by Ann Grech
“So what, Dad?” Katy huffed out a breath and pursed her lips. She was trying hard to keep a lid on her temper, but she was failing. Levi squeezed her hand in support. “We live our lives in misery because we’re denying a fundamental part of ourselves so we can fit into the little box society has made for us? No thanks. I’d rather be labelled a slut.” She raised her chin in the air defiantly. Pride at her defiance, and horror at the possibility of her being branded a slut by more than her brother and his wife warred within him.
“We were gonna keep it quiet,” Connor added softly. “We didn’t want to risk any blowback. So in public, I’m just their friend. It was stupid of us letting things get as far as they did at Nick’s.” He shook his head. “I screwed up.”
“We were both in that room, Con. This isn’t your fault.” Levi reached out and took his hand, squeezing it. Connor’s callused fingers, rough from playing his guitar, closed around Levi’s and he held onto him, that small connection between them enough to ground Levi.
“Mr Daniels,” Connor added. “I agree it’s unconventional, but it’s real. Whatever you think about Levi and I being together, we both love Katy. She’ll always be the most important person in the world to us.”
“I’m sorry you found out like this. I wish it’d happened differently.” Levi gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s taken us months to come to terms with what’s happening between us, and it’s been thrust on you in one night after you’d already had a rough one.”
The room was quiet, Rich watching their interactions like a hawk and Andrea absently stirring her tea.
“Mum, you haven’t said anything.” Katy prompted quietly, her voice breaking on the last word.
Andrea put her mug on the coffee table carefully and took a moment before speaking. “I’m not particularly happy, but it’s not because the three of you are seeing each other. Well, it is, but you’re old enough to make your own choices. I am upset because you didn’t trust me enough to tell me.” Andrea stood and waited for her husband to get up too. They were part way to the front door when Andrea added, “We deserved to know, even if you were keeping your relationship a secret from the rest of the world.” That parting shot was like a stab to his heart. Disappointing her parents wasn’t an option for Katy. She loved them dearly. Knowing she’d let them down, hurt them, would break Katy’s heart, and Levi ached for her.
She was in his arms the second they’d turned their backs again, curling into him and crying silently. Her body shook and her tears quickly dampened his shirt. He wanted to protect her, to save her heartbreak, but it was his stupid actions that had put Katy in that position in the first place. He should have locked the door. Why didn’t I? Was there some sick part of him that wanted to be caught?
Levi hadn’t realized he’d closed his eyes until Connor held them both close. He leaned into him, breathing him in. “Come to bed,” Connor murmured.
They stumbled into bed like that, wrapped around each other, holding tightly, moving together until they each came hard. Katy fell asleep quickly after that, but Levi lay awake in the darkness. He wasn’t sure whether Connor was staring into the night like him, or whether he’d found enough peace that he could rest, but the other man was quiet. He stayed like that, thinking about their future together and what it would mean for them if they did come out to the world. There’d been a lot of fanfare and speculation, and just as much criticism of Reef and Ford, but the dude was an international star. Levi wasn’t anywhere near as famous. But still….
*****
Levi wiped the sweat from his brow. It was hot standing in the afternoon sun, watching while the handlers entered the crocodile enclosure and laid out their gear within easy reach. Ropes and blankets, a roll of thick tape and what looked like a spinal board. The next day, Levi would be one of them. He swallowed hard. Yeah, he was a little nervous—the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end and gut churning even thinking about getting up close and personal with an animal as deadly as a saltie.
He watched the test run—the final practical lesson on how to go about roping and restraining one of the crocodiles. Jack, the head trainer, called out, “Levi, you’ll be right next to me tomorrow. You need to be aware of your surroundings, like I’ve said. Saltwater crocs are fast bastards. They can run at nearly thirty clicks in short bursts—that’s a lot faster than you.” Jack’s gaze never strayed from the reptile sunning itself on the edge of the pond. Jaws open, the white on the inside of its mouth was visible. Its powerful legs tipped with claws sharp enough to gut a man if he got too close made Levi swallow. His mouth was dry as a desert. The croc was about the same size as the one they’d be moving the next day, and it was freaking huge. What am I doing? Am I insane?
They worked efficiently—short, sharp moves and clear directions spoken calmly, but loud enough that there was no mistaking them. He watched as the handlers spread out, moving down the length of the rope that Belinda, another trainer, would lasso him with. Levi was awed, watching as she got close enough to the croc to use a rod with a hook on the end to manoeuvre the heavy rope noose over his top jaw.
Where the reptile had been still as a statute a moment before, suddenly it was thrashing. Belinda had yanked on the lasso, tightening it around the croc’s snout and within a millisecond, it was doing a deathroll into the water, splashing and fighting to drag her in.
“Levi, we grab the rope and haul him up now. You’ll be behind me.” Speaking more to the other trainers in with him, Jack said, “Remember, don’t loop it round your hand.” They worked seamlessly, each of the five men and women pulling until their muscles strained. Cedric, the crocodile, fought hard but the handlers were experienced and knew how to get him up to the clearing with the minimum of fuss.
