On some level, she got it. She’d humiliated them. As her mother had said, all anyone at work and church seemed to be able to talk about was her “whore of a daughter”. Her little brother had called her a “fucking slut” and refused to speak to her. Several of his friends had offered her a place to stay...in exchange for sex. She’d lost her job, and none of her friends would return her calls. In a few short weeks, everything she’d ever had—everything she’d worked for—had been destroyed. Because she’d been stupid enough to trust Nigel.
The little voice in her head reminded her that she’d trusted Angus, too. And the truth was, she still did. She knew that, without a doubt, when she took her phone out of airplane mode, there would be voicemails and texts from him. And not a single one of them would be anything but supportive. He’d actually asked an airport employee to track her down and make sure she was okay.
The woman had found her crying and trying not to hyperventilate in the bathroom. Most of the other travelers had ignored her, and Eliza had been fine with that. A few had asked if they could help and had been kind enough to believe her when she’d shaken her head. But when the airport employee had told her that a very worried man was concerned about her, there hadn’t been a question as to his identity. Just knowing Angus had still been trying to look after her and give her what she needed—even after she’d run away from him—broke her heart even more. It killed her that the only way to protect him from all her shitty past decisions was to leave him.
Even though she knew she’d regret it, she pulled her phone out of her purse and opened up the last text Angus had sent her before she’d put her phone in airplane mode. She was an idiot, but she needed to see him—even if it was only a couple frozen moments in time that would never be repeated.
The images popped up, and she slowly scrolled through each one. The two of them smiling into the camera—even though it was clear that the light had gone out of her eyes. She wondered if he’d be able to tell when he looked at them. But that was a silly question. He always seemed know exactly what she was feeling. The one where he’d turned his head to kiss her cheek made her breath catch. There was something so inherently sweet about the playful side of his nature that the idea of hurting him felt even worse.
She hadn’t even realized she was crying until her chatty seat mate passed her a tissue.
“Thank you,” she managed to murmur.
“That your husband?”
Eliza shook her head then wiped her eyes and nose.
The lady patted her shoulder. “Not yet, but soon, I think. I have a sense about these things.”
Eliza swallowed past her tears and tried to smile at her. She was sweet but delusional. A chill worked through Eliza’s body, and the woman frowned. “You look like you might be coming down with something. I’ll stop yapping at you and let you rest.” She felt around her seat for a moment then pushed her blanket at Eliza. “Take this. These international flights always get so chilly.”
“No. Then you won’t have anything.”
“Nonsense. I’m an old woman. Of course, they’ll give me another blanket if I ask.” She winked, and Eliza felt a small smile curve her lips. The lady really did remind her of her gram.
“Thank you.”
“Now, cover up, and get some sleep. Dream of that handsome man of yours.”
Eliza spread the second blanket over herself and closed her eyes, praying for sleep. If nothing else, maybe she could keep from thinking about Angus and what she’d need to tell him.
Eliza stared, gritty-eyed, at the text she was about to send. She was supposed to be at work in an hour, but she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t force herself to go in. Hell, she couldn’t even make herself leave her apartment.
She still lived in the same tiny efficiency her grandmother had rented for her when she’d discovered that Eliza had been sleeping in her car and showering at a twenty-four-hour gym after her parents had refused to let her come home. She’d called her gram on her birthday like she always had, not sure if the woman would even speak to her. But her grandmother hadn’t cut her off like everyone else had. Instead, she’d been furious at the rest of the family and frantic with worry when no one could tell her where Eliza had gone or how to reach her.
Refusing to take “no” for an answer, her grandmother had paid two years’ rent on a tiny apartment and told Eliza that she’d better take it, or the money would be wasted. She’d also put a sizeable chunk of cash into Eliza’s bank account to help her get back on her feet while she entered therapy, changed her name and started looking for a new job.
Her job...
She stared at the text she’d written to Barbara. It was simple enough. Eliza told her that she felt terrible and was pretty sure she’d caught a bug on plane. She’d added that she didn’t want to share the virus with everyone in the office, so she’d be working at home for the next few days. And she reassured her that she’d have everything ready for Angus and Terra’s meeting with the producers.
It wasn’t a complete lie. She felt awful. She was terrified that she’d end up walking into the same situation she had five years ago.
After Nigel had gotten her fired her from Prentice, the small press in the U.K., she’d returned home, and despite everything else falling apart, she’d managed to get another job. Inside of two weeks, it was gone. She’d been fired.
As soon as Nigel had heard about her new position, he’d made sure to send her nudes to the emails of every fellow employee he could find. Not only that, he’d sent a link to the video she’d had no idea even existed. He’d filmed it at a club he’d brought her to. She’d heard through her grandmother that he’d made sure that all of her friends and relatives had a link, too.
She’d walked into the office one morning, and all conversation ceased as soon as people caught sight of her. No one would make eye contact with her, and there was a memo on her desk that said she was to go to her boss’ office as soon as she arrived. He’d told her to shut the door then motioned for her to come around his desk and pointed at the screen. He pushed play, and there she was—naked, restrained and being flogged. The volume was low, but she could still hear the sounds of her own needy moaning. It was like being trapped in a nightmare, and she couldn’t wake.
