“Please, don’t pile on, CeeCee. I’m well aware I’ve blown it. By the way, you’ll be happy to know that little newbie totaled my Ferrari with a golf club that night in retribution for my transgression.”
CeeCee’s face lights up. “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
CeeCee laughs uproariously. “Ha! My kind of woman.”
“Mine, too.”
“Yes, you made that abundantly clear, from the minute you first saw her—at the lecture hall. Yeah, that’s right, Mr. Sneaky Pants. I saw the sparks flying between you two at the panel discussion. And then you called me, feigning curiosity about why I left the hall that day without saying goodbye to you. You actually had the audacity to say you’d only seen Georgina from the back? Ha! And then you offered to pay for Georgina’s father’s medical expenses, not just her salary?” She waves at the air. “Forget about it. I knew you were a goner.”
“You knew I was full of shit from the moment I called you?”
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
“You played me like a violin.”
“I did. If it makes you feel any better, though, you’re a Stradivarius, darling.”
“Is that why you sent Georgina straight to C-Bomb, as her ‘top priority interview’?”
CeeCee bursts out laughing. “Guilty as charged. Did it work? Did you fall all over yourself, promising Georgina the best interview you’ve ever given, to lure her away from interviewing—and getting seduced by—C-Bomb?”
“You wicked woman.”
“Thank you. That’s high praise, coming from you.”
“The highest.”
We clink wine goblets.
“Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard,” I say. “I didn’t give Georgina anything I wasn’t already planning to give her.” Other than my heart.
CeeCee juts her lower lip. “Aw, Reed. You’re miserable.”
“I am.”
“Well, nothing’s fatal except death. Win the girl back.”
“That’s the plan. When I finally see Georgina again, this Sunday at the RCR concert in New York”—I smile broadly—”I’m going to tell her, for the very first time, I love her.” I’m rather impressed with myself. But CeeCee, not so much. “Well, shit. If you’ve got a better idea, let’s hear it.”
“I do, actually. Georgina told me she’d be able to forgive and forget, if only she knew for sure you gave Isabel a goodbye kiss, and nothing more.”
My heart lurches. “Georgina said that?”
“She did. So, I know this sounds crazy, but—”
“CeeCee, did she actually say it, or imply it?”
“She said it. In those exact words. So, my idea is this: why not ask Isabel to call Georgina and tell her exactly what happened, in confidence? She’s marrying Howard now, so she knows she can’t have you for herself. Maybe she still cares enough about you to want you to be as happy as she is.”
I drag my hand through my hair, buzzing with adrenaline. “No. I know exactly what I have to do now. I’ve been going back and forth for days on this idea. But I kept nixing it, because I know it’ll open Pandora’s Box. But now that I know Georgie said that...”
I tell CeeCee my idea—the one I first considered, and rejected, at Hazel’s birthday party. And CeeCee expresses extreme support for the idea. In fact, she tells me I’m a fool for not having done it sooner.
“The thing is,” I say, “even though I’ll be vindicating myself, I’ll also be throwing Isabel under the bus—telling Georgina a secret she could use to hurt Isabel.”
CeeCee waves dismissively. “So what if Isabel kissed you while wearing Howard’s ring. She made her bed. Now she has to lie in it. The same way you’ve had to lie in your bed with Georgina.”
I press my lips together. Isabel cheating on Howard isn’t the “secret” I was talking about. I was talking about the same secret of Isabel’s I’ve been guarding for ten years. Can I really divulge that information to Georgina, and trust her to keep it confidential, forevermore, in order to save myself? If I’m wrong about Georgina choosing her loyalty to me, over her shot at writing something salacious for Dig a Little Deeper, then it’s Isabel’s life and career that will be decimated, not mine. I think I can trust Georgina with this bombshell... but I also know how ambitious Georgina is... and also that she probably hates Isabel’s guts for that kiss and would almost certainly revel in taking Isabel down.
But since I can’t tell CeeCee about any of that, I decide to reply in a way that lets her continue thinking my concern is Georgina possibly outing Isabel to Howard. “I just need to feel certain Georgina won’t use confidential information to try to take Isabel down with a hit piece.”
“Have you forgotten I’m Georgina’s publisher? I’m not going to publish gossip about Isabel’s love life. I’ll leave that to the tabloids. If you give Georgina this information and she immediately runs to Howard or includes it in an article on Isabel she submits to me, then I hate to say it, but maybe she isn’t the woman you think she is. Or the writer I think she is. Which is all the more reason for you to do this. Either you trust her completely, including with this sensitive information, or you don’t. It’s as simple as that, Reed. You want Georgina to trust you? Well, you’ve got to trust her, too. Trust is a two-way street, sweetheart.”
My chest tightens. “You’re right. If I want Georgina to trust me, then I have to trust her first.”
“Of course I’m right. I’m always right.” CeeCee raises her wine glass. “To trust. True love is based on it, my dear. Which, I do believe, has been Georgina’s point, all along.”
***
After sending CeeCee off in her car, I get settled into my Porsche. Before starting my car, I check my phone, just in case I’ve missed something important during my dinner with CeeCee. I have. A text from Henn:
Call me ASAP. I’ve got news on the asshole.
My heart rate spiking, I start my car and immediately place the call.
“Hey,” Henn says.
“You found kiddie porn, didn’t you?”
“Worse.”
Henn tells me the situation, and I’m blown away.
“That’s why it took me so long to get back to you,” he says. “Once I saw what we were dealing with, I knew I had to follow the clues and hack everyone involved. So, it took a little time.”
“You’ve got everything now?”
“Yep. I’ve got it all.”
“Send it to me. I’m driving home now. I’ll look at everything when I get home.”
Henn pauses. “You realize this is bigger than your personal vendetta now, right? We have a higher duty than just ruining this asshole’s life on the down-low to avenge Georgina. You get that, right?”
“Send me the stuff and we’ll talk next steps.”
“We’re going to have to tell Georgina what I found. This isn’t as simple as tipping off the FBI about some kiddie porn. She deserves to know.”
I exhale. “Yeah. I know. I’ll be seeing Georgina in person in New York in a couple days. I’ll talk to her about it then.”