“Where did you get these?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“Where I got them doesn’t matter,” Adrian said. “But needless to say, I’ve dismissed Jackson from my service. From now on, you will have a new—much older—bodyguard, so there is no chance of this happening again.”
What? Peyton’s brain felt fuzzy, and she couldn’t focus on anything but replaying those words, praying this wasn’t happening. Had Adrian really said that he’d “dismissed Jackson from his service”? As if it wasn’t a big deal?
She had to fix this. She wasn’t sure how, but she had to.
“It’s not what it looks like.” Her hand shook as she handed Adrian back his phone. Would Jackson’s fears come true and he would never find another job again? If that happened…it would be her fault. She would have ruined his life.
“Do you care to explain how this ‘isn’t what it looks like’?” Adrian asked. “Because I fail to see how it can be anything else.”
“Because I’m the one at fault.” Peyton picked at a hangnail, biting the inside of her cheek when she ripped it to the blood. “Not Jackson.”
“You’re seventeen,” Adrian said. “Jackson is twenty-three. Legally, he’s the one at fault.”
Peyton’s heart pounded. “You’re not going to get him in legal trouble, are you? Because nothing more than what you see in those pictures happened, I swear it.”
“No,” he said, and Peyton breathed out in relief. “I wouldn’t do that to him. But as I said, I’ve released him from my service, and you will not see him again.”
“But you have no idea what happened,” she pleaded, her eyes filling with tears. She hated getting personal, but she had to now, for Jackson. “Those photos were from the night we found out about Britney. Courtney was a wreck, everything was falling apart and I didn’t know what to do. So I went to Jackson. He was the only one who was truly there for me, who I felt comfortable talking to. But he told me there couldn’t be more than a professional relationship between us. He explained why, and I agreed with his points. So you can’t fire him because of this.”
“He already told me all of that,” Adrian said. “However, that doesn’t change my decision. The relationship between the two of you crosses the line of what’s appropriate. You will have a new bodyguard, and you will be grounded for a month.”
“Grounded?” she repeated, her mouth dropping open. “What does that even mean? Stuck in my room…stuck in the condo…stuck in the Diamond? It’s a pretty broad term.”
“Stuck in your room?” he said, baffled. “I would never be that extreme. But for the next month, you’ll come straight home after school. You won’t be going out with friends on school nights or weekends. You can go to the restaurants in the Diamond with your sisters, and you can go to the gym, but no pool. All other outings will be family activities, like the trip to the Grand Canyon tomorrow and Savannah’s birthday party. Your new bodyguard will be informed of these rules. If you break them, you’ll be grounded for longer. And you won’t be seeing Jackson again—not while you’re grounded, and not afterward.”
“You can’t do that,” Peyton said. “Like you said, Jackson doesn’t work for you anymore. So if we want to see each other, why can’t we?”
“I actually can do that, because he’s too old for you.” Adrian’s eyes were hard. “Besides the fact that it’s illegal for the two of you to be involved with each other, he’s twenty-three, has graduated from college and is working in the professional world. You’re seventeen and still in high school.”
“The age difference doesn’t matter,” Peyton insisted. “Besides, aren’t you a few years older than Mom?”
He pressed his lips in a firm line. “Your mom was in college when we met, not high school.”
“A few years can’t make a big difference.”
“A few years does make a big difference. And you can fight this all you want, but it won’t change the law.”
“I’ll be eighteen in a few months.” She crossed her arms and held her gaze with his, waiting to see how he would argue against that. “Will you give Jackson his job back after my birthday?”
“It doesn’t matter how old you are—you can’t be in a relationship with your bodyguard,” he said, his voice clipped. “Your bodyguard’s job is to watch and protect you—he must be aware of your surroundings at all times. He can’t do that if he’s distracted by his feelings for you.”
Peyton opened her mouth to protest, but Adrian held his hand up to stop her.
“Take the pictures from Thursday night as an example,” he continued. “If Jackson had been doing his job and not been focused on the conversation he was having with you, he would have been aware of the people taking photos of you and put a stop to it. Those pictures aren’t only evidence of an inappropriate relationship, but of why a relationship with your bodyguard stops him from effectively doing his job.”
Peyton’s throat tightened, her eyes filling with tears, and she blinked a few times to will them away. “Nothing happened between me and Jackson.” She balled her fists by her sides, frustrated by the feeling that this was an argument she couldn’t win. No matter what she said, Adrian wouldn’t believe her. All she could think to do was repeat what she’d already told him and hope he would understand. “Jackson knows what a risk it would be. Thursday was a rough day, and Courtney and Savannah were going through a lot, too, so he was the only person I could talk to. He helped me—he was there for me. He shouldn’t get fired for that.”
“You could have talked to Rebecca,” Adrian said. “She told me she made sure you and your sisters knew she was there to listen.”
She crossed her arms. “It’s not the same.”
“I wish you’d give Rebecca a chance,” he said. “But my decision about Jackson is final. I saw the pictures. Beyond his relationship with you being unprofessional, he was drinking with you. That behavior is unacceptable, and it won’t be tolerated.”
