed to be done before she could face Vince. The first thing was the most painful of all.
She waited until she was a good half a block away from Naomi’s apartment before she pulled out her phone and dialed the number that her heart had known well. The phone rang three times before he picked up.
“What do you want?” Andrew was clearly angry that he’d missed out on his opportunity to make an easy buck.
“I wanted to let you know that everything between us is over. I reached out to a lawyer yesterday about the debts, something I probably should have done when this first started. I’m working things out. If you thought this was going to break me, was going to ruin my life, or force me to come running back to you, you’re wrong. I’m going to be fine.”
“Nothing your rich boyfriend can’t handle.” His hate was so strong, she could almost feel it like a physical blow.
“Actually, he had nothing to do with this. I solved the problem. I made things right. As far as he knows, I’ve gone far away and am living my life without him. So, whatever you’d hoped to get from this is gone.”
She stopped walking and waited for him to say something. After a long pause, he took a deep breath. “I only wanted you. I wanted you to need me.”
“I did need you.”
“But not for everything. You were going to college and wanted to start your own business. You were being selfish when I needed you more than anything. You were my rock. What am I supposed to do without you?”
She’d heard this before, his plea for her to be there for him. But unlike the first few times she’d heard him speak these exact same words, this time she heard the manipulation. “Andrew, I was there for you. But I have my own dreams. I’m more than some supporting act in your life. And if you can’t see that, then we were never going to work.”
“Things were good.”
“For a while, yeah. But it wasn’t going to last. We’re too different.”
“I’m not rich, is what you’re saying.”
“This has nothing to do with money, and you know it.” He wasn’t going to understand, to see her side of things, no matter how hard she tried. Andrew had his version of events cemented in his mind, forever making her the villain. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out, but I’m going to hang up now. We’re not going to speak again. You’re not going to see my mom again. If you contact me or her, I’ll be in touch with the police. Do you understand?”
His sob came through loud and clear. “Don’t do this. I love you.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t love you. Goodbye, Andrew. I hope you figure out what you want from life.” Marissa hung up and blocked his number.
She immediately texted her mom, and quickly explained the situation. Don’t talk to Andrew if he calls.
O.K. baby. I love you.
Love u 2
While she was worried things with Andrew weren’t over, for the first time since everything had started to fall apart, Marissa felt she’d wrestled control of the situation from him. She was the one in charge of how things would play out, and moving forward with her eyes wide open.
The next thing she needed to figure out was what to do with a particularly frustrating multimillionaire. Searching through her contacts, she found the number she’d never thought she’d have to call. “Hi, Caroline? It’s Marissa. I was wondering if you’d help me with something?”
* * * *
Vince checked his watch for the third time in the past hour. Caroline had assured him that his father had confirmed and said that he’d be here. The other men in the room were looking more than a little annoyed at having to continue to wait, but Vince knew they wouldn’t say a thing. They wanted this deal as badly as he did.
He got to his feet, pulling his phone out as he went. “Please excuse me for a moment.” He pressed his father’s number before he’d made it out of the room. “Where are you?”
“I’m in the lobby, coming up.” The chatter of voices in the background only served to confirm his story. “What’s got you all riled up?”
“I’ll see you in a minute.” He was standing beside Caroline’s desk when he hung up. “He’s going to kill me.”
She looked up at him with that intensity that made her the perfect assistant. “Need me to protect you?”
“No, I need him to agree to sell this company.”
“He will.”
Looking down at his assistant, his friend, Vince knew he needed to do right by her. “Stand up for a second, please.”
She frowned, but did as he asked. “Okay. I didn’t think you actually wanted me to protect you, but I will if you—”
He pulled her into a fierce hug, cutting off the rest of what she was going to say. “Thank you. I don’t say that enough. You’re more than an assistant to me. You’re my friend, and I need you to know that I care for you. And I’m sorry for being an asshole.”
When he let her go, he couldn’t quite place the expression on her face. She was blushing, but looked as though she might cry. “Ah…thank you. I…” She reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. “You’re forgiven.”
“I’m glad.” He needed things to be right between them. “And you have my permission to kick my ass if I ever do something that stupid again.”
“Deal.” She sank back down to her seat as the elevator dinged in the distance. The elevator doors slid open, revealing Geoff. Caroline picked up her headset and slipped it on. “Oh gee, I have a call I have to take. I’ll leave you to him.”
“Coward.” Not that he blamed her in the least.
“I’m here if you need me.” A call came in, and she smiled up at him. “Mr. Taylor’s office. This is Caroline Macy. How may I help you?”
Geoff grinned at Caroline as he got close. “I’m here. What’s so imp
ortant that I had to come across town?”
Vince mentally braced himself. “In my office.”
Thankfully, his father didn’t balk as they entered and he saw the trio waiting for them. “Dad, this is Stu Masters and his lawyers. Stu and I have been in touch about him taking over GreenPro.”
Geoff didn’t make a move to indicate he was angry or thrown off by the unexpected meeting. “Nice to meet you, Stu. Could you excuse my son and I for a moment?”
Geoff looked between them and nodded. “Certainly.”
Geoff took Vince by the arm and led him back out of the office. “What the fuck is this?”
Vince took a breath. He needed to say exactly the right things if this was going to work. “This is our only shot at selling GreenPro.”
“I told you I would only sell to Simon. No one else.” Geoff’s face had grown red and his body shook.
“I’m aware. But Simon is stringing us along. He’s never going to buy. He’s never going to give you the satisfaction of…whatever little game the two of you are playing. Never.”
Geoff’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t know that.”
“Yes. I do.” Vince knew he had one shot at this. “I spoke to Simon. I made him aware of my confession. He knows everything about my relationship with Marissa, knows that you were the one to get the media involved.”
If his father was angry about losing whatever edge he’d perceived he’d had, he didn’t show it. “What did he say?”
“Nothing. I didn’t give him a chance. I told him that I was out ahead of this thing. If anything, my interview was going to give me and my company better visibility. My fans are eating up my confession, my begging for my secret love to forgive me.” He hadn’t talked to Nate yet, so he didn’t have a clue what people were saying about him. Nor did he actually care.
All he needed was for his father to give a shit long enough for this to work.
“I can just imagine what he said.” Geoff’s face had returned to its normal color.
“He wants GreenPro. Badly.” Vince, lowered his voice. “But we’re not going to sell it to him.”
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