He slid his hand between her legs and roughly kneaded the inside of her thigh before climbing higher. She froze. She wanted to hit him. Wanted to run. To scream. To be anywhere than where she was. He kept touching her, telling her that if she wanted to keep her job, she could start by crawling under his desk and “doing what you do best”.
That, at least, had broken through the fog that gripped her. She’d shoved his hand away and quickly retreated to the other side of the desk. He’d screamed at her then, gesturing. She’d stopped listening after “whore”, but the way his had wedding ring had glinted under his desk lamp was burned into her memory. She’d left his office mid-tirade and gathered her belongings.
Her gram had been furious. She’d wanted Eliza to call the police immediately. She hadn’t, though. She hadn’t been able to bear the thought of one more person telling her she’d gotten what she deserved. In the end, her grandmother hadn’t been happy about it, but she’d understood. Eliza traced the frame of the photo of the two of them she kept on her desk, wishing pointlessly that the old woman was still alive. She could really use her advice, right about now.
Sighing, she stared at the message sitting on her phone and hit send. She wasn’t sure she’d survive if she walked into Terra and everyone fell silent. Maybe she should just tender her resignation now and save everyone the drama. Nigel would find her eventually. He’d just proved that he was still a relentless monster, and he’d never be satisfied with less than her utter humiliation. How many other women had he done this to? Had it happened to everyone who’d told him no? Who’d ended a relationship with him?
Angus wouldn’t be happy when she broke up with him, but he also wouldn’t make it his mission in life to destroy her. She knew she couldn’t keep hi
m, but at least she’d gotten better at picking out decent guys. Sighing, she reread all of his text messages. Including the ones that had come in prior to typing the message to Barbara.
Despite the fact that he’d clearly been frantic with worry for her, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to respond. She was going to hurt him no matter what, but she’d at least wanted to be able to tell him in person. Nigel had ruined that, too. There was no way she could string Angus along until the meeting at Terra. She’d have to do it now. If she wasn’t such a fucking coward, she’d call him. But if she heard his voice, she’d crumble. She’d fall apart, and she wouldn’t be able to do what needed to be done.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Angus stared at the text from Eliza in disbelief. It wasn’t actually disbelief, he supposed. He’d known she was going to run. Well, she already had. She’d run from him at the airport—though to be fair, at the airport, he was sure she’d mostly been running from Nigel. Angus sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair. Now, she was running from him.
He reread her message.
I’m sorry I took off on you without saying goodbye. I knew what Nigel was about to show you, and I couldn’t deal—with any of it. But in a way, I suppose he’s done me a bit of a favor.
I’ve realized, as much as I love you, there’s no way we can be together. Your career is on the brink of something huge. There are people paid to dig up dirt about those in the public eye, and I’m a PR nightmare waiting to happen. Think of how much easier it’ll be for them to do their jobs with Nigel tagging every article about your series with those photos and links to the video that I’m sure you’ve seen by now.
I refuse to ruin your chances, and if we stay together, that’s exactly what would happen. The fact that he’s vindictive enough to track us down in one of the busiest airports in the world proves that I’m right. And the damage I could do to your reputation isn’t worth the risk. I can’t hurt you like that.
I wanted to wait to tell you this in person, after the negotiations were finished. I didn’t want you to worry about any of this before the library dedication or the contract talks, but that’s no longer an option, and I refuse to string you along.
Please know that I’m beyond sorry. Had I known how this would have turned out, I never would have accepted this assignment. I’m preparing the presentation for the meetings. You’ll have everything you need. Once an agreement has been reached, I’ll ask Barbara to assign you a new assistant. I’ll see you at the meeting. There will be a driver waiting for you at the airport.
I’m so very sorry...for everything. Especially for doing this over text. I’m just not strong enough to hear your voice.
“Goddamn it, Eliza.” Angus tossed his mobile on his desk. He couldn’t respond, right now. He was too angry. At Nigel for being the utter waste of breath he was. At himself for ever mentioning when he’d be returning to London with Eliza—for mentioning anything about Eliza at all. And at her for thinking that their relationship was disposable—that she was less important than his career. That they weren’t worth fighting for
“I thought I’d find you up here. You ready?”
He glanced up. Tansy stood in the doorway of his office. “How come you and Ewan never got together?” he blurted before the thought was even fully realized.
She raised her eyebrows at him. “We’re about to leave for an emotionally gutting event, and suddenly you want to talk about your brother’s sex life?”
He turned his chair to face her. “Yeah...actually, I do.” He needed to understand how two people who’d cared so much about one another and who’d been clearly attracted to each other had never gotten together. “So, why didn’t you?”
She smoothed the skirt of her dress then looked up and met his gaze, her expression unusually serious. “Who says we didn’t?”
His mouth dropped open, and he stared at her. “What?”
“You heard me.”
He was having trouble formulating a response. This wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting.
She walked into the room and picked up the photo of him and Ewan from the bookshelf and smiled down sadly at it.
