Chapter 45
Harper
When I geta text at work, I don’t bother to check the name as I open it, assuming from the time of day that it’s Alex. But when I do look down, my heart skips a beat.
Drew
We need to talk.
We’ve said everything that needs to be said.
You need to meet with me and talk. You need to hear what I have to tell you.
I don’t want to hear any more about anything Drew. Leave me alone.
I close my phone and block his number. Which is why when he shows up at the museum several hours later, I’m rattled. This wasn’t the kind of thing Drew normally did. He didn’t insist on talking to me. He didn’t show up at my work. He largely ignored me, if we were being honest about it. Especially if I wasn’t doing something he wanted, he found better things to do.
But his knuckles rap on my door and when I look up, I slide my chair back, my gut churning at the sight of him.
“What are you doing here?” I ask in a hushed whisper.
“You blocked my fucking number, so I didn’t have a choice.” His tone is low and pissed.
“Because I don’t want to talk to you after the things you said the other day. You shouldn’t be here.”
I’m guessing Dave was being helpful again, letting people back here he thought I wanted to see.
“Can we discuss this outside?”
“No. Leave.”
“Do you want Alex’s career to be over? Because if you don’t, you’ll come and talk with me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come outside, Harper.” His tone turns dark, and I stand slowly. I eye him warily, but I follow him outside and then lead the way to the picnic spot that Scarlett and I love so much. It’s still within sight of the museum, but far enough away that no one can hear the argument I can tell he’s gearing up to have.
“What is it?” I stand expectantly, arms folded.
“I want to try things again, between us. I want to make this work.”
“We’re divorced Drew. There’s no making this work. It’s over and it’s been over.”
“Then I want a second chance. I was upset before, but I realize now that I contributed to the problems. I understand how you could have seen it as being my fault, and I want a chance to make up for that.”
“It was your fault. You cheated. Then you refused marriage counseling.”
“I just acted on the thing you thought about. You might as well have been cheating on me.” His eyes snap to mine, and they’re cold, desperate, and little bit dangerous.
“I don’t want to have this discussion again. So tell me what you need to tell me about Alex.”
“Fine. You want to do this the hard way, we can.” He pauses and stares at me, his eyes drifting over me before he continues. “Obviously I knew the two of you were faking this relationship to save his career. Or at least, that’s what’s in it for him. But I couldn’t figure out why you would do it. I knew despite the fact you liked him you were smart. You wouldn’t just put yourself at risk for someone like him, shield him just because you wanted to fuck him. You’re smarter than that. That’s when I realized what you need that only he might be able to give you—votes for your museum, a way to get attention and maybe pass the levy.”
I stay silent because I don’t want to accidentally give him any more information.
“He gives you publicity. He gives you his image and his voice, and you hopefully get the help you need. I realized when I saw the stuff Sam was helping you put out recently.”
I shrug noncommittally. “He’s been helpful, and yes it was one of the benefits of our fake relationship. He didn’t bribe me with it. It was something I asked for his help with—and he gave it, gladly.”
“You don’t need him anymore though. So I’m going to help you get out of it and give us a second chance in the process.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I have the photos from the night of the incident. I’m going to release them and say he’s the one that hit you. That you were cheating on me, but you wanted to come back to me. He lost his temper at not having things his way, like he always does, so he hit you and you fought back. Then he wanted to cover it up, so he concocted this fake relationship. We went along with it because he threatened my job and promised to help you save yours. But I had an attack of conscience because I’m worried about you. Concerned for your mental health and physical safety, so I’m outing the whole story.”
I feel sick and furious at the same time, a horrid combination for both my stomach and my heart.
“Are you insane? That’s a fucking lie.”
“Is it? Just as believable as the story he gave.”
“His version isn’t a story. It’s what happened. Ben, Tobias, Violet… they were all there to see it for themselves.”
“Were they, or did they just walk in after it happened? If they were in court, what did they actually see?”
I stare at him, wide-eyed because I realize how much he’s thought this through. How much he’s planned each little detail down to the core. This was revenge for him. I knew he was pissed, but this is beyond what I thought he was capable of.
“Drew… even if they didn’t see—I was there, and I know it didn’t happen.”
“You think it didn’t happen. But you’ve also been brainwashed by him. You’re not thinking straight. But it’s fine, Harper, I’m going to fix it for us.”
“I don’t want to fix it. I just want you to leave things alone. Leave me alone. Leave us alone.”
