the waiter says, bringing us the second round of drinks. “Are we sure we don’t want to order—”
“We’re sure!” Isabel shrieks. “Now go, and don’t come back unless you’ve been expressly summoned!”
“Yes, miss.” He scurries away.
“This isn’t a shakedown,” Georgina says. “I wasn’t going to mention this next thing, but I suddenly feel like it would be for the best if I do. I already know that you and Reed kissed in his garage at the party, Isabel. And I want you to know this isn’t about that. I want to assure you I’m not going to find out about that kiss later, and snap, and then go back on my word not to divulge your secret. My promise is ironclad. I come in peace. I’m not here to hurt you and I’ll never tell anyone what I figured out. I love Reed. And whether he realizes it or not, he loves you. And that means, no matter what, I’m not going to hurt or humiliate you. Not directly, anyway. Which brings me to Howard and the reason I’m telling you all this.” She takes a deep breath. “When I was talking to Francesca at her restaurant, Howard’s name came up. Francesca said she never talks about her girls, or her former clients. But she did say there was one client who used to assault her girls. And when I mentioned Howard’s name, she confirmed that’s who she meant.”
Isabel’s lips part in surprise.
“You know why I knew Francesca had to be talking about Howard? Because my boss, CeeCee Rafael, had already warned me about him. She told me not to be alone with him. And then, a young woman who works at Howard’s company told me every young woman who works for Howard knows not to be alone with him. In fact, all the young women who work at Howard’s studio know to use the buddy system when interacting with him.”
Isabel looks like she’s having a hard time taking air into her lungs.
“Thanks to this insider at Howard’s company, I’ve now interviewed five actresses who told me detailed stories about Howard sexually assaulting them. Everything from unwanted groping and kissing to coerced sex to being roofied and raped.”
Isabel groans like she’s about to throw up.
“The only problem? They’re all too scared to come forward.” Georgina leans forward. “He’s a predator, Isabel, and my gut tells me you know it.”
“No.”
“Don’t you want to stop him? Because he’s not going to stop, unless someone brave, someone the world will believe, leads the charge. Isabel, that someone is you.”
Isabel looks frantic. “You think I know about all this? I don’t!”
“Yeah, well, you know something. At the very least, you know what he’s done to you, personally. But I’m here to tell you, you’re not alone. He’s done stuff to others. And he won’t stop, just because he’s marrying you. He’ll never stop.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you to tell the truth, on the record. Either to the police, or in an interview, or in a press conference. I don’t know. I want you to stop him. Because once you speak out, everyone else will, too. And that’s the only way we’re going to take this man down. If we band together.”
Isabel is trembling. And there’s no doubt in my mind Georgina is right: Howard’s done something to Isabel. The thought physically pains me.
“For what it’s worth, I have a glimmer of understanding about how hard this is for you,” Georgie says. She reaches into her computer bag and pulls out a copy of her Gates article. “This is going to be published in a couple days in Dig a Little Deeper. It’s an article I wrote about the forty-two-year-old man who tried to rape me when I was seventeen. He wasn’t a billionaire movie producer, and I wasn’t a young actress with big dreams, who felt like she had no other choice. But he was very powerful in my little world. After he assaulted me—and to be clear, he came as close to forcibly raping me as a person can get, before I wiggled free from his clutches and ran away—after that happened, I was too terrified to say a word to anyone. So I kept it bottled up inside me for almost five years. But, recently, I found out he’s hurt other girls, too. And that made me realize he’s going to do it again and again, unless someone stops him. So, I decided that someone is going to be