by kj lewis
“Why don’t we give you two a minute?” Colleen’s feminine voice cuts through the testosterone in the air.
Graham can’t bring himself to look at me. Without a word, he straightens his jacket and walks out of my office with Adam right behind him.
“Emme,” Ben says. “How are you holding up dear? I promise, we’ll make this okay.” He hugs me.
“Just take care of Graham.”
“No offense, Ben,” Colleen says. “If Harry were here, he would say the same thing. Graham needs to understand that Emme is going through this too, and I’m not happy with him leaving her high and dry to maneuver it on her own.”
“He’s not. He has his team working on it, and he knows you and Harry are looking out for Emme.”
“You’ll forgive me, but we’re not her husband. He made a vow…”
“He’s aware of his vow. He doesn’t need us to remind him of his vows. He needs us to help provide him guidance. There’s no map of how to navigate this. Just be patient with him.”
“And Emme? What does she do in the meantime? It’s his responsibility to take care of her.”
“Graham is not going to leave me to handle this on my own,” I tell her. “He just needs time. He feels helpless. It’s paralyzing. He doesn’t know how to move past it.”
“We don’t have time for him to figure it out.” She says.
“Just make sure he has what he needs,” I tell Ben, who kisses me lovingly on the forehead.
“You okay?” he asks. “You feel warm.” He touches his hand to my face.
“Graham.” I attempt to draw his attention back to our conversation.
“Adam and I are taking care of Graham,” he reassures me before leaving.
“Just be patient,” I tell Colleen. “For me. This is the best thing you can do for me. Now, if you had caught me this morning before Jules, you would have seen a different story, but I had my little nutty and I’m done.”
“I assume trying to contain this is futile at this point?” I ask Charlie, who is still in my office.
“It is, Emme. I’m so sorry this has happened.”
“So what are our next steps?”
“My team will continue to take the videos down as they pop up. We are looking for the owner of the video. We plan to buy the rights, and from there we can hopefully gain control.”
“We all know that isn’t going to control anything. It will still be on every porn site.” Colleen says.
“I don’t want you to pay them a dime. It’s public. Stop trying to take it down. It will only fuel the fire for people to bid on it. If we leave it public, then they won’t have a way to make money off it. That is something we can control.”
“I don’t know that Graham will go for that,” Charlie replies.
“It’s your job to make sure he does. You and I both know this is the best way to handle it.”
He nods then adds, “I’ll be canceling your interview with the Today Show next week.”
“No. We move forward with the press on the mentor program.”
“Emme, you must know they won’t be asking you about the mentor program. They are going to eat you for lunch.”
“Then you have a week to prep me and make sure that doesn’t happen.” I stand to signal the end of our meeting.
“Emme, forgive me, but I have to ask. Is there anything else I need to be prepared for? I promise you, I won’t judge you nor would I ever share what you tell me. Not even with my team or my wife. But I can’t get ahead of this if I’m always one step behind.”
“This morning was the first time I even knew a video existed. There is nothing in my past that we need to be prepared for.”
He studies me before accepting me at my word and leaving.
I see Colleen out with a promise to call.
“Lunch?” Holt and Reggie draw my eyes up.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Holt with a frown on my face.
“I skipped,” he says shrugging his shoulder like it’s no big deal.
“You know you have to pass your senior year before you can go to college,” I remind him.
“My dad pays so much for my school, there’s no way they aren’t going to pass me. Plus, I have a 4.0. I won’t miss anything by not being there today.”
“Rich kids,” Reggie says under his breath, rolling his eyes, and for the first time all day I smile.
“I’m not that hungry, but I could try a bite of something.”
“Great. What do you want, I’ll have them send it up.”
“Why don’t we just go to the eating area, and see what they have. I’m not sure what I want.”
“Are you sure you want to do that, Emme?” Reggie asks.
“Why wouldn’t I? If someone talks, they talk. I’m not hiding. ” I say coming around my desk. “If you want to reconsider your lunch offer, I’ll understand.”
“Like that would happen,” Holt says holding his hand out. “After you.” He bows slightly.
We make our way to the eating area, drawing attention as we go. Resolving not to give it power, I keep moving. I’m really not feeling great, but I know I need to eat something.
“For you.” The chef sets a plate on my tray. “I thought you might like some comfort food.” He smiles at me and his thoughtfulness touches my heart.
“Thank you. That was very kind of you.” He’s even taken the time to prep my plate to make it look appealing. It’s a ring of mashed potatoes with corn and lima beans in the center and steak sliced and laid across the top.
“That looks delicious,” Reggie says placing an ice tea in front of me. “I didn’t see that up there.”
“Thank you.” I take a sip of the tea. “It wasn’t. Chef made it for me.”
We sit in silence for a few minutes. They eat and I pick at my food. Holt nor Reggie really know what to say.
“Does Pearl know?” I ask Reggie.
“Terrance tried to keep it from her, but I guess it’s a slow news day, so it was everywhere. But she’s okay. She’s worried about you.”
