told her the story of how I crashed the party. And, yeah, I mentioned you were my date. So what?”
“Goddammit, Reed!”
“You’re being paranoid, Isabel. It’s perfectly fine you were my date. Nobody would ever guess how that came to be.”
“She’s really smart. I can tell.”
“Yes, she is. And she wants to write a flattering interview about you. That’s all. She’s not looking to write a hit piece. You’re being paranoid.”
Isabel wrings her hands. “Can you blame me? Every day of my life, I’m waiting for the next Troy to come along to blackmail me.”
Reed’s back is to the camera, but his shoulders soften. “Isabel, I understand why Troy messed with your head. But he was a one-off. If someone was going to threaten to expose your secret again, they would have done it by now. It’s been ten years since you worked for Francesca. If I thought there was an army of Troys out there, lying in wait to take you down, I wouldn’t have paid him so much to stay quiet. I’m rolling in money, sweetheart, but even I can’t afford to pay off the entire world.”
Isabel rubs her face. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m being paranoid. I am, right?”
“You are.”
“Just don’t tell this reporter anything else about me.”
“I won’t. Now, can we please go back to the party? I just made a little girl cry and I need to fix it.”
Isabel steps forward and slides her arms around Reed’s neck. “What’s the rush? Now that we’re here, how about we have a little fun, for old time’s sake?”
I hold my breath and squint my eyes, convinced I’m about to see something deeply traumatizing to me. But I needn’t worry. Reed immediately disentangles himself from Isabel and says, “That’s not gonna happen.” He grabs her hand, the one with Howard’s massive rock on it, and holds it up. “This means nothing to you?”
She yanks her hand away. “You know I don’t want him. I want you.”
Reed throws up his hands. “Goddammit. Not this again. Things are different now than when you fucked Troy to make me jealous. It’s not going to work this time.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “You’re not going crazy to think of me marrying someone else?”
He scoffs. “No. Would I prefer you marry someone you actually love? Yes. Because I care about you and want you to find happiness. But do I wish you were marrying me? Fuck no. Isabel, like I keep telling you. I’m over you. I’ve moved on. So, if you’re marrying Howard to manipulate me into action the same way you did when you fucked Troy, only bigger and better this time, then don’t bother. Don’t marry anyone to try to get a rise out of me. The only thing that strategy will get you is a husband you don’t love.”
“Why are you always so mean to me?”
“I’m not mean to you. I’m honest. I don’t want you anymore. We’ll never get back together. Never.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Believe it. If you must know, I’m with someone else now. I’m in a serious, committed relationship.”
Even in the grainy footage, I can tell Isabel is crushed.
“I’ll always care about you,” Reed says. “I’ll always protect you, as best I can. And your secrets are always safe with me. But the truth is you’re more like a sister to me now, than anything else.”
Isabel slaps Reed across his face, but he doesn’t even flinch. “Who is she?” she shrieks, her tears matching mine as I watch the scene unfolding. “Is she here at the party?”
“No, she’s not here,” Reed lies. “But if she were, I’d expect you to be nice to her. We haven’t been together in years, Isabel, and you’re engaged to another man. Why do you think you still have any claim on me?”
“Because I’m still in love with you!”
He’s exasperated. Irritated. “Why the hell are you marrying Howard?” he booms. “I don’t get it! You don’t need his money, and you certainly don’t need his connections anymore. You’re a huge star now. The biggest star on the planet. You don’t need him. You can get cast in anything from blockbusters to indies, without his help or blessing. I get why you flirted with him when you were starting out, but don’t you think saying yes to marrying a man you don’t love is taking the casting couch a bit far?”
She shakes her head. “You don’t understand.”
“I think I do. He’s made marriage part of the deal for the superhero movies, hasn’t