The growls the croc let loose when he hit the shore had Levi breaking out in a cold sweat. He’d done some crazy things in this job, but this was madness. Fear prickled through him and his heart raced. White-knuckling the railing, he sucked in a breath and jumped out of his skin when DJ, their location manager, clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Lookin’ forward to this one, mate?”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He was too busy staring in horror at the monster being dragged unceremoniously up the embankment. One of the handlers tossed the small blanket over the croc’s eyes and suddenly they were all launching themselves on top of it while Belinda held the rope as steady as she could.
“Levi, tomorrow if you’re near a leg, you’ll need to grab it and pin it up and back, like this,” Jack called out, showing him the position. “Watch the claws or you’ll cut yourself open.” Jack asked Belinda, “We secure?”
“Yep, jaw is taped.”
“Okay, boys and girls, let’s get Cedrick on the board, then we’ll check him over and release.”
It was only a few minutes later that Jack dusted his hands off on his khaki pants. “How was that to watch, Levi?” he asked with a grin.
“Terrifying.” He shook his head. “You guys were impressive, but I’m not so sure about getting in there.”
“You’ll shit bricks the first time, but we’ll be right there with you. It’s dangerous, but as long as you keep a cool head and follow directions, we’ll keep you safe.” Jack clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder and called out to the group. “Right, let’s take a smoko break. We’re nearly done for the day.”
Sandwich in hand, Levi sat on a large boulder in the shade of one of the many gum trees and cracked open his bottle of water. He took a swig and listened to the sounds around him—birds sang in the branches above, the distant sounds of the show in the Crocoseum entertaining park-goers. The dazzling blue sky stretched out, cloudless, above him. Levi checked his phone for messages. He had a text from head office: Levi, you’re needed for an urgent meeting at the studio. Please telephone immediately upon receiving to advise of your expected arrival time. Eva McLaughlin is travelling from Sydney to meet with you in person.
“What the hell?” Levi mumbled, dialling head office’s line. The r
eceptionist picked up on the first ring, and after the usual, impersonal greeting, he spoke. “Hi, I’m Levi Flaherty. Apparently, Ms McLaughlin is flying up to the Gold Coast studio to meet with me this afternoon. Is that right?”
“Yes, Mr Flaherty. That’s correct. Should I telephone the studio to let them know you’re on your way?”
“We have at least another hour left before we wrap up here, so I won’t be there for at least four. I’ll hit peak hour traffic coming through the city.”
“Mr Flaherty, I have strict instructions to advise you to leave immediately upon getting the message, not to wait for the day to wrap.”
“Oh-kay,” Levi replied slowly. “Any idea why the urgent meeting has been called?”
“Can’t say, sorry,” she answered dismissively.
“I’m sure you can’t,” he mumbled under his breath. Louder, he asked, “Is anyone else required to be at this meeting or is it just me?”
“Everyone on set.”
Levi pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it as if it’d miraculously give him an answer. He shook his head and looked up, searching for the director. Sure enough, she was on the phone too, rushing over to where DJ was sitting. “Yeah. Yeah,” he said, distracted, “Okay, I’ll help get everyone organized, then we’ll leave.”
“Mr Flaherty, I just said that you needed to leave immediately upon getting the message. Never mind the others, they’ve got their own instructions. You need to meet Ms McLaughlin. She’s already on her flight. She won’t appreciate being kept waiting.”
Something wasn’t right. Never in all the years that he’d worked on TV had he been called in the middle of a shoot and ordered to a meeting with top level management. He’d heard that the network had financial problems—everyone had, it was national news—but they’d also been assured by the administrators that no jobs would be lost. He blew out a breath and hung up, then yelled out to DJ, jogging over to him and the director locked in conversation. “Hey,” he called, getting their attention. “I need to go. Apparently we have a meeting back on the Coast, but my instructions are to leave straight away rather than help you guys pack up.”
“Yeah, no worries. We were just told the same thing. Good luck, yeah.”
Levi froze, an anvil settling in his gut. “Do you know something?”
“Nah, mate, I don’t.” DJ shook his head. Levi was clueless, but he nodded in response and bumped fists with his friend and nodded to the director before jogging across to his car. Pulling out to begin the two-hour drive back to the Gold Coast, his mind churning, he dialled Katy. “Hey, sugar,” he greeted her when she picked up and said hello to him. “I won’t keep you. I’m heading back, I’ll be home tonight.”
“How come?”
“Some sort of meeting at the studio. We’ve all been ordered back. No idea what’s going on. You haven’t heard anything on the news about the network, have you?”
“Nah, babe. But I haven’t really been listening either. Hang on, I’ll ask Ash.” A shuffling noise came through his speaker and muffled words before Katy spoke to him again. “Nope, Ash hasn’t heard anything either.”
He made good time back to the studio, missing the peak-hour rush. He smiled as he stepped away from his car, reading Connor’s message—Glad to have you home tonight. We would have missed you.
Opening the door to the studio, Levi smiled at the receptionist waiting there. She picked up her phone and dialled, speaking in a hushed tone as he made his way through the long and narrow space. They had a simple setup in the onsite offices, a desk, couches, and a large wall-mounted TV. Signage for the station adorned the wall behind the large desk and pictures hung along each of the others, one for every show filmed on the Gold Coast.
