“Jagger.” I was breathless. “I have to answer it. What if it’s Raven?”
He groaned against my breast, and just like that the magic was gone. “You need to set a special ringtone for her.” He handed me the phone.
“I know. I keep meaning to do that. But it wouldn’t matter now. I had it on vibrate from work.” I looked at the screen and frowned.
It was even worse than a Raven emergency. Diane wasted no time getting her point across. Dining room. Both of you. Now.
Chapter Twenty-One
Leah
“Jagger, what did you do for work before this job?” Diane asked as soon as we walked into the dining room. She didn’t give us a chance to get comfortable. A few other guests milled around the main floor of the old farmhouse, but Diane had created her own vortex, and time stood still.
He didn’t bat an eyelash. “I was an escort.”
“Is that how you met Leah?” She hadn’t acknowledged me yet.
“Yes, it is.”
Diane turned to me. “And you didn’t think this was worth mentioning before we put him on live, national TV?” It wasn’t really a question, more like a verbal slap across the face.
“He can hear you.” My blood boiled when people did that, treated Jagger like less of a person once they found out what he’d done for work. Like he didn’t deserve the same respect they gave him before they knew. “And no, I didn’t. I have no idea how you met your husband.”
“My husband isn’t on this show.” Diane snapped open her laptop and put on her reading glasses. Things were getting serious. “Jagger apparently reneged on a contract, and you were involved somehow?”
We’d been wrong about everything. Beth found someone to file her lawsuit. Someone pretty damn good, since my executive producer knew the details of the case the day Jagger debuted on the show. I’d been dealing with Beth’s shit all my life. This was no coincidence. But how did they choose today to make the lawsuit go public? All we’d said about Second Chances was that the winner would be announced. We never mentioned I’d have a co-host. All the press releases about Jagger released after the segment. And Beth even figured out a way to tie the lawsuit to me. This wouldn’t die quietly. “I’d prefer not to comment on that until I know all the details.”
Diane took off her glasses and pinched her nose. “We were thrilled when Jagger started trending online. People loved you. You had your own hashtag before the show ended. Of course, we followed it. Everything was setting up beautifully for Second Chances. Then the tone of the posts changed. Drastically. Didn’t take too much work to find this story. So Leah, if you can figure out a positive way to spin that you hired a prostitute and then made him your co-host, I’m all ears. Because I’ve got nothing.”
I needed to call Kari. “The lawsuit is bullshit. It won’t amount to anything.”
“Maybe not in court, but in the court of public opinion...the seed has already been planted. You paid someone to have sex with you. What the hell were you thinking? This kind of thing ruins careers. And before you think it won’t happen to you, we’ve already had word from one major sponsor who plans on pulling their advertising from Great Start Today.”
And the first domino fell.
“That’s not exactly what happened—“
“Jagger, it doesn’t matter what happened. It matters what’s been reported.” Diane pinched her nose again. “The only reason we’re not dealing with a throng of rabid reporters right now is because we’re in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea what happens next. But if this goes badly, a lot of people who believe in this project could be out of a job.”
Diane was always a doomsday prepper, but this time, I believed her. I grabbed Jagger’s hand, and he squeezed it, hard. “Don’t say anything else until I call Kari.” I turned to Diane. “She’s my lawyer, and she’s the best.”
“Good. You’re gonna need her.”
**
I was shaking. After almost thirty years of this bullshit, Beth and Shelley were still one step ahead of me. They’d removed me from one home, and now they were coming for the one I’d built myself. No. Not this time. They had everything they wanted, but their lives were still so empty they were hell-bent on destroying mine. I would’ve pitied them if I didn’t have to stop the avalanche that had become my career and future in the last five minutes.
“I’m sorry, Leah,” Jagger said as I picked the phone up off the bed and called Kari. I’d dropped it twice already. “I would’ve never accepted the job if I thought it would fuck with your livelihood.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Please, Kari, pick up. “They would’ve done this whether you worked with me or not.”
“I meant the escort job.”
He’d stunned me into silence.
“Please don’t say that.” My eyes burned, Jagger was blurry through unshed tears. “If that’s what you really think, you’ve let them take everything away from us.”
“What the fuck, Leah?” Kari knew exactly why I was calling. I couldn’t answer her. “Hello? Are you there?”
“Yeah.” I took a deep breath and tried my best to get my shit together. “Sounds like you’ve heard the good news.”
“How can you even joke about this? Have you been online this afternoon?”
When we talked about the lawsuit before, Kari had my back. Kari always had my back. And my best friend didn’t freak out about anything. She’d been my rock for so long. My stomach soured. “No. I called you as soon as Diane told me the story broke.”
“It didn’t break. It erupted. A high-profile woman hiring an escort? Especially you, the girl next door on the morning show? That was too good for the press to leave alone. They’ve posted information about the agency and made the website public. It’s still password protected, so they can’t see any of the guys. It only took everyone about thirty seconds to realize if someone like Leah Godfrey used this service, a lot of women like her must be, too.”
“Oh.” The domino train was about to knock Kari and every other woman who’d used the agency down with me.
