to Leonard. But he and his team convinced me those other instances wouldn’t get into evidence, and I’d get reamed at trial. He said, even without the recordings being admissible against me, any jury would hate my guts for fucking around with an employee. Leonard said my cocaine use would come out. And that would make them believe Stephanie’s version of events. He said I could get hit for ten million or more in punitive damages, given how my company had just skyrocketed. So, I caved.” He rubs his forehead, looking distraught. “I paid her off in a confidential settlement that required her to destroy all the illegal recordings she’d made of me, got my ass to rehab, and tried not to think about Stephanie fucking Moreland, ever again.”
My heart is physically aching at the expression on Reed’s face. “You haven’t done coke since then?”
“No. Never.”
“How much did you wind up paying her?”
Reed pauses. “It was a confidential settlement, so I’m technically not allowed to talk about it, any more than she is. I’ll tell you the number, but only if you swear you’re just Georgie right now. Not the Intrepid Reporter. Not playing me, in any way. Look me in the eye, and promise this will stay between you and me, forever, and I’ll tell you.”
My heart is thumping. “I promise, Reed. I’ll never tell a soul.”
“You’re not recording this conversation?”
Oh, my heart. This poor man. “I’m not. I’ll never record anything you say without your knowledge and express permission. I promise.”
He looks down at his hands on the kitchen table. “I paid that bitch a cool million.”
“Wow. An expensive life lesson.”
“Yeah. Honestly, the whole thing screwed with my head. Before Stephanie, I’d already had a hard time trusting people. Women, especially. I was always positive they were out to get something from me. But after Stephanie, my paranoia with women went to a whole new level. Ever since then, I’m just super careful. Always on guard.”
Oh, my heart. I rise from my chair and go to him. I slide into his lap and touch his cheek. “I’m sorry she messed with your head.”
“I’ve never told anyone about her,” he whispers. “Well, other than my lawyers.”
I press my forehead against his. “Not even Josh and Henn?”
“No. I was too embarrassed to tell them. I fucked up. Royally. In the end, it was my fault for being so stupid and reckless.”
My heart feels like it’s going to burst from my chest. I feel so close to him right now, so connected. So much so, I feel the need to reciprocate. To tell him something I’ve never told anyone, as well. “I’ve got my own Stephanie Moreland,” I whisper, my heartbeat increasing. “I’ve never told anyone this story. But it’s something that’s made it really hard for me to trust. Something I can’t stand thinking about. Something I want to forget.” I swallow hard. “But I want to tell you about it. I want to tell you, because I feel really close to you right now.”
He strokes my hair and looks deeply into my eyes. “You can tell me anything, Georgie.”
I open my mouth... determined to tell him the thing I’ve never told anyone. Ever. But I close my mouth, too nervous to begin my story. “I think I’m gonna need some liquid courage to do this.” I motion to my beer. “Something a bit stronger than that.”
Chapter 18
Reed
We’re sitting on barstools at the bar in my game room. Holding our second shots of Patrón.
“On the count of three,” Georgina says. And when she counts us off, we both throw the tequila back.
“Beer chaser?” I ask.
“Hell yeah.”
I grab bottles for both of us from a mini-fridge behind the bar, and she takes a long swig as I resume my stool.
“Okay. I’m ready to tell you my story now,” she says, shaking out her hands. “I can’t feel my face or toes.”
I laugh. “You don’t have to tell me this story, you know.”
“I know, but I want to.” She takes another long swig of her beer. Laces her fingers together on top of the bar. And exhales. “In high school, I wrote for the school newspaper the first three years. And I absolutely loved it. At the end of my third year, Mr. Gates, the teacher who supervised the paper, selected me to be editor-in-chief for the next year, over this total brainiac guy who’d also wanted the position. I was so freaking excited and proud to be selected, I could barely