Stella started taking the tape off her hands. Chuckling to herself, she checked her phone. George had texted her.
witness hasn’t given anyone up
She replied.
Interesting
She sent a text to Patrick
Where is he
“Let’s go. We can go in the back at Natural Body Spa in Alpharetta. Could you imagine the media madness if we’re spotted going in a spa together?”
“Good grief, no. George would have no trouble kicking me out.”
“Would that be so bad?”
They walked into his garage and both got into his silver Range Rover. “This car is so pretentious,” Stella commented as the entire SUV lowered so that stepping in was easier. “And yes, it would be bad. I love George. More importantly, George loves me. My fucked-up-all-over-the-TV-broken-ass.”
Her phone beeped; Patrick responded.
Getting close to ur ass
B careful
Stella stared at the text. He was here. She needed to be ready.
Got it
“I like George. I support George as opposed to Patrick, but I’m not convinced you do love him. You can’t be yourself around him.” He turned left out of his neighborhood and headed toward the spa. He pushed a button on the SUV. “I’m warming your butt up. And you’re welcome.” He laughed.
Stella looked at Jesse and took him in. “You’re wrong on this one, J. I do love him. I’m trying to make myself into someone he can accept, someone he wouldn’t be appalled to be with. He loved me when no one else would, when I was at my darkest. He made me a better person. George is one of the best people I know.”
“Well, that may be the case, but if you can’t be yourself around him, I wonder if love is enough.”
“I do, too,” she whispered. Her feelings about most things were complicated, but with George it was simple. She loved him and that was all she knew; all she needed to know. Not knowing how long they would stay together was hard, but she was pretty sure it would end before she wanted it to.
“Okay then,” Jesse pulled into the strip mall and then down behind the mall itself and turned his car off behind the spa. “Here we go. We can always do a couples massage if you want.”
Stella swatted at Jesse’s arm. “You’re relentless.”
“About most things.” He smiled and opened the door.
A beautiful, young African American woman met them at the door. “Mr. McIntyre, we have set up two rooms for you. Follow me.”
The massage helped calm her nerves and eased some of the tension she felt in her shoulders; she was much more relaxed when she got home. Her parents were out and she was on the Internet looking for jobs in DC when her phone rang. Although she sort of had an offer, she wanted to look around to see what type of salary she could expect. It was Millie.
“Hello?” She knew Millie was at work, so it must be important to be a call and not a text. She heard a sob. “Millie? Are you okay?”
“Turn the TV to CSPAN…or probably CNN by this point,” Millie choked into the phone.
Shit. What now? “What’s going on, Mil?”
“Well, I was late for a caucus meeting today at the Capitol and I was running to speak with one of the Senators before they closed the doors.” She hiccupped.
Stella tried not to laugh at Millie’s hiccup.
“I was carrying copies of a memo from the DOE, explaining our position on the education bill. And I don’t know what happened, but when I got right to the door of the conference room, I tripped.”
Silence.
“Okay…” Stella said.
“And fell. I fucking fell on my face in front of 49 United States Senators, El. Not only did I fall, but all my papers flew everywhere. I skinned both of my knees.”
“Oh. My. Shit,” Stella sympathized.
“You want to hear the best part?” Millie didn’t wait for Stella to answer. “I fell so hard my shoes were like five feet away from me. Senator Yardley picked them up and carried them over to me. Oh yeah, and CSPAN filmed it and it’s been on rotation.”
“Millie, that’s horrible.”
She sobbed again. “I had to take my shoes from a fucking Senator and put them on my feet, with my knees bleeding like a six-year-old who fell off her bike, and try to get up with some sort of dignity.”
Stella laughed. “Sorry, Millie, but that’s about the funniest thing I’ve heard in awhile. You’ll get over it soon.”
“It’s not fucking funny!” Millie yelled into the phone, which made Stella laugh even harder.