“I know. I don’t want her to be. I’ll call her this afternoon to let her know I’m alright.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Holt asks.
“You both are so sweet, but I think I’ll keep the sex video talk to a minimum, if you don’t mind.” I wink at them. “But I would love talking about something else.”
“Well, since we know something personal about you,” Holt says.
“Please tell me you two haven’t watched the video.” The thought mortifies me.
“No,” they both say together. “We wouldn’t betray your trust like that Emme,” Holt says. I’m acutely aware that these young men are steadfast and loyal for their age.
“I know you wouldn’t. Back to something personal?” I ask Holt.
“There’s someone I like.”
“Really? Who?”
“Well, I’m not sure she likes me. And if it doesn’t work out, it could make it awkward with our families.”
“If it does, then they’re not a family you want to be with. You’re young. Not everything works out. I can’t imagine people would be weird with something like that. Who is it?”
“Her name is Lucy.” He gages me. “Lucy Taylor.”
Without lifting my chin, I raise my eyes towards him. “My Lucy?”
“Well technically, if she agrees, she would be my Lucy.”
“Not until you put a ring on it, buddy.”
“So. What do you think?” I can tell he’s pensive.
“I think you need to ask her. You won’t know if you don’t try. Do you promise to always walk her to her door?”
“Of course.” He furrows his brow like I’ve lost my mind asking such a silly question.
“And you’ll always open doors for her. Treat her respectfully even when she makes you mad?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m good with it.”
“What do you think Graham will think?” Reggie asks.
“I don’t care what he thinks,” Holt says sourly.
“Holt.” I take a deep breath and sit up, getting ready to defend Graham yet again today. “You are too young to understand everything that is going on. I love Graham. He loves me. Give him time to work this out.”
“Where is he?” he asks, and I hear the tone of defiance in his voice.
“Just because you don’t see him doesn’t mean he’s not here. He doesn’t have to show himself to you or anyone else.”
“I—we care about you.” His tone is protective and honest.
“I know you do.”
Out of nowhere, a piece of coconut cake is set in front of me.
“Emme.” Bear and the other guys take a seat at the table.
Lunch continues on as normal. The guys make sure to keep the conversation light but show me their support just by sitting with us.
“You know you don’t have to put out a video just so I’ll give you the last piece of cake,” Bear teases and for the first time all day, I laugh. Once I’ve gotten started, I can’t seem to stop and am spurred on when the guys join in. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I pat Bear on the shoulder in a gesture of thanks for his ability to relax everyone. Clearing my tray, I grab a tea to go and return to the table to see Reggie facing off with a guy I don’t know.
“Say it again,” Reggie stands, his hands fisted by his sides. The guy laughs and steps closer to him.
“Like I’m scared of you.”
“Maybe you should pick on someone your own size,” Bear stands, his size matching his name.
“What’s going on?” I ask, making eye contact with the guy.
“Nothing,” Bear says, never taking his eyes off the interloper.
“Reggie?”
“It’s nothing, Emme. He’ll be cleaning out his desk before the hour is up.”
“Really, beanpole? Who’s gonna make that happen?” He leans closer to Reggie and I see the guys beginning to move into place. Holt has positioned himself in front of me.
Oh, Lord. I roll my eyes.
“I am,” Ben says. He motions and two security guards come up.
“You need better comebacks, asshole,” Reggie says, unimpressed as the interloper is led away.
“Really guys? What were you going to do? Pound him?” I roll my eyes again.
“D-d-d-d-on’t start,” Reggie says. “No one gets to talk about you in our presence.”
And not for the first time, I see the man Reggie has grown into.
Despite my expanding to-do list, I haven’t accomplished much since I’ve been back from lunch. I left the house feeling ready enough to handle the day, but as time goes on, it’s getting harder and harder. There’s too many things that don’t match up with the video.
Picking up my phone, I text Evan to see if he and his dad are available to meet this afternoon. I want to get in front of this, but I feel like all we are doing is playing catch up. I have been able to verify that only part of the video has been released. The part after Evan leaves has not hit the internet yet, but I am sure it is a matter of time. Tapping my pencil against my desk for several minutes, I finally get a response from Evan saying he can meet.
I send an email to Graham, Charlie, Ben, and Adam, letting them know that I have asked Evan and Mr. Willis to meet me here at 4:00 p.m. Then, I send a group text to everyone I need to update, letting them know that they can meet me here in the main conference room at 4:30 if they would like. I want to knock everyone out at once. I don’t want to have to continue to tell the story over and over. Jackson is on a plane from Paris and should be landing any minute.
I’m expecting Harry and Eloise in the next thirty minutes, so I have time to call Jules.
“Hey, babe.” I greet her with little emotion.
“Hey, yourself. How are you making it?”
Hearing her voice is enough to take some of the wind out of my sails. “I’m making it. That’s about the best I can ask for at this point.”
“You’re doing great. I don’t know anyone as strong as you.”
“I sent you a text.”