“Go straight on through, Levi. They’re waiting for you.”
“Ms McLaughlin here yet?” he asked, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans, his nerves getting the better of him. When Allison nodded, he swallowed, hoping the bad vibes he had were over exaggerated.
Levi entered the meeting room after hearing, “Come in,” when he knocked. Three people sat across the long boardroom desk from where he stood—Eva McLaughlin and two others, a man and a woman, neither of whom he recognized. A thin manila folder was the only thing sitting on the desk.
“Mr Flaherty, thank you. Please, take a seat,” Ms McLaughlin said, pointing to the vacant seat before him. Levi blew out a breath and sat. There were no introductions to the others sitting in the room. He didn’t know whether to be grateful or more nervous. Either way, he just wanted to get things over and done with.
Shuffling into his seat, Levi tried to tamp down his nerves. “So, this is highly unorthodox. Mind telling me what’s going on?”
“We find ourselves in a highly unorthodox situation, Mr Flaherty,” Eva began. “But it’s manageable with some discreet handling, if that becomes necessary.”
Levi stared at her, clueless as to what she could be talking about. She saved him asking, speaking to him in a tone that was completely devoid of emotion. It unnerved him more with every passing second. “Mr Flaherty, can you please explain this photograph to us?” She slid a printout of an image to him. It was pixelated, as if it had been enlarged, but there was no question what it was.
“It’s me kissing my girlfriend goodbye. Looks like it was from this morning. Who took this? Why is it even an issue? We’ve lived together for years.”
“It’s not the issue, Mr Flaherty. This one is.” She slid another sheet of paper to him. This one had two images. In the first, Connor was standing naked inside the doorway from the house into the garage, with Levi walking towards him. The second had had been taken sometime after the first. In it, Levi was lifting Connor up, pinning him against the wall. Wrapped around each other, lips connected and every inch of their bodies pressed together, it was obvious what they were doing. Levi flipped the papers over and closed his eyes. Mortification and cold fury warred for top place within him. No, it wasn’t that. He felt violated, creeped out by someone having captured he and Connor in a moment which was meant just for them.
“These pictures were found online today. Your personal profile was tagged in them. I’m guessing you haven’t seen them?” When Levi shook his head, she continued. “The good news is that they haven’t gone viral yet, but it won’t take long for people to make the link between your personal and professional personas. We’ve petitioned the social media sites to have them taken down pending an order from the federal court. A few of them have been pulled because of the sexual content, but the other is taking longer. It’s only a matter of time before the shit storm hits.”
Levi nodded again, unable to find the words to reply. It was as if his mind and body were disconnected. He couldn’t process what was happening before him. He couldn’t get past the fact that someone had been spying on him. It wasn’t easy to see into their garage from the street. The land sloped down, away from the road. Whoever it was had been close. That and the lack of light left him with only one conclusion—it was an intentional shot. There was someone out there spying on them.
His skin crawled and worry pricked at him. If they were being watched, who knew what that person was capable of? Who the hell was it? Would they try to hurt Katy or Connor? He needed to call them, needed to make sure they were safe. He held up his phone. “I, um, need to call Katy and Con. I….” He trailed off, not even knowing how to begin to explain what he needed to do.
Oblivious to his struggles, the man beside Eva began talking, “You might be best off taking a proactive approach on this—get your friend to find a bloke who’ll stand in as his boyfriend for a while and put up some pictures of them online. You’ll have to make some comments congratulating them, something like that. That way there’ll be an explanation if the images do get circulated more broadly. Worst case, you can do a press release stating that the images were of your friend and his boyfriend.”
“I’m sorry, but who the heck are you?” Levi asked, annoyed that they’d barrelled on, regardl
ess of the turmoil coursing through him.
“Francis Medley, PR for the network.” The other man held out his hand and years of ingrained manners had Levi standing and reaching out.
“I’m Louise Arcadia. I’m in Human Resources.” The lady beside Eva stood and reached over the boardroom table. After shaking her hand, Levi sat down and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“I need to get Connor to pick up Katy from work. If there’s some psycho taking pictures of us, I can’t have her alone. Give me a minute, okay, then we’ll talk about these.” Levi motioned to the two pieces of paper in front of him. He dialled Connor’s number and stood to walk out of the room.
“Levi, stay in here, please. You walk out there and anyone can overhear. This needs to be handled delicately,” Francis chastised when Levi reached for the doorhandle.
Ignoring him, Levi opened the door and walked out into the hall, crossing it to use one of the empty offices. Connor’s phone rang out, clicking over to his message. Frustrated, Levi spoke after his recording finished. “Hey, I need you to do me a favour. I need you to pick up Katy from work. Something’s happened here and I’m…” He paused, blowing out a breath. “I’m freaked out. Please don’t leave her alone. I need to know she’s safe.” Levi’s voice broke on the last words and he breathed deeply, forcing his fear down. “Call me as soon as you get this. I need to know you heard it.” He hung up and walked back inside the meeting room, placing his phone on the desk in front of him.