Then she snorted, which made Millie laugh. Stella changed the channel. “Well, it’s not on CNN yet,” she said when she recovered from laughing. She turned back to CSPAN.
“I mean, blood was running down both of my knees. In the Senate!” Millie started laughing hysterically.
CSPAN showed the footage of the Senators going into the caucus and although it was in the background, Stella saw Millie fly through the air in her cute little black sheath dress, red heels falling off in the process. “Oh my shit, Millie. You like flew through the air.”
“They’re showing it again!? I told you. I couldn’t brace myself because my hands were full!” she defended.
“Did you at least thank Senator Yardley?” Stella asked as she saw a Senator carefully picking up the high heels from the floor and handing them to Millie.
“Of course! Even when mortified, I have manners.”
“Did someone give you band-aids?” Stella teased.
“Shut up, El!” Millie giggled again and sighed. “I think I’ll call in sick tomorrow.”
Later that night, Stella was watching the local news at her parents’ house and saw the picture of her and Jesse from a few weeks ago flash on the screen. “It must be a slow news day,” she said to her dad as he came in from the back porch.
He patted her leg and wondered aloud, “When will this all blow over?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.” She got up and walked into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of pinot noir her mother left in the decanter for her. “You want some?”
“No.” Stella worried about her dad. She thought he was having a really hard time not being able to protect her through all this. He was trying to keep busy with work and ignoring her as much as possible. It was like she was a constant reminder that he failed in his job as a father, as a protector. Stella wasn’t used to relying on her mom and missed her old, supportive Dad that she could talk to about anything. They had been walking guilty circles around each other for months. At least Stella knew where she got the whole head-in-the-sand thing that she did so well.
“I was hoping it would settle down, but then they arrested one of the guys from the attack so that’s made everything come back for another round. George is helping with a follow up piece as well. Then the paparazzi saw me with Jesse and that just blew everything wide open. ‘The FBI Beauty and her Baller Boyfriend.’ My life’s a real joy.”
“Well, Uncle Rick said that Greg is a killer attorney and will be great to help with all of this media shit.”
“I talked to him yesterday; we’ve got a plan if anything happens.”
“Who?”
“Oh, Greg Cotter. He said it was important in high profile cases to have emergency and contingency plans in place.” She took a sip of wine and tried her best to be nonchalant. She was freaked the fuck out at the thought of an emergency plan, even though she knew Jamie was practically on her doorstep.
“Wait, emergency plans for what?” Her dad looked alarmed.
“Well, sometimes there are stalkers and all sorts of shit, Dad. I don’t know. Anyway, we’re going to get locators for my phone and one for me to keep on me. I can just activate it and a message will be sent to him and George. He’ll call you and Jesse.”
“Wait, I don’t understand.” Her father moved away from her, crossing to the windows across the room. He admired the view of their manicured backyard, not looking at her.
“Well, you wou
ldn’t. Normal people don’t have to think of bullshit like this. I’m just telling so you’ll know that Greg is helping me in several different aspects of this mess. He’s hitting the media outlets head on about the sex tape, but the problem is that now everyone’s carrying the fact that there is a sex tape. And they’re speculating that it’s me and Jesse, so all those pictures do is fuel their story.” She pointed to the flat screen on the wall. “And that’s why we’re trying to stop it from leaking.”
“Well, you issued a statement and so did Jesse.”
“Oh, well then everyone will just believe that, right?” Stella snapped sarcastically. She sat down on the couch in a heap. “I mean, I suffered through law school and passed the fucking bar and can’t do my job. I really am thinking of taking the job at the firm in DC. It’s the only thing that’s out there for me and Stan says the writing is on the wall at the General Counsel’s office. Even though they are still paying me, a pittance, I might add, I think they’re just hoping I’ll get bored and get another job. They can’t fire me, it would look bad, but they can’t have the ‘FBI Beauty’ in the office; that would look even worse.”
