Now it was all over the internet for everyone to see. He wanted to throw up.
“Well, it is what it is,” Gus said, not sounding particularly bothered. “We’ll get you through it, don’t worry about that, Rasul. Probably you should call your agent. If you don’t have a crisis manager, you should get one fast.”
Rasul ran a shaking hand through his hair. “I… yeah.” He looked up at Jacob, gut twisting. “I’m so sorry.”
Jacob came closer, touched Rasul’s shoulder. “No, Gus is right. It’s not your fault. She had no right to share that, not for any reason, not without your consent.”
It was his fault, though. He shouldn’t have gotten back with Adina before he came to Copper Point. He should have stopped seeing her the first time when he’d known she was trouble. He should have logged on to Instagram and declared he was with Jacob right away. Should have made it clearer, should have—
A soft touch on his cheek brought him back. Jacob was crouched in front of him. “Hey. It’s not your fault.”
“I don’t know what to do,” he whispered. And he didn’t. He always knew what to do, always had a plan, was always dancing, always moving. But he’d stopped here. He’d rested. And now he wasn’t ready. Not for this. Not now.
Not ever.
Gus nodded at the door. “I’ll sneak out and get some intel. You two stay here.”
Jacob locked the door after Gus left, then pulled up a chair in front of Rasul. He touched his knee. “Are you okay?”
The word yes was right there on the tip of Rasul’s tongue, but then he got a better look at Jacob’s quietly searching expression. He caved. “No.”
Jacob averted his gaze. “I’m the one who’s sorry. This is all my fault. I never should have goaded them.”
“How is this your fault? She’s my unstable ex.”
“I don’t think she’s unstable. Calculating, yes. Manipulative and cruel, yes. But she knows what she’s doing.” Jacob pursed his lips. “It’s like you said. She’s desperate. She’s like you were when you came here. For whatever reason, she’s past caring about whether or not this hurts you. You’re something she can use on the way to the place she thinks she should be.”
Rasul sagged forward, bending in half over his legs. “I’m not ready for this. I could have weathered it before, but now… it’s like I exorcised all of it in Veil of Stars and now I can’t take it. I don’t want all my next interviews to be about this.”
Jacob stroked his back. “We’ll take care of you. I’ll take care of you.”
Shutting his eyes, Rasul sank into the comfort of Jacob’s touch.
Gus came back a few minutes later and spirited them out a back door and into Christopher’s waiting car. There was press at the bookstore, but Owen was there too, as well as Nick, and Julian, glaring at everyone in Lawyer. It had been a four-alarm QUAG call, apparently, and everyone who could had responded.
He had five missed calls from Elizabeth when he turned on his phone, and he honestly thought he might start puking before he could talk to her, but she wasn’t angry—not at him, anyway. Her main concern was keeping him from talking to the press.
“Don’t give them any comment. I’m working on some things on my end—we have this covered. Don’t confirm or deny anything. Don’t even tell them no comment, simply avoid them at all costs, and don’t say a single solitary word.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said for what felt like the hundredth time. It couldn’t possibly be enough.
“I don’t need an apology. I told you, I’ve got this. I think I’m onto something here. Just give me a few days.”
Rasul was hardly going to argue with her, or with anyone. His class that night was canceled, and for days he barely left the apartment, skulking around with the cats and waiting for news and food to be delivered.
Jacob was a rock, getting grilled every day in the shop, but it was rough on him, Rasul knew. He’d stopped apologizing because Jacob had made him, but he hated how this grit from his past had cast a pall over everything.
Worst of all, Les Clark was having a field day, tarring Jacob in the paper and declaring his choice of company and his lifestyle a cancer on the town.
It wasn’t bad enough he’d shot his own rising career in the foot. Now Rasul was dragging down the man he loved. It was his worst nightmare he didn’t even know to fear come to life. And he had absolutely no idea how to get out of it.
JACOB DESPISED what the sex tape scandal did to Rasul.
They were prisoners in the apartment that first night. Though the police made regular patrols past their house, there was more press in town now, all of it tabloids looking for a scoop. Jacob was annoyed, both at the interruption and at his helplessness. The people of Copper Point were in much the same boat, Gus reported via text. The novelty of this much excitement had worn off quickly.
Rasul, however, remained quiet and withdrawn. If Jacob tried to talk to him, all Rasul did was apologize.
“Her actions have nothing to do with you,” Jacob pointed out over and over again. “You’re the one who was wronged here. I don’t understand why you’re not angrier than you are.”
“I’ve known who she was since our first date. I mean, I didn’t know she’d take it this far, but I sensed the potential. I think it was part of what attracted me. To be honest, more than once I’ve wondered if I chose to be with her because I knew she might do this or something like it.”
Jacob glowered. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, that’s ridiculous.”
“I mean, yeah, but I don’t think you get how ridiculous I was being when I got with her. I was angry, overwhelmed, and I hate to admit it, but more than a bit entitled. I knocked around between angry people who expected the impossible from me, terrified I’d disappoint them and lose everything. So I just sort of spiraled.” Rasul was wrapped in a blanket in the living room, rocking himself gently to the tick of the clock. “I was a heartbeat away from being the same kind of mess she is.”
