I scoff. “None of it true?”
“Nope.”
“What a jerk.”
Hmm. Troy just lied to me. I believe most of what he’s told me about Reed, actually... but something about this thing—the blackballing—doesn’t ring true to me. I can’t imagine Reed picking up the phone and spreading flat-out lies about Troy. Reed cares too much about his reputation and name to do something like that. But then again, Reed is a scorched-earth kind of guy. And he did settle with Troy, so who knows how far Reed might have taken his vendetta.
Troy babbles for a bit longer, about how great his band was and how big they would have been if Reed hadn’t been such a wack job asshole psychopath who thought he “owned” his ex-girlfriend’s body for eternity. And while Troy talks, I google Reed on my phone, pretending to get up to speed.
When a photo of Reed and Isabel lands on my screen, I gasp. “Wait. This guy dated Isabel Randolph? She’s my favorite!” I look up, wide-eyed and whisper, “Was Isabel the one you hooked up with?”
Troy smirks devilishly, telegraphing the answer to my question is a resounding yes. But then he leans forward and whispers, “The woman isn’t identified in the public record, though. So you guessed that. I didn’t tell you anything.”
“Gotcha,” I say, returning his wink.
I was already almost positive the “unnamed woman” had to be Isabel, of course. The timing was exactly right. Plus, several articles about Reed and Isabel mention they dated off and on for a while before finally entering into their well-documented two-year relationship. So, it makes sense Isabel could have slept with Troy during an “off” period with Reed, which then brought the pair together again. This time, for two years. But, still, even if I was expecting to hear Isabel’s name in relation to all of this, it’s nonetheless a blow to actually hear it, and realize Reed went that ballistic when another man slept with her.
For a moment, I feel like I’m going to burst into tears at the sense of loss I’m feeling. The rejection. The betrayal. Why did Reed pick a stolen moment in a garage with Isabel over a future with me? I would have given him everything. All of me.
I take a deep breath, force my emotion down, and plaster a fake smile on my face. “Here’s what I don’t get, Troy. Why’d that record label guy settle your lawsuit? Seeing as how he went so scorched earth on you for hooking up with his ex-girlfriend, it seems like he’s the kind of guy who’d go equally scorched earth on you in the court case, as well.”
Troy takes a swig of his beer and empties it. So, I quickly buy him another one, to keep him nice and loose. “Actually, he told me he’d ‘never’ settle with me—’not in a million years.’ He said he’d ‘see me in hell’ before he’d pay me a dime.” Troy smirks. “Little did he know, though, I had an ace in my pocket, which I used to bring him to his knees.”
I lean forward, egging him on. “Oooh, this is gonna be good.”
Troy pauses. “Shoot. Sorry. As much as I want to tell you, this part isn’t in the public record.”
“So, help me guess it. What sort of thing was this ‘ace in your pocket’? Information?”
He nods. “Confidential information he didn’t want anyone to know.”
My eyebrows ride up. “About him?”
Troy smiles deviously. “No. About his ex.”
“The one...?” I point to my phone, referencing the photo of Isabel Randolph I showed him earlier, and Troy nods.
“It was something, to this day, she’d never want the world to know about her. So, I thought, ‘Hey, if he cares so much about me hooking up with his ex, then he’ll probably pay to keep the world from finding out her secret.’ And guess what? I was right.”
My heart is thumping. I’m on the bitter cusp of blowing this thing wide open—whatever “this thing” is. “Holy crap, Troy. You’re a genius.” And a disgusting blackmailer. “She told you this secret?”
Troy shakes his head. “Not intentionally. She and I were watching TV together one night, just her and me, when a news story came on TV that made her gasp in shock. It was a news story about a particular woman. So, I was like, Do you know her? And his ex said, no, she didn’t know the woman in the news story. But it was obvious she was lying.” He snorts. “So much for her being a talented actress, huh? So I told her, ‘Hey, I know you’re lying. And I know why you must be lying. But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.’ And I swear I was planning to keep my promise to her. But then, when she went straight to her ex to tell him we’d hooked up, and he went fucking crazy on me, I was like, ‘Well, fuck my promise.’ So, I told the label guy I’d sell her secret to the highest bidding tabloid, if he didn’t settle my lawsuit. And that was that. He settled with me the very next day.”
Holy shit. Doesn’t this idiot realize what he just described to me was textbook extortion? Reed didn’t settle Troy’s lawsuit, he succumbed to a brazen blackmail scheme... and only to protect Isabel!
Oh, God. I’m reeling. I don’t want to swoon over Reed being Isabel’s white knight. I don’t want to hear that Reed would slay any dragon for that woman—because it only twists the knife already lodged in my heart. But I can’t help swooning, just a little bit, despite myself, to realize, yet again, Reed really is a ride or die kind of guy for the people he loves. Like he told me once, if you’re on his short list, he’ll do anything for you. Too bad I never made it onto his short list. I clear my throat. “Good for you, Troy. That label guy screwed you over, so you screwed him over, even harder. That’s so hot.”
Troy licks his lips. “You’re so hot.” With that, he leans forward, obviously intending to kiss me. Abruptly, I jerk back and take a long drink of my club soda, pretending not to realize I just stiff-armed him.
“So, come on. Give me a little hint about that secret.”
I jut out my breasts, and Troy’s gaze drifts directly to them, right on cue.
But, dammit, he shakes his head. “For all I know, you could sell the secret to the tabloids, or tell someone else who’d do that. One way or another, the information could get out, and then the psycho would know I’d talked, and he’d sue me for breaching the confidential settlement.”
Damn. I bet if I slept with Troy, I could get him to sing to me like a canary about this secret. But that’s never going to happen. Not in a million years. Even if I found Troy attractive, which I don’t, it’s clear to me now my heart still belongs to Reed, whether I like it or not. And that means my body belongs to him, too—simply because that’s the way I’m wired. When I love, I do it with everything I am. My heart, mind, body, and soul.
Troy touches my arm, making me stiffen, and leans into me. “You have really pretty eyes, Georgia.”
I feel no need to correct him on my name. In fact, I’m glad he got it wrong. “Thank you, Troy. So do you.”
Troy leans forward, again, obviously intending to kiss me, so, I jerk back, again, and sip my water. But it’s obvious my little jerk-back-cluelessly maneuver isn’t going to work a third time. Next time, Troy is going to get up and find someone else to hit on. Someone who’ll give him the green light. Which means I need to pry this secret out of this bastard’s blackmailing mouth right now, before it’s too late.