inviting her here? The whole house party? So you could meet her?”
“Um . . . I mean, I did want to seriously meet everyone interested in the company . . .”
“Oh my God.” He dropped his head in his hands. If you waited long enough, everything made sense. “The test. The Matchmaker quiz. I thought that was weird. You made everyone take it, so you could check on the match between the two of us.”
“Okay, that part is true.”
“Aunt. Belle.”
“What?” His aunt’s eyes went wide. “I wanted to make sure she was right for you, Samson! Sue me for loving you.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe this.”
“Do you want to know your match percentage with her?”
“No!”
They sat in silence for a moment, until Samson cracked. “Is it over ninety?” He shook his head when Belle nodded and moved her thumb upward. “No, I don’t want to know.”
“Suit yourself. But rest assured, dear. You should call her. It’s a good match.” She slapped her thigh. “Should we think about what to have for dinner? I—” She frowned when her phone rang, and she dug it out of the pack slung around her hips. She plucked her reading glasses from where they were hooked in the front of her overalls and peered at the screen. When she gasped, Samson reached across the bed to touch her arm. “What’s wrong?”
Worry was written all over her face. “The woman I talked to, the one who told me Peter harassed her. She went to the press.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
RHIANNON SAT in Helena’s green room and watched the news broadcast on television. The breaking-news banner, combined with Peter’s name, had prompted her to turn the volume up. She listened in increasing disbelief, then accessed the article in the national newspaper that the broadcaster had referenced and read it on her phone.
There it was, in black and white. Three women and one man, accusing the CEO of Swype of sexual harassment and misconduct. Two women had permitted their names to be used.
Some of the accusations were similar to what Rhiannon had experienced, some were far worse than she could have ever imagined. Peter, demanding sexual favors for continued employment. Locking his office door to ensure the victims had no way out, physically. Threatening to blacklist them if they didn’t comply.
Her eyes went back to a quote in the middle of the long report. I should have known better, because I was there when he bullied his former girlfriend out of the business. Everyone saw it. We all felt so bad for her. She was an executive, with some power. Why did I think he’d treat me any differently? I was nobody compared to her.
Rhiannon covered her mouth with her hand and scrolled back down to the end. Why come forward now? The reporter had asked one of the victims. I would have never said anything, but I guess Swype was looking to buy another company, and the owner of that company called me. It brought up all these old memories, and I couldn’t bear to live with them anymore in silence.
She looked up when the door to the green room opened and Helena Knight walked in, somber. They’d greeted each other an hour ago, when Rhiannon had arrived at the Manhattan studio. Helena had delivered the news that Samson had canceled at the last minute. Rhiannon had been relieved.
She didn’t feel relieved now.
“Darling, did you see the news?”
“I did.”
“Would you like to get your publicist on the phone?” Helena asked gently. “Because you know I’ll have to ask you about it. You worked for Peter.”
Rhiannon shook her head. Her phone was vibrating in her pocket, probably Suzie or Lakshmi, but she couldn’t deal with that now. She didn’t need them for this. “I understand. No need for anyone else. Let’s talk.”
HELENA PUT RHIANNON at ease first and gave her a chance to discuss Crush and build a rapport with the audience. Then she turned to the topic on everyone’s mind. “Today a story broke accusing the CEO of Swype, Peter Roberts, of multiple counts of sexual harassment and in one case, at least, assault.” Helena gestured to Rhiannon. “Everyone who knows Crush knows Swype. You two are the largest players in the app-dating business. You also used to work for Swype. Do you have any comment on the story?”
Rhiannon opened her mouth. The silence stretched, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the producer taking a step forward.