“Well, now that I have your attention, Joey... I have some things I want from you.”
“No,” I assert, not even blinking. I just stare at her.
“Did you not hear me about the pictures?”
I take a slow step forward. “And what, you’ll magically disappear and delete them? You’ll send those pictures to whoever the fuck you want, no matter what I do. I’m a fighter, Heather. I take the blows head-on, not dance around the drama. You want to fuck with me, then just get to the point.”
She breathes heavily, flicking her gaze around the room as if the perfect answer will be written on the walls. “Your little girlfriend is relying on you,” she retorts, her nerve clearly fraying.
“Get out of my face.”
“You really want to risk me sharing this? I can spin stories to make the media harass you. Throw you off…”
I want to tell her to go fuck herself, that I’m here to win, and I don’t give two shits what people think. But what would Julie want?Probably to not be in a bathroom while I handle this…
“Stay away from Julie, and I’ll text you later,” I offer, just wanting Heather to leave.
She seems pleased with that concession and stands up straighter. “Okay. Later tonight. I want a message by tonight.”
I look down the hall. “Just go.”
After she walks away, I stare at the wall, wanting to punch it. What the fuck is Julie going to say? The thought that it will be too much for her angers me like nothing else. Everything was literally fine moments ago.
Thisisn’t fine, though.
And I feel responsible, to some degree. Jules seemed fine with everything until Heather…
I open the door, and she’s looking at me with worried, big eyes. “I heard her,” she quietly says.
I don’t say anything, because this isn’t my strong suit. And I don’t want to make it worse.
Julie looks down, then runs a hand through her disheveled hair, no thanks to how tangled I’ve made it. I love when it’s messy. “I just can’t catch a break,” she mumbles.
“Baby,” I say, worried about that the most. “Come on, let’s just leave.”
“Andrew is going to know. He’s going to know,” she says, as if preparing herself for a guilty verdict.
“And if he does find out, I’ll tell him I want you on my team. What’s he going to do? Tell me no?”
She gives me a defenseless expression and then sighs. “I don’t know. I figured I’d eventually have to talk to him, but that’s when I thought I had at least aweekto figure that conversation out.” She groans, unable to fix her gaze on a single spot. “Not while dealing with a dilemma in the bathroom of some millionaire I don’t even know. He’s going to demand the gym name, I bet…”
“What do you need?” I ask, wanting to do anything to fix this. “I can handle this, Julie.”
“I just need to go back to the hotel,” she replies, not looking at me. “I got so much to consider. Do you really think she’ll send it, no matter what? If so, then I’m definitely confronting Andrew first and not leaving it up to her. And I gotta… I gotta prepare for that. It has to be done with me approaching him, not waiting for him to blow up.”
Even in a shit-show like this, I actually find more things to like about her. Who wouldn’t want someone by their side who takes things head-on, too?
And I hate that she’s worried about the gym now. All because of me.
“What I think is going to happen is that I don’t trust her to hold her word. She’ll probably text him, no matter what. And yeah, the hotel is probably a good idea… Do you, you know, want me to stay here?” I ask, not able to cover my irritation as I take in every detail of her face.
“I mean, no, but I should probably go alone. I need to think this shit through. There’s a lot to unpack between Andrew and me.”
I nod, grinding my teeth. “Alright.”
She takes a step to leave before hesitating, like she might say something else, but remains silent.
I touch her back, and those hypnotic eyes of hers stare at my chest. “You should probably go first. Don’t want to leave you behind by yourself. I’ll be close, though, alright? Don’t worry too much about Andrew. No matter what goes on, it’s not his business. He knows that. He just wants to make it seem like it is.”
