Chapter Twenty
TWENTY
GETTING THE GUYS out was harder than it sounded. The whole process of excusing them started again each time another appeared to greet Honey. Hugs happened, kisses on cheeks, hands held and squeezed. Honey must’ve answered some variation of, “how you been doing?” about fifty times.
Huddled at the door, Roxie did her best to reduce the guys’ available space. As much as she could anyway, they were all bigger than the brunette, but that didn’t slow her down.
“Lovely, lovely, lovely,” Roxie chorused, sweeping an arm in an attempt to herd them out. “Some of us have work to do today. Go get on with your lives, geez, slackers.”
The beauty tapped her cheek and Zairn dipped to kiss it while also opening the front door. Husband read wife well, or that was the secret signal to get him moving.
Cam looked her way. With a nod, she let him know she would be okay.
Doing this at his home was a blessing, one he perhaps orchestrated.
This place was safe. Even if she screwed up, and said something she shouldn’t, Honey would be the one to leave.
She didn’t have to go out into the world, she could bury her face in a pillow and wait for Cam to come home and make her better.
Roxie was almost pushing at Tripp to get him to the other side of the threshold. The moment she was able, Roxie closed the door with her weight and sagged against it.
“At times like this, I wish we had a key to turn,” Roxie said, then laid a smile on Honey. “Now can I say hello?” The women hugged. “It’s still a little weird to be touching you.”
Honey laughed. “That doesn’t sound at all inappropriate.”
“Please…” Roxie scoffed and let the woman go. “If I wasn’t doing at least a little inappropriate you wouldn’t recognize me.” One arm hooked around her back, Roxie presented the woman. “Honey, meet Ariella. Ariella, meet Honey.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Honey said, all amiable joy.
Okay, good start, or should she be suspicious? Why couldn’t she trust her instincts these days?
“It is.”
Roxie brought the woman into the living room where they all sat. “Honey is the only billionaire friend I had before meeting Zairn. Not that I knew she was a billionaire back then.”
“I am not a billionaire,” Honey said, taking the strap of her leather case off over her head. “My grandfather is a billionaire.”
Roxie leaned in to stage whisper behind the back of her hand. “And he’s a knock, knock, knockin’, if you catch my drift.”
Was she making a joke about Honey’s grandfather dying?
“Oh, Roxie! Poor Ariella is mortified,” Honey said and laughed.
“Please don’t worry, I’m not offended. My grandfather has been telling us he’s on his way out for more than a decade.
Usually right around the time the squabbling starts.
He hasn’t gone anywhere yet. And he’s a man with a sense of humor, he wouldn’t be offended either. ”
“God knows how he kept that sense of humor,” Roxie said, sliding deeper into the loveseat to tuck her feet up beside her. “How are the vultures?”
“Circling, as always,” Honey said, unzipping a pocket. “I try to stay as far away as I can. I was thrilled to get your call.”
“How did you two meet?” Ariella asked.
“Roxie is the most incredible book editor in the world.”
“It’s something I dabbled in,” Roxie explained. “In ye olden days before Zairn decided to take over my life.”
“You think that’s a joke, Miss Kyst, but I’m still devastated. Losing you was a trauma I’ll never get over.”
“I’ll work with you,” Roxie said. “Especially on this project. How much time do you have before you’re due on location?”
“I’ll meet up with the team in Vegas. There’s a shooting day or two before we head out. This was kind of a last minute thing, I’m not entirely in the loop yet.”
“I wish you’d told me about it. Sounds like it will be a blast.”
“You’re welcome to join us,” Honey said, her lips curling higher. “I don’t imagine many people shoo you away, Roxanna Kyst.”
“Some may try, few succeed… Usually only the spiders succeed. I run from them. Fast.” Casting off that pain, Roxie’s shoulders moved in unison with a throat clear. “I worked freelance. Did jobs for a few of the big publishers and my private clients. No job too big or too small.”
“She’s being modest, she was in high demand.” Honey slipped a device from the satchel. “Am I recording this?”
“We’re going in easy.” Roxie picked up the cue. “Honey’s a ghostwriter.”
That was an unexpected explanation but intriguing. “A ghostwriter?”
“She has a few specialties and is the best.”
“There are different approaches,” Honey said. “And if you’d rather start without recordings or notes, we can take it easy. I can work with anyone and follow instruction.”
“You want her to write a book?” she asked Roxie. “About me? For me? As me?”