“This is so fucking ridiculous. You were a victim and it’s turned your life into a circus.” Her dad paced the den. “I mean, all of my friends have basically seen you naked. Everyone on God’s green earth knows your entire life story. It’s sick. Isn’t there anything we can do?”
“I’m trying,” Stella answered, her voice soft and low. She was really sorry this was happening to all the people she loved. It was bad enough her life had changed, but she couldn’t even go to dinner now without worrying about it being reported on Facebook or Twitter. After the media found out she was in Atlanta, they had started hanging out on the street outside her parents’ house. Several reporters had followed her dad to his office. A few of the neighbors had called the cops. Her parents’ phone was ringing off the hook about all the media hanging around their house, like they could do anything else about the disturbance. She knew everyone would be happy to see her leave.
Her phone rang and she eagerly answered it. “Hey, babe.”
She motioned to her dad that she was going to talk on the back porch. She sat down on a lounge chair and took a sip of her wine, listening. George filled her in on all the research he’d been doing and what the Feds were telling him. He still wasn’t any closer to the truth, but he was smart and Stella was trying to figure out when to tell him. She filled him in on the emergency plan. He reacted very similarly to her dad regarding the need for such a plan. Reassuring him she was okay and that he was the first one to be contacted seemed to make him feel better. Before they got off the phone, she told him that Jamie’s sister had contacted her and they were meeting for drinks in a few days. George sighed and asked her if that was a good idea.
“George, I’m just having a drink with my dead fiancé’s sister. Right?”
“Sure,” he said. “Please be careful. Oh, by the way. I bought Cooper another bed; hopefully he’ll sleep on it instead of with us when you get back. Which is?”
“We’re leaving Sunday morning. Mom is having a send off dinner Saturday and I need to have one more strategy meeting with Greg before I leave. I’ll see him Friday and then meet Sara for drinks.”
“Well, I will be naked until you get here Sunday,” he said.
She laughed. “It’ll be hard to work when you’re naked.”
“You should see the bar, El. Since you’ve been shot our profits have tripled because people want to hang out where you used to hang out, hoping to get a glimpse of you. I talked to Henry the other day and Cosi’s profits have increased, too. You should see the line for my daily lunch fix.”
“Oh, I’m sure there are plenty of women hoping to get a glimpse of you, too. My ‘ex-boyfriend.’” She huffed. “Those girls think you’re available!”
“I’m not available to anyone but you, Love,” he reminded her. “I hired a manager and I haven’t been around that much, so they don’t get to see the sad ex drowning his sorrows in his beer.”
“Really?” She was unaware he’d hired a manager.
“Oh and I’ve been put on as a contract reporter for the AP.”
“Oh. My. GOD! George, why didn’t you start with that news?! That’s fantastic!”
“I know you really love me as your barkeep, but things are really falling into place. I hate that took you getting shot to get me back in it.”
“I love you. I can’t wait to see you Sunday. Be naked when I get there.”
“Not a problem. Tell Cooper we’ll need at least two days of him not being able to stay in our bed. It will be otherwise occupied.”
“We can lock him downstairs,” she laughed.
“El?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful. I worry.”
“I will, babe. I’ll see you in four days.”
Stella hadn’t been this happy in so long. She was over the moon that George was able to get back to doing what he loved and she’d been part of that. She’d done something right, even if it wasn’t intentional.
Chapter Eighteen
You
Stella hurried out of Greg’s office with a renewed sense of peace. They had everything in place. It looked like the sex tape wouldn’t be purchased by any of the media outfits that showed initial interest because of the threats of lawsuits from her. The locator was all set up, and she taped it on her bra, just for kicks; Greg had shown her how to use it and the app it linked to was currently downloading on her phone. It was weird something like that made her feel a little better.
She was running a little late for her drink date with Sara, so she sent a quick text as she walked to her car.
Running a little late see you in fifteen depending on traffic
Then she sent a text to George.
Heading for drinks with Sara
Call you later
Then she sent a text to Jesse.
Headed out for drinks, meet up later?