“But you’re not a mess. You’re doing well. You pulled yourself out of it. And you don’t deserve being hurt like this, no matter how many mistakes you may or may not have made.”
“I know.” He didn’t sound like he did, though.
Rasul canceled his classes for the rest of the week. “My students are hounded enough as it is, getting hammered with questions and combed for anything that might make a news story.” Jacob hated to see it, not the least of all because this whole disaster gave Adina the limelight just like she wanted. All eyes were on her as she pretended to blush and demur and protest she never expected such an intimate moment to leak out, and at such an unfortunate time.
“She’s trying to Kardashian this, and it makes me furious,” Gus said at an MMS meeting—held at the bookstore after hours. It was too difficult for Jacob to go anywhere else.
“Rasul’s had it color all his interviews, and there have been some calls for the cancellation of his book,” Jacob said, grim. “Since the publisher has been referring to it as young adult, some say an author this scandalous shouldn’t be writing for children.”
“That’s terrible.” Matt pursed his lips. “But expected, unfortunately. God, why are people such assholes?”
Elizabeth called every day, keeping Rasul steady, a technique that only sort of worked. A week after the scandal hit, though, she called Jacob.
“Mr. Moore. A pleasure to meet you. I wish it were under more auspicious circumstances.”
“Likewise.” Jacob had taken the call in his office, and he leaned back in his chair. “How can I help you?”
“I’m chasing down something my investigator turned up. She thinks there’s someone in Copper Point who helped Adina out. There’s so much fresh footage in her doctored videos that there has to be an inside individual. Or maybe even two.”
“I’ve thought that too—but wait, two?”
“Let me ask you this, Jacob. Is there someone in town who has it out for you? Someone who has intimate access, especially of your store?”
“Is there any connection between someone you do see regularly and this individual?”
He started to say no, then froze as the realization dawned. “Oh no. No. I don’t want to believe that.” He wiped at his face, lowering his voice as he glanced toward the office door. “Les Clark’s granddaughter. She’s one of my part-timers.” He lowered his voice further. “She’s working today.” The simplicity of the betrayal—so obviously in front of his face this whole time—hit him in waves. “She was the one who caused the stir that first day when he was shopping. But I can’t imagine she would goad anyone into releasing a sex tape. She’s still in high school! She’s about to graduate, and I heard she was planning to major in elementary education in college.”
“High schoolers do worse than this on a daily basis. The real question is, would her grandfather set something like this up?”
“He might, if he were angry and spiteful enough. Which he is.” Jacob felt ill. “So you’re saying Rasul’s nightmare is because of me?”
“I don’t know anything yet except that you’re not to blame any more than Rasul is, and I don’t blame him at all. My God, you gave me my author back, and made him happier than I’ve ever seen him in his life. Plus your little passive-aggressive spat with Adina gave us the right kind of boost. I have no issues with you, nor with Rasul. But if this wise guy and his granddaughter did anything to my author, I’m going to take them down.”
“I can’t believe Jodie has any part in this.”
“You’d be surprised what people will do to get what they want. Put money or fame on the table, and you see someone’s true colors. As a literary agent, I’ve seen the worst of everyone. Authors who’ll step on anyone to chase their dreams, believing everything is worth the price if it gets them enough control and power. Same for other agents, and some editors. Polite to each other in a professional setting, but always jockeying for an imaginary golden ring. What’s a little destruction of someone’s career when something you want lies in front of you? It’s grim to learn how many people you thought were good will drag others through the muck to get what they want, how many humans see other people as tools and props instead of members of a community. But you have to acknowledge these people exist. If you don’t, they’ll knife you in the back every time.”
Jacob stared at the wall behind his desk for a long time after he’d hung up with Elizabeth, trying to digest what she’d told him. He just couldn’t believe Jodie would be a part of this. Yes, she was often silly, but most teenagers were. Even Les—would he honestly try to sabotage another man’s career for a simple community leadership position? How did he even begin to approach either of them?
He needed help wrapping his head around this. Who could he talk to, though? Not Rasul, obviously. Gus and Matt would be happy to listen, but he wanted someone who would do more than listen. Someone who would dissect this even more than Elizabeth had and help him see what he needed to do—
He sat up sharply. Rebecca. She was probably working too, but her job was often flexible. Plus, she wouldn’t lie to him. Much as Jacob wanted to hear Elizabeth was just a cynical literary agent, he needed to know if even a little bit of what she said applied here. Rebecca would know how to handle this, how to approach Jodie without stirring anything up unnecessarily.
He hurried to find his phone and sent her a text. She replied immediately, telling him she was free and looking for an excuse to stretch her legs. She’d be over in five.
Jacob met her at the door. She took one look at him and raised her eyebrow. “This is serious, isn’t it.”
Aware Jodie was somewhere in the stacks, Jacob only offered Rebecca a strained smile and escorted her to the office.
“So it’s about Jodie,” she said in a low voice as soon as he closed the door.
“Yes.” Jacob indicated for her to take his chair and perched himself on a small ottoman littered with junk mail. Resting his elbows on his knees, he relayed his conversation with Elizabeth to Rebecca.
