Chapter 18
Eighteen
ARIA
Icouldn’t remember the last time I’d floated into work in such a good mood.
Worries over Allegra’s continued distance got shoved to the back of my mind.
Not even the link my mother had sent me to a website for a new diet fad bothered me, and the million things I knew I had to do at work made me anticipate instead of dread it.
All because last night a generous man had made me feel beautiful and sexual, then fed me, then gave me another two orgasms before insisting on holding me as we fell asleep in bed together.
I should have told North to go back to the castle, but it was raining and the truth was, I loved every minute of falling asleep in his arms. It didn’t mean anything other than I was appreciative.
I’d permitted myself to enjoy North Hunter.
And I felt like a new woman.
North snuck into the castle first when we pulled up.
I waited five minutes and strolled in on my cloud of happy.
I beamed at Wakefield and called good morning to him.
If my cheery greeting surprised the man, no one would know.
Wakefield was the world’s best butler. He could keep a neutral expression through anything.
I’d barely settled into the office when he knocked on my door, bringing me my morning coffee. Beside the cup was a small plate. “Mrs. Hutchinson made her famous shortbread last night, and I took the liberty of procuring some for you.”
I grinned at Wakefield. “She forced you to bring it to me, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did, Ms. Howard.”
Chuckling, I took the plate and coffee. “Thank you, Wakefield.”
“Very good, Ms. Howard.” He retreated from the office with a nod.
Eyeballing the shortbread, I murmured, “What the hell.” I’d burned calories last night.
My skin heated remembering the way North had powered into me and the way I’d turned mindless and wanting beneath his hands.
Never in a million years did I think I’d be able to get out of my head long enough to let go this much in bed.
Honestly, it was more than a minor miracle.
I didn’t think I could switch off like that for just anyone.
Making yummy noises as I ate my shortbread, I logged into my work inbox and swept over the subject lines of the first few emails. One caught my eye because it was from an address I didn’t recognize and the subject line was Urgent: Ardnoch Estate Inquiry.
Clicking it open, it took my brain a second to catch up with my body because my heart was already racing with incredulity and anger.
The email read:
To Whom It May Concern,
It’s incumbent upon me to make you aware that your estate manager, Aria Howard, is an overweight smear on the reputation and image of such an illustrious club as Ardnoch.
Nepotism is an ugly thing when it puts your reputation at stake.
You may want to rethink the hiring of an intellectually deficient fat girl that Lucas Grant dumped.
Rumor has it she’s as frigid as she is stupid.
Not to mention superior, unfriendly, and a bitch to your members.
If you want a fat, nasty moron running your estate, have at it.
But I think we both know Ardnoch deserves better.
We’re paying a lot for membership. Don’t you think we should get what we’re paying for?
Yours sincerely,
A Disgruntled Member
The words fat, frigid, and moron kept jumping out of the email at me as I scanned it again and again, trying to make sense of it.
My cheeks burned with rage and mortification as I cross-checked the email with our members’ files.
There was no match. Racking my brain, I tried to think if I’d had an unpleasant encounter with any of the members, but none sprang to mind.
The only person was North, and while I may not fully trust him, I didn’t for one second believe he’d send an email like this to anyone.
The other option was that it wasn’t a member. However, my email address wasn’t public. Of course, that meant little. Caitlyn got a hold of it, so clearly anyone could.
But this person knew exactly what buttons to press if they wanted to hurt me.
Why were people so goddamn awful?
My mouse hovered over the delete button, but ultimately I was smart about it and created a new folder in my inbox and filed the email away.
Just like that, the anonymous troll had ruined my amazing morning.
I jolted in my seat as my desk phone rang. The screen told me it was security. Wonderful. What now? “Aria speaking,” I answered tonelessly.
“Ms. Howard.” Walker’s familiar gravelly voice sounded down the line. “Have you seen the news this morning?”
I felt a pang of worry as I brought up my web browser. “No, what’s going on?”
“We may need to prepare for the paps returning to the estate. North Hunter is in the news again.”
I hit the speaker on the desk phone so I could free my hands to type. Sure enough, as soon as I searched North’s name, new headlines appeared on the screen. I scanned them, my pulse racing on his behalf. Someone had leaked the CCTV footage of the night North’s friends attacked the homeless man.
“Does North know?”
“I don’t know. Have you seen the footage?”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to. “No.”
“Be prepared if you do. It’s difficult to watch.”
Sucking in a breath, I clicked play on the video.
Someone had digitally circled a young boy as he stood back from the others who beat on Gil MacDonald.
I’d heard the story directly from North, but actually seeing it, seeing how small he was, broke my heart.
I watched as he dove into the crowd of boys, pushing them off the man and getting into a rough tussle with whom I assumed was Darren Menzies.
