Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Carson stood up from the kitchen stool and gave his wounded body a second to catch up. Then he hobbled into the living room to see what Cresley and Ty were up to. Ty was snuggled up to her as they watched videos on her phone.
“How was the meeting?” Cresley asked when he settled on the sofa next to them.
“Enlightening. We’re invited to my mother’s place in Santa Barbarba for swimming and dinner next Sunday.”
“I love to swim,” Ty said. “Can we go?”
“We’ll see,” Carson said.
“Why do parents say that? ‘We’ll see’ almost always means no.”
“Not always,” Cresley said. “In this case, it’ll depend on how Carson is feeling and whether he’s up to spending a couple of hours in the car.”
“Among other things, and PS, in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a pool at this house, so you can swim today if you want.”
“I want to! Can we, Mom?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Yes! Best day ever. Doughnuts and swimming.”
Carson wasn’t surprised to get a call from Julian. “What the actual fuck was that?” Jules asked.
“I believe that was what’s commonly known as a ham-handed apology and olive branch extension.”
“‘Ham-handed’ is a good way to describe it.”
“He’s trying, Jules. We need to give him credit for that.”
“Do we, though?”
“I guess everyone will have to decide that for themselves.”
“It pisses me off that he’s using your near-death experiences to create an opening.”
“I didn’t take it that way. I think he’s genuinely interested in improving his relationship with each of us outside of work.”
“Eh, I don’t know. It feels opportunistic to me.”
“Maybe a little, but to be fair, we didn’t give him an inch when he asked to talk to us before everything happened to me.”
“I so don’t want to deal with any of this. I have my own life to focus on.”
“Then do that, if it’s what you need right now. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and these relationships won’t be repaired overnight either.”
“I’d feel like I was being petty if I refused to engage with them.”
“Then don’t refuse to engage. Refuse to go all in. Go to the thing next Sunday. Bring your little family. Spend some time with them and then rejoin your life already in progress.”
“I suppose I could do that, even if I don’t want to.”
“The kids will enjoy the pool.”
“That’s true.”
“You don’t have to decide right now.”
“No, I don’t, and I have to go because I have a meeting in five. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Very thankful for that, as always.”
After he ended the call, he noticed Cresley seeming intrigued as she studied him.
“Have I got something on my face?”
“Just a whole lot of handsome.”
“Oh, well… Thanks.”
“I liked what you said to him about Rome and how the repairs will take time.”
“It’s true. My dad is extending an olive branch, but nothing says any of us have to take it. That meeting, though… I’ve never heard him talk that way before.”
“What way?”
“From a place of humility and understanding that he messed up and that amends need to be made. Reminds me of working the program in recovery. Admitting your failings is one of the hardest things a person can do, and trying to make things right with the people you hurt can be downright excruciating. I’ve been there, and I respect him—and my mom—for trying. ”
Cresley fanned her face. “That’s very evolved of you, Carson.”
“Oh stop,” he said, sputtering with laughter.
“A man who’s not only kind and handsome and all the things, but he’s also self-reflective and evolved. I feel like I’ve spotted a mythical creature in the wild or something.”
“You’re being silly.”
“She’s like that sometimes,” Ty said, looking up from his video. “Can we watch surfing now, Carson?”
“Sure.”
“At some point today, we need to get our stuff from the Laurel Canyon house,” Cresley said. “I feel like a vagabond lately with my stuff scattered all over town.”
“I’ll get one of my guys to pack up your things and bring them over.”
“Hard pass on random guys sifting through my underwear drawer.”
“Clearly, I didn’t think this all the way through.”
“Clearly. Could we ask Isla to help us with that since she’s going over there anyway?”
“Why don’t you text her and see if she can? If she’s busy with the kids, I could ask one of my sisters to do it.”
“Let me see the phone, Ty. I need to send a text.”
He handed it over begrudgingly, and Cresley got busy writing the text to Isla, who responded right away to say she’d be happy to gather up Cresley’s and Ty’s belongings and deliver them to Carson’s.
“She’s amazing,” Cresley said. “I hope she and I will be great friends.”
“That would be nice.”
Cresley did a double take as she stared at her screen.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh my God. No.”
“What, Cres?”
She handed the phone to Carson.
His heart stopped as he read the TMZ headline linking Cresley and the Quantum Productions principals to a sex club run out of the basement of the Quantum office building.