“I’m working with Barry to suppress the client list, as well as the names of the other escorts. Jagger is the only one specifically named in the lawsuit, but Beth figured out a way to worm herself into the agency. We have no idea who she talked to, if they’ll come forward, and what they’ll say.” Kari sighed deeply. “Hopefully, they’ll decide the repercussions outweigh the benefit of talking to the press.”
I sunk down on the bed. “Kari, no one knows you used the service. I didn’t even know until you told me.”
“And I should’ve kept it that way,” she snapped. The second slap of the evening. “If that client list comes out, we’re fucked. Technically, we didn’t pay for sex—we paid to spend time with the escorts. But it’s a slippery slope. I’ve watched more than one senator have his career ruined over the same thing. And it will be worse for us because we’re women. Sad, but true.”
“What happens now?” I held on to hope that my alarm clock would go off, and I’d wake up from this nightmare, secure in Jagger’s arms.
“I need to read over their complaint thoroughly and look for places I can put this to bed without further damages. If not, we file a countersuit for defamation of character. Do not talk to anyone. I will contact the network’s legal department. We’ll figure out what your statement is. Basically, at this point, it’s a race to the finish, to see if I can block that client list from being exposed. If not, Beth’s lawsuit will look like child’s play.” Kari chuckled grimly. “There’s a very real possibility you’ll lose your job over this. You’ll be the sacrificial lamb. I’ll do everything I can to protect you from what happens next, but there’s only so much I can do.”
What did I say to that? Thank you? I sighed. “Keep me posted.”
“We’ll get through this.” Kari didn’t sound convinced. “Just like we get through everything else.”
Jagger looked up from his phone when I hung up. “It’s worse than we thought,” he said
.
“Way worse.” I sighed and crawled over to him, grabbing the remote on the way. I clicked on the TV. My timing was horrifically perfect. The nightly news was coming to a close, leading into the gossip shows. “Knowledge is power, right?”
We didn’t have to wait long for our story; the show I chose led off the broadcast with it. It even got tagged as breaking news. “That wasn’t so bad.” I looked back at Jagger. The segment included us on TV this morning, and what I presumed to be the building where Barry had his office. “It’s pissing me off, that it’s so scandalous that I hired a date. Not even that they’re insinuating I’m pathetic, that I’d have to pay. Men do this, right out in the open. No one cares.”
Jagger picked his phone up again. “The stories online go much deeper. They do speculate why you used the service, but they want to know who else has, too.” He handed me the phone. “Don’t read the comments.”
“I never do.” It didn’t matter how thick my skin was, internet trolls would have no problem splitting it open and pouring vinegar in the wound. “That’s what Kari’s flipping out about. What I want to know is how they planned it so perfectly. This isn’t a coincidence that the story broke today. Beth isn’t smart enough to be this lucky.”
“Who would’ve tipped them off?”
I groaned, leaning back against Jagger. “Raven. I bet they pumped her for info, and she wouldn’t have seen any harm in telling them you’d be on the show since it was going to be on TV anyway. She’s got no idea about the lawsuit.”
“Or she does, and this is her way of getting rid of me.” Jagger pulled me in closer.
I broke away. “No. Don’t say that about Raven.” I hated that he thought it, and even more that he could be right. No. She wouldn’t side with Rich on anything. My world was spinning out of control. “She doesn’t hate me that much.”
“No, she doesn’t. She couldn’t understand the scope of this. She never would’ve said anything if she had any idea what the consequences were.” Jagger got up from the bed and stood by the window. It was dark out, but there was peace on the other side of the window. Tranquility. And it had never seemed further away.
“We better read every story we can find. When we get back to Washington tomorrow, there won’t be any place to hide. Both the production office and my home office addresses are listed on the internet. I don’t want any more surprises.” I hated that we had to waste the night looking for information on this bullshit lawsuit instead of researching the farm.
I had a sinking feeling that once we left Vermont in the morning, we’d never see this farm again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Leah
I thought I’d prepared myself for finding reporters outside my house. The reality of it was a sucker punch in the gut. We had to weave through a hungry wall of humanity to get to the front door—the pack was even more ravenous because Jagger was with me. Our arrival breathed new life into the story. Now they could confirm we were a couple on top of everything else. If we’d been smart, we would’ve split up. But let’s face it, we weren’t that smart. And I couldn’t do this without him.
“What are you doing home?” Raven never skipped school, and she never hung out in the living room. She hugged her knees and did something else she never did—watched TV. I didn’t have to look to know what she was watching.
“I’m not going out in that.” Raven glared at me, and I realized she’d made a very good decision. I hated myself for being in another state while she was home alone with an angry crowd outside. Like I had any idea all hell would break loose. She’d just turned eighteen, and she didn’t need a babysitter anymore. She probably did need someone to protect her from me. “And there’s no way I’m going to school. Ever again. Since you probably don’t have a job anymore, you’ll have plenty of time to homeschool me. Good thing we don’t have the same last name.”
“Raven Leigh. You’re an adult now. I expect you to act like it.” We were locked in a staring contest. I had no idea my daughter could be so cruel. She’d learned it from her father.