“We belong together, Harp. I know he’s fucked with your head. Made you believe he could change for you. Promised you things we both know he’ll never deliver on. I know I fucked up and made you vulnerable to his shit. But I’m here now, and I’m going to fix things. Just come back to me and we’ll figure it out.”
It’s all so incredibly rich coming from Drew. Infuriating really, to hear him talk about Alex like he’s the villain in this situation while he’s actively plotting to destroy his career and his public image just because he’s pissed.
“I’m not coming back to you. You don’t love me. You just don’t want him to be with me. Those are two very different things.”
“Then I guess I’m releasing these photos of your injuries. Of the abuse he caused, and then calling the cops to tell them what I know about the incident. How sheepish you were. How you had to step out of the room because he lost his temper even in our meeting.”
“Drew…” I warn him softly but it’s useless because I can see the look on his face.
“Harper. You can either come back to me, or I can handle it on my own.”
“I don’t want you releasing these pictures or this insane fabricated story.”
“Then come back to me. We can go to therapy, and we’ll work through all of this.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“You can, or I’ll do what I have to.” He levels me with a dark look, his eyes devoid of anything but malice.
“You’ll destroy your own career in the process. No other client will trust you not to betray their NDA.”
“It’s worth it if I save you—us—in the process.”
“You are not thinking this through, Drew.”
“No. You’re not thinking it through. I’ll give you a few days to figure it out, Harp. I know you’ll come around to seeing it my way. But in the meantime, you need to get away. Break things off with him. Get out of his orbit—stay away from him. You’re not fucking safe. Then I’ll give you the time you need to figure things out before I release these.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking. He could lose his job.”
“I don’t care about his job, or him. He has enough money, fame, and women for a lifetime. He doesn’t get to take you and our life away from me. He’ll live, Harper. He’ll forget about you just as soon as the next new shiny thing comes along.”
My blood runs cold. Alex was right. If he was willing to do the things he did to me, he was willing to do much worse to him. And Drew would wield me like a blunt weapon if it meant he could take him out. I need to buy time. Time to think and time to fix this.
“Fine. I’ll… I’ll consider leaving him and trying therapy, but don’t do any of this. I don’t want those pictures out. They’re going to hurt me as much as they hurt him.”
“If you leave him, we don’t have to share the pictures if you don’t want to. But I think we should. People should know who he really is. What he did to you. What he did to me.”
I almost think Drew believes his own lies at this point, the way he’s talking.
“I’ll leave. But I need time to break things off. If I do it too abruptly, he’ll freak out and suspect something. I just need some time to get away. Give me a few weeks.”
“I’ll give you a week, Harper. Then I’ll start moving forward, with or without you.”
“Fine.”
“Something else I want you to keep in mind, if he gets in your head about this. Tries to convince you to change your mind... My father is still on the board for your museum.”
“I’m aware. Your father’s support during the levy has been very helpful. I’m grateful he put the fact we’re divorced aside and continues to support the institution and my work.”
“He’ll keep supporting you unless he hears my version of events. The real version. He hears that? That you cheated on me? That Alex betrayed me? That you both forced me to go along with this story because Alex threatened my job… His support will vanish. In fact, I’d guess he’d probably feel compelled to expose everything about your museum to the public before the vote so that people knew exactly what kind of institution they’d be supporting.”
“What are you talking about? The museum is completely above board.”
“Are they? Or is there a reason you’re so broke? Maybe funds have been redirected. Maybe there’s been embezzlement. We’d have to get to the bottom of it.”
My gut churns with fear and rage all mixed into one kettle.
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“I’ll do what I have to do to save you from him.”
Whatever is going on inside his head, he’s not the man I knew.
“Just give me time.”
“One week should be plenty and get out of his place—soon.”
“Fine,” I answer, trying to keep my face placid. Trying not to imagine all the ways I want to scream, cry, and lose my mind right now.
“We’ll get through this, Harp.”
I give him a begrudging, muted smile in return because I don’t know what else to do. I feel desperately unprepared for this moment. No words and no recourse for being cornered. I’m sure he bet on that.
“I’ll text you later,” I say when he waits for a response.
“Okay.” He nods and then takes off down the hill.
I feel so sick that I don’t even know how I can go back to work right now. I have no idea how I’ll tell Alex, if I should even tell him. If he’d been here to hear those threats, Drew would be a bloody flattened mess on the ground right now. There’s a reason he’s threatening me and not Alex with this. I can’t help but wonder if that’s half of his plan.