After Ty ran off to use the bathroom, she read the text Flynn had sent warning her someone had blabbed about the club and had linked her to the story, Cresley went straight to worst-case scenario—losing her hard-won career, her contracts and everything she’d worked so hard to achieve over fifteen years.
All gone because of a vindictive man who couldn’t take no for an answer.
Not to mention, everyone would blame her because her ex was the one responsible for the leak.
“Cres.”
She forced herself to look at Carson as she tried not to puke up the doughnuts.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… Marlon must’ve had someone release personal, damaging information to the media.”
“About what?”
Tears filled her eyes as she forced herself to say the words. “How I used to hang out at Club Quantum, which is a BDSM club.”
“I’ve heard about that.”
“I hope you don’t think…”
“I think you’re amazing, and you already knew that. What can I do?”
“I… I don’t even know. Somehow Marlon found out and was holding it over my head.”
“Flynn and his team will be all over it. We’ll let them deal with it and not entertain doomsday scenarios. Okay?”
“What’s wrong, Mom?” Ty asked when he returned.
“Nothing, honey. Just some work stuff.” She got up to leave the room because she couldn’t break down in front of Ty. “I’ll be right back.”
She went into the hallway bathroom and leaned against the sink.
Carson came in behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
Cresley wanted to tell him to leave her alone, to let her power through this on her own, the way she always did, but she knew he’d never let her deal with it by herself.
“What can I do for you?”
“Go back in time and kill Marlon when you had the chance.”
“I wish I had.”
“I wish you had, too, even if it would’ve caused more problems than it would’ve fixed.”
“I know it seems overwhelming to have your personal business put made public this way, but it’ll be a much bigger story than your piece of it.
If I know Flynn at all, and I’ve known him most of my life, he’ll be on it with injunctions and the full force of the Quantum legal department.
I’d be surprised if it’s still online in an hour. ”
“The damage will have been done.”
“So you visited a sex club. Who cares?”
“D&G will care. They’ll probably invoke the morality clause in my contract.”
“If they do, there’ll be other contracts. You’re Cresley fucking Dane. This might give you even more street cred than you had before.”
She looked up at the mirror and met his fierce gaze. “It’s terrifying, you know?”
“What is, honey?”
“To be solely responsible for the health, safety, well-being and financial security of a family. I’ve had a successful career, but if it all blows up over this, I don’t have a plan B. I didn’t go to college or—”
“Cresley, honey, you’re going to be fine. I swear. Your people will spin this as a vindictive ex taking his pound of flesh now that he’s locked up.”
“How did this even happen?”
“He probably left the info with a friend and said, ‘If I get caught, get this to TMZ.’”
“So his goal was to take me down with him.”
“I think so, but what I don’t get is if he was so desperate for money, why didn’t he sell this to them himself? With Flynn, Hayden, Marlowe and the others involved, it’ll be a huge story.”
“Who knows why that motherfucker did or didn’t do anything.” She stood up straight and turned to face him. “Thank you for guiding me off the cliff.”
“I know it’s a shock to see your name splashed all over the headlines again, but people are talking about you and feeling for you after what Marlon put you through.
They’ll see this latest thing for exactly what it is—a vindictive little man trying to hurt the mother of his child.
I have no doubt that Flynn and his team will make Marlon sorry he was ever born. ”
Knowing Flynn and Hayden as well as she did, Cresley agreed. They’d come out fighting and would protect her and anyone else whose reputation was besmirched by Marlon.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to find some calm in the midst of yet another storm caused by that vile man.
“Keep breathing,” Carson said as he massaged her shoulders.
“I’m supposed to be taking care of you.”
“We can take care of each other.”
She dropped her head to his chest. “It’s nice to have someone to lean on when things go sideways.”
He rubbed soothing circles on her back. “Yes, it is. Let’s act like this isn’t happening and allow the experts to deal with it. Your team and Flynn’s will be on it and will shut it down while we hang with Ty and relax and rest and get ourselves back on track.”
“What’ll I do when Ty goes back to school, and the other kids tease him about this?”
“We’ll talk to him before he goes and come up with a plan.” He tipped his head to study her. “Are you okay?”
“No, but I feel better than I did five minutes ago.”
“Good. I’m right here if you start to feel anxious again.”
“Thank you. I’m not used to having a partner in crime.”
“Well, now you do.”
“I keep coming back to how you didn’t want any of this, and now you’re knee-deep in it.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m right where I want to be.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if—”
“Do not finish that sentence.”