Jesse texted back first.
My house?
She replied.
Okay
She pulled into the parking garage under Phipps Plaza, a swanky shopping center with really good restaurants and bars. She parked in the garage and took the escalator up to the mall itself. Walking into the restaurant, she saw Sara talking to the bartender. She looked the same; long blond hair pulled into a slick chignon and wearing a khaki skirt, heels and a royal blue cardigan set. It was clear she’d just come from work. She had a smattering of freckles across her nose so faint that if you didn’t know you’d miss them. Jamie had those same freckles.
Sara smiled and waved when she saw Stella. They hugged and Sara handed Stella a drink.
“I’m hoping you still drink martinis, I ordered one after you texted.”
“I drink pretty much anything.” Stella took a sip and then sat at the bar stool next to Sara. “So how’s it going?” Stella hadn’t talked to Sara until a few months ago and since then only sporadically. When they did talk, it was frivolous at best. She wasn’t good at superficial so this ought to be interesting. Her real motive was seeing if Sara would mention Jamie. She had a feeling that if Jamie had contacted anyone, it would be Sara.
“You know, same ol’ same ol’.”
“Actually, I have no idea how that feels,” Stella said, turning up her martini.
“Oh, Stella.” Concern showed on Sara’s face. “How are you handling all this?”
“Like shit. I mean, what else can you do but keep your head down and keep moving, right?” Stella saw someone with a camera standing outside the bar. “Fucking great, I’ve been spotted. They’ll probably announce that I’m a lesbian by morning.” She drained her glass. “I’m going to run to the bathroom. Will you get me another of these, Sara?”
“Sure.”
When she returned, there was another martini waiting for her, this one with blue cheese olives; just how she liked it. Sara was facing away from her, speaking with a man on her other side.
Glancing over to the door, Stella saw that there were more people with cameras.
The man Sara was talking to leaned in front of Sara and said, “Oh shit, the ‘FBI Beauty’ in the flesh.”
Stella looked at him blankly and then at Sara. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Aren’t you that Stella Murphy chick who got popped a few months ago?” He leaned in closer, taking his hat off.
“You know, it’s funny, I get that a lot. We do sort of look alike.” Stella sat down and drank half her drink in one gulp. This was not going as expected.
“Sara, I think I’ll head out after this one,” she said and checked her phone. George said he would be around and for her to call him, and right now she really wanted to snuggle on her parents’ couch and talk to him.
“Sure, Stella,” Sara said and then realized her mistake. “Sor-ry,” she mouthed.
The guy leaned back over toward Sara. “I knew it was you! You’re hotter in person than you are on TV.” He pulled out his phone and took a picture of her.
“Seriously? Can you not take pictures of me, please?”
“Too late; I’m tweeting this bitch. Nobody’s going to believe me if I don’t.” He started working his phone and Stella cursed under her breath. Then she felt a wave of nausea hit her.
“Stella?” Sara asked. “You okay?”
“I...I...don’t know.” She held onto the bar for support. “I think I’m going to throw up, but I don’t know if I can walk.” Stella felt like her limbs were going numb; her head was swimming. She turned to Sara, panicked. “Get me to the bathroom, please!”
“Okay.” Sara leaned over to the guy. “Watch our shit. I’ll be right back.”
It hit Stella that Sara knew this guy. Fuck. They barely made it to the bathroom when she couldn’t hold it anymore and she threw up in and on the toilet. Pushing herself up off the floor she looked at Sara, who was leaning against the stall entryway, watching her with an expression she couldn’t discern. Fuck… Then everything went black.
A bump jarred her entire back and made her eyes crack open. She couldn’t move any of her limbs; it felt like every cell in her body hurt individually. It was dark, but she could see the grey interior of a car. Closing her eyes again, she heard the Eagles song she knew by heart and then her heart seized as she heard the voice singing along with it. SHIT! Jamie… OH SHIT! He was oblivious that she was awake. Think, Stella, think.
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