“Or an article, a blog piece, whatever you’re comfortable with.
If none of those options work, she can advise us on how best to proceed.
I don’t want to call your life experience a story, but we have to put it together somehow.
Her opinion is valuable and if, at any second, you want to shut this down—”
“I keep hearing that, but I don’t know… How do I know when enough is enough? How do I know what to tell and what to keep private?”
“Saying things out loud helps,” Honey said, somehow exactly understanding her difficulty. “Sometimes when the words hit the air, their context alters and you hear them in a new, much more open way.”
In one regard, at least, that made sense. She’d never said these words out loud. Spence knew their story, she’d never had to say it to him. And Ryssa, a once dear friend, heard it along the way. How did she explain her world to someone who hadn’t lived it with her?
“No one has signed anything.” Roxie bounced from the loveseat to the couch next to her. “Sounds ridiculous, but Dunlap and Ogilvie would want me to reinforce that. We talk, three women getting to know each other, under the promise that the trust we share is absolute until we decide otherwise.”
Reputation had to be everything. In Honey’s line of work if she betrayed a client, it would be more difficult to secure work later. But it was more than that. She didn’t fear or doubt Honey’s motives. The woman had Roxie and Cam’s seal of approval, what else did she need?
“I was fifteen when I first became aware of him.” The beginning, the origin story of their relationship.
It was so long ago that it often felt like it belonged to someone else.
“He didn’t know who I was and we never… That was the year I started at the Institute.
Most of the girls giggled over the Raith men and other tutors, but it was never a thing for me.
I wasn’t one of those girls. I had to work hard or I’d lose my scholarship.
Studying became the most important thing in my world.
I had to be there. I had to do well. I did not want to go back home without… ”
What happened to those dreams and that determination? Youth played a part, but at some point her plans and dreams had dwindled into insignificance.
Love was the answer. Everything became him when…
“Your relationship with Spencer Raith is what makes you attractive to the media,” Honey said. “Who knows the full story?”
That was an unexpected question. “Who? Why would—you want to interview other people?”
“If others are open to it, I will talk to them,” Honey said. “Although it’s also good to…”
Honey and Roxie’s eyes met as hers went back and forth between them.
“Know who’ll contradict your version,” Roxie said, slipping a hand over hers.
“There are no versions; the truth is the truth.” Both women found that assertion hilarious although they were polite enough not to actually laugh. “What?”
“If someone was to interview the three of us about this conversation, the three accounts would not be the same,” Honey said. “That’s part of what makes my job vital. Perspective matters. As do the facts we can prove. The Raiths may not endorse whatever we put out there.”
“I guarantee they won’t.”
“If they punch back, we need to ensure you’re protected,” Roxie said. “Zairn’s already in touch with Spencer’s lawyer. Z and Cam will sit with prospective counsel later this afternoon.”
“Prospective counsel? Lawyers?”
“Roxie’s right, you need to employ someone to protect your interests.”
“I don’t have interests. And I don’t have the money to—”
“Don’t think about money,” Roxie said. “Even if it’s decided we need division from the Colliers, Zairn and I have no problem taking on a fight.”
“Why do we need division?”
“Neutrality of the press,” Honey said. “We can’t deny that you worked for Camden Collier because, well, you’re here. But it doesn’t automatically follow that he’s an invested party. If we need the Colliers driving this, their perceived impartiality could be important.”
Roxie’s lips twisted before she spoke. “Uh… That ship may have sailed.”
“Ariella, who knows about you and Cam?”
“There is no—we didn’t—Cam is my friend.”
“A friendly relationship with your boss,” Honey said, whether she believed it or not. “Friends is okay, he’s far from the complex.”
“Their friendship explains mine and Z’s connection.”
“Yes,” Honey agreed. “You are aware this could get—”
“Rocky? Please, girl, I’m a walking crisis event. My elbows are out, my nails are sharp, don’t worry about me. I eat this stuff for breakfast.”
“Could be a fool’s errand.” Honey inhaled. “The world knows how close you and Zairn are to the Colliers.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Roxie said. “Cam won’t want to be neutral. He’s… beyond neutral.”
She had no idea what that meant.
“Makes things easier, no one has to temper their words. Though motivations and bias will work against you if it descends into all-out war. That said, the Colliers are your backbone.”
“Could be needed with the Raiths. Might has to meet might.”
“Has Tripp called—”
“Yeah, but timing will be crucial. We’re biding it for now.”