“Yep, see you there.”
An hour later, Jeremy and I are eating breakfast, and I run my hands through my hair.
“This situation is spiraling out of control,” I say quietly. “We can’t find her. We have no confirmation if the baby is his or not, or if there even is a baby, and now he’s retracted the blackmailing charges against her when I know for certain that he is going out of his head with worry.”
“Why would he do that?” Jeremy asks. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know. It’s fucking strange.”
“It is.” He thinks for a moment. “What does your gut tell you about all this?”
I exhale heavily. “That the baby isn’t his and this is just another attempt from Helena to get more money and upset him.”
“Okay, let’s go back. What are the facts? What makes her story seem plausible?”
“Well, on that night Sebastian called her, there was an eight-minute call from his phone to hers on his register. Then, when he woke up, he didn’t remember anything, but there was a bottle of champagne as well as two wine glasses on the table. And the bed sheets…”
“What about the bedsheets?”
“Sebastian said that, at the time, he thought it was just the smell of strong laundry powder.”
Jeremy rolls his eyes.
“Don’t.” I put my head into my hands. “I know how this sounds.”
“It sounds like he called her for a booty call.”
I think on that for a moment.
“But he wouldn’t have.” I frown with renewed determination. “They broke up because their sex life was shit. He wouldn’t have called her for sex, I know that for certain. If he wanted sexual satisfaction, he would have ordered prostitutes. He has a thing for them.”
Jeremy gives a subtle shake of his head, disgusted. He’s still traumatized about the possibility that Bart slept with two.
My mind begins to race at a million miles per hour.
The more I think about it, the more this story just doesn’t add up.
“I mean, she tried to blackmail him with video footage but why would she go to all that trouble if she was already pregnant, you know?” I say.
“Yeah, you’re right. A baby is the ultimate blackmail tool. It’s not something you throw in when you don’t get the cash handed over.”
“True!” I cry, “That’s so true. Why would you try and blackmail the father of the baby you were carrying?”
“So, maybe she did set him up, which means Bart is an actual fucking scuzbucket,” Jeremy agrees.
I widen my eyes and I want to say, I know that for sure, but I won’t. “How would she have set him up, though?”
He thinks for a moment. “She had the drinks spiked, got him to his room, had him open his phone, and she called her own number from his phone.”
“Yes,” I whisper. “She could have done that, couldn’t she? I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“She could have left all the evidence to make him think that he did it.”
“But surely…” My heart drops. “Surely she would know that we would find out who the father is as soon as the baby is born.” My shoulders slump. “What if it is his baby? What if this is all some grand plan to tie Sebastian to her for life?”
“It could be.” Jeremy sighs, and we stare at each other for a while. “If we just had the security footage of that night at the hotel. I know Bart asked the hotel for it, but they said there wasn’t any.”
I frown. “There has to be some. It’s a five-star hotel. It’s the law.” An idea comes to mind and my eyes rise to Jeremy. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Jez, but what if Bart didn’t want the footage to come out? What if he never even asked for it?”
Jeremy frowns. “You know, that’s a strong possibility.”
“You think?”
“Bart looks after Bart, and if he thought for a moment that there might be something on those tapes that would make me leave him for good, he wouldn’t deliver it, no matter what the consequences. I know he wouldn’t.”
I drag my hands through my hair. “Shit, maybe I should call Penelope and ask her to look at the tapes. I haven’t told her anything about the baby allegations, but maybe it's time I did.” I look at my watch. “Damn it, I have to go to fucking work now.”
Jeremy’s eyes hold mine. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“That we both just got sever stomach viruses?” I wince.
“Exactly. I’m shitting through the eye of a needle right now, aren’t you?”
I burst out laughing. “You’re what?”
He chuckles. “You get my drift.”
“Not the needle drift, that’s for sure.” I laugh.
I take out my phone. “My god, I’m so getting fired. Since I’ve been with Sebastian, I have had so much time off.”
“Who cares? You’re going to have your own law firm one day and they’ll all be eating your dust.”
I smile over the table at my dear friend. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For always being here for me. It means a lot.”
He gives me a beautiful, broad smile. “What are friends for if not to have fake sick days, bust cheating assholes and conniving ex-wives with?”
I laugh and raise my coffee cup to him. “Cheers to that.”
I knock on Penelope’s door, and she opens it in a rush.
“Hi.” She leans in and hugs me.
“Penny, this is Jeremey. Jez for short,” I introduce them.
“Hey.” She smiles.
“Hello.” He shrugs nervously.
“Come in.” She gestures into her apartment. “Excuse the mess.”
Much to our surprise, Penelope had the day off. When I called and gave her the dates and hotel details, she said to come straight over.
So, here we are.
She pulls two extra chairs up to her computer.
“Here are the hotel details and date. We’ve been told that there is no footage.” I shrug. “I’m not sure if there’s even anything to look at.” I hand her a piece of paper, and man, do I feel sick.
This could be the answer, but it could also be the confirmation I’m dreading.
Either way, we have to know.
Penelope begins to type furiously. Jeremy and I sit in silence as we watch on.
Ten minutes later, she hits enter. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got.”
We hold our breath as we wait.
“Why didn’t you call me before?” she asks me.
“Because this is illegal. Besides, we were told there was no footage.”
“By who?”
“My boyfriend, who incidentally woke up with two women,” Jeremy answers.
“Hmm.” She types at the speed of light.
My heart is hammering hard.
Please, please, be innocent, I silently pray.
Something comes up, and she hits enter. Something rolls on the screen. “We’re in.”
“What?” Jeremy and I sit up. “You’re into the security system?”
“Yep.” She types more things in. “Piece of cake.” She picks up the piece of paper and reads the date. “Do we know the room and floor?”