“I got it. I’ll be there.”
“Do you want me to talk to you first? You know you are my best friend. I don’t want you to feel like I’m not sharing with you by lumping you in with everyone else.”
“Shit, Mags. The things that float through your brain at a time like this. I don’t need my hand held. I’m worried about you not me. Tell me when you tell everyone. Saves you from having to tell it more than once.”
“I love you, Jules.”
“I love you, Mags. See you at 4:30.”
I release a breath and think through what I want to accomplish while I have everyone together.
“You are not meeting with him.” Graham enters before slamming my door shut.
“Hello, husband of mine,” I say coldly, folding my arms across my chest. “Lovely to see you today.”
“Don’t start with your smart mouth, Emelia. I’ve already alerted security that they are not allowed in this building.”
“Then I will go to their office to meet.”
“The hell you will.” Thermonuclear hostility radiates off of him.
“Meeting here at four it is.” I move closer to him. He puts his hands in his pockets and takes a step backwards.
“When are you going to tell me what this is really about?”
“I’m sorry. Is this really about something other than my wife having sex on a video, then…” He stops and his eyes begin to water. I can tell he’s trying to gain control. After a minute he finishes, his voice rasped with unshed emotion. “Then watching her be raped and violated by a group of guys. I can’t imagine why you would think that isn’t enough.” He releases a breath like he’s relieved he made it through saying that sentence aloud.
“How much of the video did you watch?” I ask him.
“Enough.”
“You need to watch it. Fast forward to the end.” I observe him for a minute before continuing. He knows I was a virgin. Where is this coming from? “Think about what you know to be true. Separate this from whatever is going on with you. Tackle one thing at a time.”
“Just tell me what you want me to see.” I can hear the plea in his voice.
“I can’t. You have to come to this one on your own.”
He shakes his head, and he still can’t bring himself to look at me.
“Graham, I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me.”
“Stop acting like this is about me, Emelia.” His voice is sharp as I watch the shutters in his eyes go down.
“This is about you. My husband left me today. You’ve withheld your touch after you promised me you never would. You walked out without a word or care about what I was going through.”
“I told you, total honesty. Just yesterday I called you and asked you what the story was with Evan. You could have told me then, but you didn’t. You chose to lie.”
“If I did lie, which I didn’t, that’s still not enough to make you leave me. Just the night before last you told me that you will always take care of me. For me to trust that you are here even if I don’t see you. That you will never leave me. I know you, Graham. When you’re ready to talk about it, I’ll be here. For you.”
“We all say stupid shit when we don’t have the facts.”
“That couldn’t be truer for you today asshole. Watch the fucking video.”
“Careful.”
My dominating husband. A ridiculous smile crawls across my face at the breadcrumb he’s dropped for me.
“There really is something wrong with you,” he says, exasperated, and I know I’ve wiggled my way into a crack in the wall he has built. I turn and take my seat again, not looking at him till I see him leave.
Sitting back in my chair, I think about Graham and what is going on with him. I can feel my resolve about to break when Cassie knocks on my door and brings me a Diet Coke.
“Can I get you anything, Emme?” she asks.
“No,
this is perfect. There are several people coming at 4:30. Can you make sure they are all shown to the conference room please? You and George included.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She smiles weakly at me before leaving.
I have a call to make before the meeting.
“Emme.” Harry answers on the first ring.
“Can you be here at 4?” I ask him.
“I’m already on my way there. Care to tell me what this is about?”
“I can, but I’d rather not go through it more times than I have to.”
“I’ve seen the video. Why didn’t you tell me this morning when we talked?”
“Tell you what?”
“That it’s not you.”
“How did you know?” I don’t hide my surprise.
“A father can tell his daughters apart.” Even though it’s a simple declaration, it means more to me than I anticipated.
“Emme?” Harry speaks after I’m silent longer than expected.
“I’ll see you when you get here,” I say quietly before hanging up our call and dialing Cassie.
“Mrs. Taylor,” she answers immediately.
“Cassie, can you hold all my calls and all visitors until 3:45 please.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
The further into the day I get, the more the cold I’m fighting takes its toll on me. Sliding off my heels, I lay down on my couch for a few minutes in hopes to get some relief. It takes a while. When I first close my eyes it’s like my eyelids are the movie screen that my brain replays the video over and over on. Harry waking me is the only indication that I had finally dozed off.
“Sweetheart.” He wakes me gently before pulling me onto his lap like he might have when I was a little girl had he had the chance. I nuzzle my face in his neck and wrap my arms around his middle. I can’t halt my thoughts of what life would have been like if Harry had been in it from the beginning and how grateful I am he is in it now. I’m still surprised at how easily I have fallen into stride with him and Eloise and how comfortable and right it feels that he is my dad. Burrowing in a little further I close my eyes and relax with the scent of his aftershave lotion and his arms around me, lulling me to sleep.
“Sweetheart. It’s ten till four.” He shakes me, kissing my forehead when I protest at having to wake up.