Peyton sniffed and swallowed back more tears. Because she wanted to change Adrian’s mind, but Jackson was drinking beer with her in those pictures. She couldn’t argue otherwise.
“I know you’re upset with me, but I hope you can put this aside tomorrow when we go to the Grand Canyon,” Adrian said. “I meant what I said about wanting to get to know you and your sisters.”
There was no way Peyton was forgetting this. She would be reminded every time she saw her bodyguard and it wasn’t Jackson. But how could she argue against the two of them drinking together? There was photographic evidence. So she said okay—mainly because she needed to think and couldn’t do that with Adrian in her room reminding her how badly she’d screwed everything up—and he finally said he would see her tomorrow and left.
The door closed, and she picked up her phone to text Jackson.
Adrian told me everything. I’m sooo sorry…I never meant for this to happen :( I tried to change his mind, but he wasn’t budging. I wish there was more I can do. Just please text me back and let me know you’re okay??
She pressed Send and stared at her phone, waiting for his response. But there was nothing.
Before she could text him again, her door flew open and Savannah jumped onto the bed, followed by Courtney, who situated herself in the chair Adrian had just vacated.
“What was that about?” Courtney asked.
“Make sure to tell us everything,” Savannah added.
Peyton just wanted to text Jackson again, but her sisters looked like they were going to explode from curiosity. So she gave them a rundown on the conversation—from her possible ADHD to Adrian showing her the pictures of her with Jackson to what had actually happened between her and Jackson to her current status of “grounded” and his of “fired.” All because of her.
“Wow,” Courtney said when she was done. “I knew you were attracted to Jackson, but I had no idea anything ha
d actually happened. How could I not have seen it until now?”
“I know.” Savannah splayed out on the bed, balancing her chin in her hands. “How could you not have told us?”
“It’s only been a few intense conversations and two kisses, and he pushed me away pretty quickly both times.” Peyton sniffed and looked at the ceiling, willing herself not to replay the scenes with Jackson in her mind. Because then she might lose it again, and she’d cried enough in the past week to last an entire year. “I didn’t want to risk telling anyone, because then there would be a higher chance that Adrian would find out and fire him. Which didn’t matter, since that’s what happened anyway.”
“But you didn’t even trust me and Courtney?” Savannah sounded betrayed. “You know we wouldn’t have told anyone.”
The hurt in her voice made Peyton feel guiltier than before. “I know,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“You know what I think?” Courtney said, and both Peyton and Savannah looked at her to continue. “The three of us need to get better at not keeping anything from each other. There have been so many secrets since we moved to Vegas, and it needs to stop. To prove it, I’ll tell you something I’ve kept to myself until now—I still have feelings for Brett.” She held her head high and straightened her shoulders, as if that was some big confession that was going to majorly shock them.
“Really?” Peyton faked surprise, and laughed. At least Courtney’s “shocking” confession had taken her mind off Jackson, even if it was for only a second. “Of course I know you have feelings for Brett. It’s written all over your face every time you’re around him. And he was so devastated when you shut him out these past few days.”
“I still think you should go for him,” Savannah said. “You and Brett are perfect for each other. It’s been obvious since the moment you met him at that first dinner and the two of you wouldn’t stop talking. And he’s a really good guy—he helped me with my videos for YouTube without thinking twice about it. He’s never said anything to me about you, but his eyes light up every time I say your name.”
“Do they really?” Courtney asked.
“Yep.” Savannah smiled. “Just like yours are right now.”
“We do get along really well.” Courtney sighed. “But Rebecca talked with me about it, and she made good points about why it would be unwise for me to date him, given the situation.”
“Fuck the situation,” Peyton said, which made both Courtney and Savannah laugh. “Better to see what could happen between you two than to look back and wonder.”
“Maybe.” Courtney’s cheeks turned red. “Anyway, Savannah, it’s your turn. Pick something you’ve been keeping to yourself and share it.”
Savannah rolled over and stared at the ceiling. “I can’t think of anything,” she said. “I mean, there’s one thing, but it involved Peyton, too….”
Courtney’s eyes darted to Peyton. “What thing?”
Peyton had a sinking feeling where Savannah was going with this.
“The thing that happened at the pool last month?” Savannah looked at Peyton, her voice shaky. “With Oliver and Madison?”
“Why am I getting the feeling that this is something I should know?” Courtney asked. She watched Peyton expectantly, with the determination in her eyes that meant she wouldn’t give up until she got answers.
“All right.” Peyton sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She might as well get this over with. “I wasn’t going to tell you because you’ll take it the wrong way and it’s not a big deal anymore, but here it goes. Remember the week we moved here, when Ellen Prescott had Oliver ask you to that charity event when we were at dinner at the Gates?”
“Yeah.” Courtney nodded. “How could I forget?”
“Well, I was pretty pissed when that happened, because I hooked up with Oliver the first night we moved here.”
Courtney shot up in her chair. “You had sex with Oliver?” she said. Peyton nodded, her cheeks heating up. “Why didn’t you say anything? Especially after he asked me out. You know I would have told him no way if I’d known.” She glanced at Savannah. “Did she tell you?”
