Chapter 28 #3
With that, she drew a line about four inches off the bottom of the page, labeling it with a J. “This right here is me, financially. My royalties, investments… everything.”
So that line represented at least tens of millions of dollars. Darcy gave a thumbs up.
Juliet moved down several inches, drawing a line just above the bottom of the page, labeling it with a D. “This – from your own comments – would be around where you were prior to this past year.”
She nodded. Yeah, that tracked.
Juliet continued. She moved the pen up right to the top of the page, and drew another line, labeling it with an H.
“And this is Harrison. In fact,” she intently studied the distance between the lines on the paper.
“He should be farther away from me, comparatively, but the paper doesn’t extend that far.
” Juliet slid the pen down, gesturing between the J and D lines.
“Even before your career took off, you and I were closer than I am to Harrison.”
Darcy looked around where they were sitting in Juliet’s home – which resembled, to Darcy, the most incredibly perfect house, something that was a literal dream.
If last-year-Darcy was closer to Juliet in terms of finances than she was to Harrison… Juliet was absolutely right; Darcy couldn’t fathom it.
Juliet placed the notebook down, laying the pen on top with a quiet sigh.
“There are a few people who have crazy amounts of money – like the Thompson family, right? – who turn around and try to do good with it. But the majority of those people are Harrisons. You’ll never know who they are, you’ll never recognize them walking down the street, they pull a lot of strings, and they make sure to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s to get what they want.
Harrison would never let me neglect this contract.
The only thing litigation would do is drain my own savings, so that when my contract is finally finished, I wouldn’t have anything to fall back on. ”
She stared at the paper, feeling completely deflated. It was incredibly demoralizing, really, to think about. Both in general and specifically, for Juliet.
“You can call me na?ve. This one time,” she granted, ticking her lips up into a half-smile. Hoping, maybe, it would make Juliet laugh or just… brighten her mood a little.
“Na?ve,” Juliet breathed out, returning Darcy’s grin.
Just a little, but the hint of lightness there was enough for Darcy to take heart in.
She dropped her hands down to land on Darcy’s where they were still resting on her thighs.
“So, for now, I’m stuck. Unless I want to get sued to oblivion and likely lose everything I have, I owe the label another album, and I’m under Harrison’s thumb until then, too. ”
Everything inside of Darcy wanted to revolt, still.
But the thing that kept her sitting still, the thing that kept her grounded, was a startlingly clear perspective on Juliet.
The pieces she’d seen from her before, the sharp edges and the defensive barbs and the vulnerabilities she’d never been able to trace the root of… it all made so much more sense.
Darcy knew very well what it felt like to be stuck. She’d been stuck in place by circumstance her entire life, up until last year. Darcy’s kind of being stuck felt like she was wading through thick, sticky, chest-high mud, constantly trying to keep her head up.
Juliet was stuck in a different place. The kind of stuck where she had a slab of concrete pushing down on her, and if she made the wrong move, it could fall and crush her into the ground.
She flipped her hands over, interlacing their fingers. Wanting to feel connected. Wanting – hoping, really – that Juliet felt it, felt that Darcy understood.
Tremulously, Juliet took in a long breath, then released it, as she stared down at their hands.
“And I’m sorry,” Juliet’s voice was hoarse with remorse that Darcy could feel in her bones.
“I know that I hurt you at your party, and then I doubled-down on it, and that is – unfortunately for anyone who would even want to attempt to get closer to me – how I typically am whenever Harrison is around.”
Darcy tightened her grip, just a little, as she fury sluiced through her. “I really want to take him down a peg. Or a million.”
Hundreds of millions, maybe, given that chart.
“No,” the word shot from Juliet’s lips, unyieldingly firm, as her eyes widened in obvious alarm.
“Darcy, seriously. If you and Harrison are in the same space again, I really need you to walk away. Don’t even look at him.
” Her perfect teeth worried at her bottom lip, before she released it, shaking her head.
“He… he really doesn’t want to see you be so successful.
And he has so many connections, okay? Just, always keep that in mind. ”
Even though Darcy had been riddled with anxieties, big and small, about her future career for the last year, the idea of Harrison Jacobs didn’t make her flinch.
Realistically, she knew that he did have more money than God, apparently, and that he had connections.
But she wanted more than literally anything to knock him down, even if there was a cost to her and her career.
The strength of that desire pulsed through her, shocking her.
“And,” Juliet’s breath caught, and when she blinked, her lashes were wet.
“And I was... even worse than usual, at your party. Because I need Harrison not to see how much I care about you.” She lifted her gaze back to Darcy’s.
“You know by now that information is currency. My sexuality, who I am, my real feelings, that’s currency I have, and Harrison doesn’t get to touch it. He doesn’t get to touch you.”
Whatever tether of control Darcy had snapped at both Juliet’s words and the passion she breathed to life into them.
She leaned in, using her hold on Juliet’s hands to tug her forward into the same position, capturing her lips with her own. Usually, their kisses were feverish, frenzied with need.
But this was slow. Searching. Tasting. She explored Juliet’s mouth with her own for the first time with this real understanding of her, and it felt… different. Kissing Juliet, being with her, had always felt incredible.
It was better now.
Juliet slid one of her hands from Darcy’s grasp, reaching up to cup her jaw. She melted into the touch, easily moving with Juliet when she broke their kiss, moving a couple of inches back. Just enough so they could focus on one another again.
“I think I know what can help you get to sleep really well tonight before a big day of collaboration tomorrow,” Juliet murmured, her lips slowly sliding into a sly smile.
But her eyebrows lifted, in genuine question, making sure they truly were in agreement, that they were together on this.
She met her stare without hesitation. “Oh, yeah? What could that be?”