Jagger stood next to me, clutching his bag. I didn’t blame him, I hadn’t felt so uncomfortable in my own home since the last time my world came crashing down around me. This time, I wouldn’t run.
“What about you?” She got off the couch, walking quickly toward the stairs without ever breaking her death glare. “I’m not the one all over TV because I was too pathetic to find a boyfriend without paying for him!”
She stormed upstairs and slammed her door closed. If I closed my eyes, I could pretend that didn’t happen.
Jagger put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry I did this to you.”
“You didn’t do anything to me.” I turned into him, needing everything he had to give. His pounding heart drowned out the chaos outside. The reporters would wait forever, hoping they got the story that made their careers, not caring for a second that it would ruin mine. And so many other people’s. “If it wasn’t this, Rich, Shelley and Beth would’ve found another way to tear me down. I wish they’d get a hobby. Like those wine and painting nights. That would be perfect for them.”
“Me, too.” Jagger chuckled softly. He tipped my chin up to meet his gaze. I didn’t think there was anything left of my heart to break after that run-in with Raven, but the sadness in his eyes proved otherwise. “Why are they doing this to you? I’ve never met people so intent on being evil for absolutely no reason. They have nothing to gain from this.”
“In high school, I could understand it. They needed to knock other people down to give themselves a sense of self-worth. I could even understand why Rich cheated on me. I didn’t have the balls to leave him, either. But this...I don’t understand it at all. I’d forget about them if I could. There are so many good things in the future, I don’t have time to waste by looking back. But they force me to, every day.”
“We can only look at the future now. Once Kari sends us the actual complaint, we’ll know what to ask her, and how to move forward. What we can do to protect ourselves. Besides being an escort, and the porn, my past is pretty clean. All my shit’s on record.” Jagger attempted a smile.
The problem with this kind of attack sustained over a lifetime was I actually considered that I could be at fault. Impossible. “I’ve spent the last eighteen years momming, which isn’t exactly scandalous. The guys I dated before I met you seemed pretty ordinary. You’re the only skeleton in my closet.”
Jagger deflated. “There’s a chance it blows over. I know it’s wishful thinking. But things were just starting to get good. That guy we talked to yesterday was great. He had me so excited about the show. Now I hope he didn’t get in touch with the family of the original owners. I’d hate to tell them it’s not happening after all.”
Another victim. When did it end? Everything I worked so hard for was slipping through my fingers. My whole team could suffer. People like Shannon, who’d invested everything they had in me. And now they’d hate me, not because I hired an escort, but because they’d think I screwed them over. I sat on the couch just in time to see yesterday’s segment flash in the background of a news story. The headline at the bottom of the screen read GST Co-host Escort Scandal. “You wouldn’t be the bearer of bad news—the production company would be. If it exists anymore. Or the network. But we’ll be the ones they blame,” I said.
We jumped when my phone rang. With the crowd still thick outside the window, it was like one of them got inside. I picked up my phone like I would a bug and was relieved to see it was Kari.
“Please tell me you have good news.” It was a long shot, but a girl could still dream.
She scoffed. “Don’t I wish. The escort service’s site got hacked. We’re pretty sure they have the client list.”
I fell back on the cushion. “I’m putting you on speaker so I don’t have to repeat all of this to Jagger. Now what happens?”
“One of two things. The obvious conclusion is they go public with it. There’s not anythin
g to gain from that, depending on who’s behind the hack. I think they’ll be a little more subversive. They’ll contact people one by one and see what they’re willing to give them to keep their names quiet. This will destroy careers. Rip apart families. Good people.” Kari sighed, and my heart plummeted further. “Either way, it’s getting ugly. You only think it’s ugly now. You haven’t seen anything yet.”
“Who do you think is on the list?”
“A lot of people you wouldn’t expect,” Jagger said, rubbing his face hard. “A lot of celebrities come through Miami, some of them just for us. I won’t name names because I’d still like to respect their privacy. But it would be devastating to a lot of people’s careers if that list was made public.”
Jagger was a class act. Now would’ve been the perfect time to kiss and tell, but he wouldn’t. I leaned over and kissed him. He’d simply been doing his job, and he didn’t deserve to be caught up in the shitstorm of my life.
Kari groaned on the other end of the phone. “I just got a message from my boss. He wants to see me in his office. Now.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jagger
Leah wasn’t even a part of this lawsuit. It was between me, Beth, and Barry. But the swarm of reporters didn’t get that memo. More joined the fray as details emerged, or maybe it was because they knew they held us captive inside the house. All the stories online and on TV centered around Leah. That she’d hired an escort and made him her co-host. I was the one that accepted the paycheck, but she was the one they were determined to ruin.
I’d do anything to make it better for her, but there was no stopping this freefall.
“We may starve to death.” Leah smiled, but there was no light in her eyes. She’d kept a quiet calm through the entire crisis. “I don’t know how my mother does it. During Snowpocalypse, that place was fully stocked. We would’ve made it another month before we ran out of the good snacks. I never mastered that art. One of my many failures as a mom.”
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