Rebecca’s lips were thin through the story, and when Jacob finished, she said, “Oh yeah, I’m with the agent. She’s your mole.”
Jacob sank forward, his disbelief rolling the rest of the way over into disappointment and a nest of more complicated feelings. It did seem she was the most likely candidate, once he told the story out loud. “So what do I do? Just confront her? Her grandfather?”
“No, not without a plan. Let me put one of the interns on this, scouring social media and archives for threads to solidly link her before you say a word. Rasul’s got a case here, if he wants it, of libel and harassment. Do you know if anyone doxed him?”
Jacob started to say no, then paused. “There was this one user I always thought might be local. Truthseeker98. At one point they took a photo of the exterior of the bookstore and used it as the image for a long post ranting about how this is where I lived and, according to them, made up my lies about my relationship with Rasul.”
“Well, that’s tougher because I’m pretty sure you’ve publicly stated in print that you live above the bookstore. If she said Rasul lived here, that’d be another story. But don’t worry about it, because my team will find what we need. They always do.” She stood and patted his shoulder as he rose as well. “Give me twenty-four hours and I’ll know how to best approach Jodie and whether or not we should bring her grandfather in right away, or maybe skip to him entirely.”
“Thanks.” Wiping his hand over his face, Jacob swallowed a sigh and opened the door to his office.
Jodie, tears streaming down her face, stood with her head bowed on the other side.
Rebecca quietly caught Jacob’s forearm, her entire being telegraphing don’t say a word to him.
“I h-heard you through the door. I’m sorry.” Jodie’s voice was a whisper. “I’m so sorry.”
Though Jacob remained frozen, Rebecca sprang into action. She glanced around as she gestured at him. “Go sweep the store, make sure it’s empty. Jodie, you come sit over here with me.”
Jacob’s heart beat in his ears as he brushed through the stacks upstairs and down. His mind kept trying to race ahead to predict what was going to happen, but he couldn’t do it. Once everything was clear, he locked the door and joined Rebecca and Jodie in the seating area. Jodie was seated in the straight-backed chair in front of the fireplace, and Rebecca sat to the side in the overstuffed chair, so Jacob defaulted to the love seat across from Jodie.
As soon as Jacob was settled, Rebecca leaned forward, all her focus on Jodie. “Tell us what you’re sorry for, Jodie.”
She’d been sniffling the whole time Jacob checked the store, but with this one question, she shifted to full-on sobbing. “I didn’t mean to h-hurt anyone. I-I’ve been an Ad-dinastan for y-years. I w-wanted to be just l-like her. And I h-heard you and Mr. Youssef say it was a fake relationship.”
Jacob sat up straighter. “You did?”
She nodded. “I thought it was unfair to her, so I told her. She—she was so nice to me. Asked if I could h-help, so I did.” She wiped at her eyes.
“But Jodie, we are dating. We have been for a long time.”
“I know.” She wiped at her nose with the back of her hand. Jacob passed her some tissues and she blew her nose before continuing. “I realized it and I didn’t know what to do. I told myself it was okay, that he was cheating, because if I told the truth, people would stop paying attention to me.”
Jacob stilled. You threw hot coals at my lover’s mental health and his career because those things are less important than a D-list celebrity noticing you? God, this was as bad as Elizabeth had said. Maybe worse.
What’s a little betrayal or destruction of someone’s career when something you want lies in front of you?
Som
ething cold and quiet formed in the pit of Jacob’s stomach.
Jodie dabbed at her eyes, which were still full of tears. “You don’t understand. It’s so hard to get noticed these days, and scandals are the best way to change that. I was already thinking, though, that maybe things had gone too far. The problem was before I could get myself to stop, my g-grandpa saw me DMing Adina.”
Still reeling from the casualness with which this girl—a girl he thought was so innocent—used another human being as a lever to get a few clicks, Jacob needed a second to realize Jodie was about to deliver the connection Rebecca had wanted to hunt down.
Rebecca, way ahead of him, pressed on. “And Les Clark told you to continue?”
Jodie nodded miserably. “I felt weird about it, but it was my grandpa. I didn’t know what to do. I thought maybe it was going to die on its own. But I think he’s been talking to her without me.” She started sobbing again. “I d-didn’t mean to make Mr. Y-Youssef so depressed. I just wanted the attention. She said she’d make me famous.” The tears started up again. “I’m sorry I said those mean things to you, about Rasul, sorry for all of it. I know you’re going to fire me now, and I deserve it. I deserve everything I’m going to get.”
Jacob’s fists clenched on his thighs. Oh, how nice of her to agree to being fired, and how adorable she thought this would be enough compensation. As if losing a job she didn’t need was enough to make up for the devastation this meant to Rasul. As if she could truly sit there and meekly wait for her punishment instead of stepping forward to take care of this in any way. Couldn’t she at least quit and keep him out of it?
Setting his jaw, he faced her with arms folded over his chest.
Rebecca, however, remained calm, sounding almost motherly. “Jodie. Look at me, please.”
She did as Rebecca asked, wiping furiously at her eyes.
The Bookseller's Boyfriend Page 23