“When?” he demanded.
She snorted. “As often as we could.” She looked over her shoulder at Angus. “Shut yer mouth. You’ll catch flies.” Sighing, she put the picture frame back and turned toward the desk. “It started about four months before he got the diagnosis. I’d had a shit date, ditched him then went to the pub. I knew Ewan was working, and I wanted to cry on his shoulder.” She swallowed hard, as if the memory had gotten stuck in her throat. “He poured me a drink and said, ‘Tanz, why the fuck don’t you ever come out with me?’ And I said, ‘Why the fuck don’t you ever ask?’”
Angus’ chest hurt at the way her voice cracked over everything they’d lost.
“He said, ‘Well, I’m asking,’ and I told him I was accepting.” She briefly met his eyes, shrugging as she looked away. “We snuck around. Kept it a secret. Made it a game. Waited to see if anyone would notice.”
“There were a couple times...I’d wondered if something was going on.”
“Then he got sick.” Her voice broke on the word. “And he broke it off.”
Angus had known his brother well enough to guess at his logic.
“He said if he made it, I should start looking at wedding dresses because he wasn’t letting me go. And if he didn’t...” She dashed at her eyes. “He said that, if he didn’t, he didn’t want me to fall in love with him and make it harder when he was gone.”
“Oh, Tanz...”
“Aye, I know—a fucking numptie, that one.”
Tears slid down Tansy’s face and burned Angus’ eyes as he stood and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I pried. I’m sorry your heart is broken. I’m sorry he’s not here so we can both tell him what we think of his cocked-up logic.”
A muffled laugh escaped her, and she tilted her head back and looked up at him. “Does your prying have anything to do with why you were cursing at everyone’s favorite miracle worker?”
The ache in his chest grew. “Aren’t you the perceptive one?”
“I try.” She sniffled. “Do you want to talk? It’s not like they can start the dedication without you.”
He tried to smile. He wasn’t sure how effective it was, because Tansy narrowed her eyes at him.
“That good, huh?”
“I wish I could, but most of what’s going on isn’t mine to tell.”
She nodded understandingly.
“But I can tell you that she’s trying to apply Ewan’s faulty-as-fuck relationship logic to us.”
Tansy rolled her eyes. “Another fucking numptie.”
“Exactly.”
She started walking toward the door but stopped and turned back to him, her eyes fierce. “Don’t you dare give over like I did. You fight for her. And fight for you, too.”
Several days later, Tansy’s words were still repeating in his head as Poppy showed him into Kit’s office.
“You’re early.” Kit didn’t bother glancing up from what he was writing.
“I didn’t want to miss anything.”
The scratching of Kit’s fountain pen slowed slightly against the paper, but that was his only reaction.
Poppy buzzed in on the intercom. “Lord Sterling, Mr. Ainsworth is here to see you.”
Kit sighed then looked up at Angus. “For fuck’s sake, can no one remember how appointments work?”
Angus stifled a smile. “The sooner we have done with this, the sooner you can get back to your important lordly work.”
Kit slowly raised two fingers at Angus as he pushed the intercom button with his other hand and said, “Send him in.”
Poppy led a smiling Nigel into Kit’s office. His smile froze slightly as he caught sight of Angus, then it widened as if he hadn’t a care in the world. He was nervous. Good.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your summoning?” he asked Kit with a laugh.
Kit’s expression remained impassive. “I’ll make this quick. You’ve hereby been stripped of all rights and privileges afforded to you as a member of Sterling Manor. Your interests have been appropriated and redistributed among the remaining partners.”
“What?” Not only had Nigel’s smile faded, he’d turned an apoplectic shade of red. “Why? You have no grounds.”
Kit studied him calmly. “Actually, I do.”
“What? Is this because I showed him,” he jabbed his finger in Angus’ direction, “pictures that his stupid cunt of a girlfriend sent me when I was fucking her?”
It took every ounce of restraint Angus possessed not to launch himself at Nigel.
Kit gazed at him, deceptively calm. “This is because you used recording equipment on these grounds—”
“I never—” Nigel interrupted.
“—in the carriage house, to be specific. You blatantly disregarded the nondisclosure agreement that you, yourself, helped draft, and you disseminated the recording on the internet.”
“What does it even matter? It’s not like anyone would recognize the place and connect it to you.”
Kit pushed to his feet, fury flashing in his eyes. “It matters because you abused the trust, as well as the body, of a sub under your care,” he snapped. “And you did it on these grounds.”
“Whatever. There are other places to play.”
“That might be a problem for you,” Angus said, not bothering to hide his pleasure.
Kit shot him an annoyed look.
“What are you on about?” Nigel snapped.
“Ms. Perkins may not be able to bring criminal charges against you since the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 can’t be applied retroactively.” Kit stared steadily at Nigel. “However, you should be aware that I’ll be offering to provide legal counsel for her should she wish to pursue a civil case against you, as well as legal counsel to the four other women whose sexually explicit videos you’ve uploaded since the law went into effect. They may wish to press criminal charges against you.”
Rewritten (The Bound Series Book 7) Page 24