The other boys joined in, beating North.
Gil took that opportunity, just as North had said, to run, but the boys abandoned their fight with North to chase after him.
North staggered to his feet, clearly badly beaten, and chased after them.
The footage switched to a different CCTV camera where you could see Darren chasing Gil into traffic. I flinched as the van hit him.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, my heart aching for North.
The article focused on exonerating North, but it didn’t matter. They were dredging it up again, making him relive this thing that had scarred him deeply.
“You all right?” Walker asked.
“I hate the tabloids.”
“Aye, me too.” He sighed heavily. “Look, all the articles I’ve read are apologetic and favorable toward North. This might be a good thing for him.”
“For his career,” I corrected Walker. “Not for him. This is just making him relive it all again.” Realizing my tone and words gave too much away, I was a little sharper as I said, “I’ll contact Mr. Hunter and make sure he’s aware. You, Jock, and the team should prepare for visitors at the gate.”
“We’re on it.”
After we hung up, I stared at my cell phone.
I didn’t want to call him to explain this.
It needed to be face-to-face. They could do without me at the castle for one day.
I could answer my emails from home, and anything else Wakefield could deal with.
I was five minutes away if they needed me.
Decision made, I gathered my stuff and hurried upstairs to North’s room.
When he opened the door, he was wearing workout gear.
He seemed surprised to see me so soon. “I was just heading to the gym.”
“We need to talk,” I told him solemnly.
I’d decided North’s well-being was more important than my professional reputation, and I wouldn’t overanalyze that either.
Without explaining myself, I told Walker that North would be at my place if they needed us.
Sloane’s partner didn’t make a big deal out of it, but I had no doubt he’d tell Sloane later.
We wouldn’t have told security, but with the paparazzi most likely on their way, Walker and his team needed to know where North was.
I informed Wakefield I’d be working from home today and to call if he needed me.
Then I’d waited in my car for North as he packed an overnight bag. He appeared in the gray morning light, face grim, and my agitation grew. I just wanted to get him to my place to make sure he was okay. The anonymous email I’d received that morning paled in comparison to what he was going through.
A while later, we sat together on my couch, North staring out toward the water with a mug of hot coffee between his hands.
His cell had been ringing nonstop since we left the castle.
They had just woken up in the US, so it had taken them a little longer to hear the news.
First his publicist, then his agent called, then a lot of friends who had abandoned him these past few months.
Cara, apparently, had been trying to get him back before this, and she called so many times, it compelled North to block her.
I didn’t overanalyze how satisfied I felt by that.
His inbox, in general, was filled with apologies.
“What are you thinking?” I asked quietly.
His gaze flicked to me, and I hated the weariness I saw there. “That I can’t believe this is being dredged up again.”
“It’s different this time,” I told him gently. “Everyone can see you tried to stop it.”
“You watched?”
I nodded grimly.
“Fuck.” North shook his head, agitated. “You shouldn’t have had to see that. No one should have. Gil’s family shouldn’t have to see it. The fucking tabloids don’t care who they hurt.”
An alarming surge of tenderness and admiration filled me. North didn’t care if this cleared his name. He cared if people could be hurt seeing the video. The police had reported the footage missing from their evidence archives, so someone had been paid to steal it.
He put down his mug and stood, pacing beside me. “Who would leak that? Who would do such a thing?”
“Who would gain from it?”
North halted and looked sharply at me. “I would.” His expression tightened, and he yanked his phone off the table. “No, no fucking way.”
“North, talk to me.” I stood, grabbing his wrist before he could dial whoever he was planning to call.
“It’s like you said. Who would gain from it? I would. The studio would rehire me and everyone on my team would make a lot of money if this spy franchise were to take off.”
Understanding, I still didn’t remove my hand.
“But you can’t go accusing anyone because you won’t ever know for certain if one of them got hold of that footage.
All you’ll do is cause more drama and strife among your team.
It’s done now. It’s out. As difficult as it is, you have to make peace with that. ”
He glowered, but I knew it wasn’t at me. Then North’s expression changed as quickly and dramatically as the Scottish weather. Pain etched his features. “I feel like I’m going to spend my whole life paying for that night. And maybe that’s the way it should be.”
Without thinking, I clasped his face in my hands, the bristle of his unshaven cheeks prickling my palms. “You did nothing wrong. You tried to save a man. But you were just a child, North. And you have to learn to forgive yourself.”
He wrapped his hands around my wrists, but not to pull away. Instead, he leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.
I stayed there with him, holding him, letting him take whatever comfort he could from me. And despite all my alarm bells ringing that I was allowing intimacy I wasn’t ready for to deepen between us, I could not pull away.