“Not when it happened,” Savannah said. “I had no idea until last month.”
“I was going to tell you after dinner, but you went straight back to the condo, so I figured I would wait until the morning,” Peyton said to Courtney. “At Luxe, I told Oliver you wouldn’t go out with him after I told you what had happened between us.”
“You were right,” Courtney said. “I would have told him to forget the dinner. But you never told me. Don’t you think I should have known?”
“Yeah, you should have.” Peyton picked at her nail polish. “But then I told him that even if I didn’t tell you, you still wouldn’t go for him because he’s not your type. He’s so conceited that he saw that as a challenge. He told me that if I was right, and you didn’t go for him without me telling you what had happened between us, I could ask him to do any one task I wanted.”
Courtney pressed her lips together. “And if you were wrong?”
“I knew I wouldn’t be wrong.” She tried to sound confident, even though her hands were shaking. “Oliver is everything you hate rolled up into one person.”
“But if you were,” she pressed. “Then what?”
Peyton looked at the floor, unable to meet her sister’s gaze. “Then I would have to do any one task he wanted.”
“And you would have gotten yourself into a huge mess, because I would have been interested in a guy who had slept with you earlier that week.” Courtney gripped the armrests of the chair, her eyes swirling with anger. “You made a bet on my emotions. How could you think that was okay?”
“But I knew it wouldn’t get to that, because you would never go for Oliver,” Peyton said, although her reasons were sounding weaker by the second. “And I was right. You put him in his place when he tried to kiss you. I was actually surprised he tried at all, since I doubt you were giving him signals that you wanted him to, but he was probably too drunk to notice.”
“I can’t believe this.” Courtney’s face paled. “I wouldn’t have been in the car with him while he was drunk at all if you’d been honest with me from the start. It’s a good thing he only tried to kiss me. What if he’d tried more than that? What if Oliver wasn’t the type of guy who took no for an answer? Did that cross your mind?”
“Oliver’s an ass, but he’s not that bad,” Peyton pleaded, wishing Courtney would calm down. “So many girls want to hook up with him that he hardly needs to force anyone. Plus, his parents are close with Adrian. He would never do anything that serious to mess that up.”
“But you’d only known him for a few days,” Courtney said. “You couldn’t have been sure. I’m your sister—I should have come before some stupid bet. And then you let me go out with him again, to the grand opening? How could you not say anything to me?”
“You said you told him you weren’t interested in him, and that you were going as friends,” Peyton reminded her, although she knew it sounded lame.
“We were supposed to go as friends,” Courtney said, her voice escalating in volume. “Until he tried forcing his tongue down my throat in the middle of the dance floor. Luckily Brett stepped in. And where were you? Oh, yeah, dancing with strangers on the second floor. Were you ever going to tell me about you and Oliver? Or were you going to pretend like it never happened?”
“I don’t know.” Peyton couldn’t meet Courtney’s eyes, because she knew the real answer: she probably wouldn’t have mentioned it. “When I talked to Oliver at Luxe, he was a total jerk. He made it clear he wasn’t interested in me and that we were never going to hook up again. I’m not gonna lie—it hurt. I left the club right afterward. I guess I wanted to leave it all in the past. Then I won the bet, and I figured I could use it to get back at him.” But when said out loud, it sounded pathe
tic. Bitterness rose in her throat, and she glared at Savannah. “Why did you bring this up?”
Savannah looked down at her hands, playing with her bracelets. “Because we were confessing secrets and starting fresh,” she said, her voice small. “I’m sorry.”
“This isn’t Savannah’s fault,” Courtney said, each word full of anger. “This wouldn’t have happened if you’d put your loyalty to me before your stupid bet. I can’t imagine that anything you could have asked Oliver to do was worth betraying me.”
Finally—a point where Peyton could defend herself. “Actually, what I ended up asking him to do helped all three of us.”
From there, she recounted everything: Madison taking that picture of her with Hunter at the Lobby Bar, the same picture showing up on the nasty forum post that had attacked all three of them, to the conversation she and Savannah had with Oliver at the pool, where she told him that his task was to take Madison’s virginity.
“Once it’s done, I’m going to tell Madison everything—about how Oliver only slept with her because of a bet, and that it should teach her to stop messing with us,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Madison is behind the pictures of me and Jackson getting out, too. That girl seriously has it coming to her.”
“That is the most twisted, convoluted plan I’ve ever heard,” Courtney said once Peyton was finished. “You don’t know if Madison wrote that post. Yes, it’s suspicious since you saw the picture on her phone, but are you positive it was her?”
“Who else could it be?” Peyton looked at Savannah for backup, but Savannah bit her lip and shrugged, not seeming as convinced anymore.
“Anyone!” Courtney threw her hands in the air. “You didn’t delete the picture immediately after Madison took it, and clearly, since it showed up online, it was never truly deleted. You’re so sure she backed it up somewhere else. But what if, instead of backing it up, she sent it to her friends before you approached her? Then those friends could have sent it to their friends, and so on. Yes, Madison took the picture, but you can’t know who wrote that post.”
Diamonds in the Rough Page 30
