Why?”
“Thirty grand is why. She graced me with a text. Only the one, though. I’m so sorry, Gemma. I didn’t know. She said she was going home to get some space, said she’d be ok on her own. I didn’t even think.”
“It’s not your fault. How could you know?”
“She’s Chelsea Rawlings. Jealousy makes her insane.” Tessa pulled me onto the sofa and stroked my hair. “Remember when you won that summer dance competition? I thought she was actually going to stab you with her twirly stick. If she could have sold you out then for thirty grand it would have happened a lot sooner.”
I snort-laughed through the tears. “She didn’t speak to me for three weeks straight.”
“She’ll come crawling for forgiveness this time, too.”
“She won’t get any. I’m fucking done with her.” My eyes streamed. “The world hates me, Tessa. The whole fucking world.”
“Not the whole world, Gem, just a load of idiots with nothing better to do. It will blow over. I doubt he’ll fuel the fire, he won’t want this to get any worse than it is already. Chelsea’s blabbed what she can, but it’s all her word besides that one cruddy photo, and let’s face it, her word doesn’t count for much.”
“I sent him away, because of this. I let him leave because I was scared, because I didn’t want this, because I didn’t want the world to know my name.”
“I know. I know.” She held me tight but it was no use, nothing could make it stop.
“It happened anyway. All of it.”
“It’s no good thinking about that now, Gemma. One day Jason Redfern will be a distant memory. I promise.”
But I didn’t want him to be a distant memory.
That was the very last thing I wanted.
***
I pulled myself into some kind of vague shape for work that evening, but I needn’t have bothered.
RS442 Gemma Taylor: Access disabled. Please contact your supervisor.
Sheena asked me to call her via messenger. Not a good sign.
“I’m sorry, Gemma, but you can’t work. Not now. The lines are ringing off the hook with idiots trying to find you, and we have to conduct an investigation. The papers say you met him through chat. You didn’t, did you? Please tell me you didn’t.”
My silence spoke volumes.
Suspended without pay, effective immediately.
The nightmare was getting a whole lot worse.
I wondered if the same was true for Jason.
***
Chapter Twenty
Jason
April sat down on the sofa opposite, far out of the lamplight. I poured myself another whisky. Even in anger she had perfect features.
“Don’t start again,” I said. “I’ve had enough.”
“I wasn’t planning on it. I’m tired of shouting, Jason. You never fucking listen anyway.”
“What do you want?”
Her face was drawn, like a pale sheet of paper. “Why her?”
“Why not her?”
“I’m being serious. I’ve seen the pictures, I just don’t get it.”
“You never will.”
“Try me.” She crossed her legs, tapping one foot in mid-air, over and over. “Is she a pervert, like you? Is that it? You need an ugly girl to play your sick games?”
“She’s not an ugly girl. Not even close.”
A thin smile crept across her lips. “If you say so.”
I sighed. “I met her on chatline...”
“That figures.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Do you want to know or not?”
She rolled her eyes. “Go on.”
“Gemma is funny, and sexy and vivacious. She’s natural, and she’s real. She doesn’t have any bullshit expectations, or stupid ideals. She’s just her. I find her beautiful.”
“And she’s a pervert? She must be.”
“That’s none of your business.”
She groaned. “I can’t believe your twisted needs landed us here again, I thought you were done with all that.”
“She’s different.”
“Yes, she is. I’ll give you that.” She checked her nail polish. “I was angry earlier. You know as well as I do this can’t be over. We’ve too much invested. Another decent season at the club could set us both up, I’ve got the Cherry Electric reunion tour brewing, you’ve got your sponsorships, if we manage to keep them. We need another twelve months.”
My heart fell through the floor. “We don’t need another twelve months. We both need out. The sooner the better.”
“You still aren’t going to sign the house over, though, are you? I don’t want to drag this through court, Jason. The humiliation is bad enough already.”
I could feel my jaw tensing. “What are you angling for, April?”
“I’m angling for an agreement to ride this shit out for twelve more months. I’ll set up a meeting with PR tomorrow.”
“I’ve already told you, I’m not saying a word against Gemma. Not one word.”
“You won’t