Chapter 18 #2
She huffs out a sarcastic laugh and turns away from me to stare out of the window.
“Typical.” She looks back at me, pain, defeat, but also a glimmer of anger shines out of those beautiful eyes.
“Go away, Jude Greystone. I don’t need you here to make my humiliation complete.
I’m managing that just fine on my own.” Her voice is stoic, her face set in grim lines.
Louise starts to wail, and the younger woman with them slumps next to her, both holding hands. I look at Emma, her chin lifting slightly. She’s trying to rally her spirit, and mine soars even higher.
“As I said, everyone was in that hall. But—” I hold my hand up to her as she tries to interrupt me.
“They were all with you. Everyone of any standing has stood where you stood. Everyone who has ever presented has had nightmares about what happened to you on that stage today.” I infuse my voice with command, confidence, and assertive reassurance.
Come on Emma, grab it by the balls, baby. Own it.
Her head snaps up. “They were laughing, Jude. I heard them,” she cries out.
I shake my head and take a deep breath. How can she understand so much, and see so little?
“I know you won’t believe me, but yes they were laughing as the content was funny.
But they were laughing with you. Not at you.
Everyone was waiting for you to come out and speak again.
No one left that hall for twenty minutes.
That has never happened before. The last session before the bar?
There’s usually a stampede to clear the door and halls.
Today, no one wanted to leave.” I need to make her see what she created was not a failure.
She jumps out of the chair and I nearly fall over. Catching myself, I stand, and we’re nose to nose.
“Are you blind and deaf? I heard them. I saw them.” Damn she’s hard-headed.
“Yes, laughing, but your mother was doing a tango demonstration with a life-size, fully-erect, erotic male doll. What do you think would happen?” I put my arms out. “You dealt with it. That mic drop was legendary. Everyone was talking about that.”
She pulls a face at me. “Get out, Jude. Go home. I don’t need you here. We’re off home before I can really sink my business.” She gives a half sob.
“No,” I command.
“How can you say that? You were there. You saw what happened. How the hell can I face anyone? What am I supposed to do?” She’s gone from defeated flight mode to fight mode. Yes!
I step into her personal space. She’s still holding the glass, and I prise it from her death grip, placing it on the coffee table.
I step back into her personal space, and brush her hair away from her forehead and slide my fingers down to under her jaw, lifting her chin.
I hear Louise gasp at the intimate gesture, but ignore her.
“You did what you could in the circumstances. Everyone knew you had technical issues—obviously.” She opens her mouth again. “Don’t do anything. You can’t fix it.” She chokes out a sob. “But what you can do is fucking embrace it.”
Her mouth pops open, and her eyes go wide. She’s shaking her head. “I cannot face anyone. My mother was dancing with a fully blown up, anatomically erect, male doll. I am going home.” She enunciates every word.
I straighten to my full height and stare back, and I can’t help starting to smirk.
“She looked good doing that tango. She sure can move,” I state, and Emma gives a half sob.
“Nothing will change anything. But the hard facts are also that you were fucking brilliant. Magnificent. What you did up there was amazing.” She half gasps.
“You will stay here and face down everyone. You can do it, and you will.” My confidence in her is at maximum. I hope she sees it.
Pulling her towards me, I can see every colour in those beautiful eyes. She tries to slump back into the chair, but I hold her fast.
“We’re going home,” she reiterates, and points to the packed up room. All their cases are there. Boxed up paraphernalia for the stand. They’ve made short work of that lot. It’s evidently been shoved in, in a frenzied hurry.
I start to shake my head, again. “You’re not.” I stare at her as she looks incredulously at me.
“Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?” she demands. Louise groans behind me. I don’t mind taking all her flak. Bring it on. Let it all out. I can take it.
I square up to her. “I’m the person who wants you to succeed.
I don’t want your building. Well, not today, anyway.
I certainly don’t want your business. I don’t and would never work with your ex-husband or business partner.
And finally, I certainly am not interested in the equity in your home.
I’m on your side. And I am telling you to get a grip.
That presentation has gone down in conference history.
Legend. It will be fucking talked about days, weeks, months, years from now. You are fucking famous.”
I turn to Louise. “Check your socials. They will have gone mad.”
“Fuck me,” she says in awe. She holds her phone up and we can see message after message. Notification after notification.
“It’ll be a meme. It’ll be a joke. Nasty.” Emma argues.
“Some will be. But not all. Let me get my brother on the phone, he does the internet. It’s his job.
We can get him to help sort it. It won’t take it away, it won’t all be rainbows and unicorns.
But as my brothers-in-law always tell me, all publicity is just that—publicity.
And you, Emma Lincoln, have hit the headlines. ”
“All the more reason to go home.”
“No.”
“Mr Greystone, you do not get to tell me what to do.” Her voice has an edge of hysteria. I need to talk her down.
“Listen to my plan, and if you really think it’s not a good one, then fine, go. But please listen. Believe me, I’ve been dealing with this sort of publicity in my family for years.”
“Oh yes. Your girlfriend is always in the headlines.” She looks away, and I frown.
“I don’t have a girlfriend. I have friends who are women. But I don’t have a full-time girlfriend, a date. Nothing. But that’s irrelevant.” I stand and wait for her answer.
“Emma, let’s listen to him. It can’t be worse than this.” Louise, now recovered, has moved to a standing position at the side of the bed rather than laying on it. The two workers are on their phones, gasping and starting to laugh a little.
“Emma, you’re famous,” the young guy says, his eyes going back to the phone.
“Right then, this is what I think we should do. Let’s discuss it.”