Chapter 40 #2
At first, I’d been salty about using the media room for the first time for something like that, but it ended up being perfect.
Well, the opposite of perfect, but that was what made it so good.
Maddie and I had tossed our popcorn the moment Josh’s face filled the large screen.
We should’ve held off since it only went downhill from there.
Like an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, we’d spent the whole time cracking jokes and mocking his wooden performances that relied heavily on his brooding smolder.
His expressions were so bad, I doubted he could pull off a corpse or zombie.
If it were anyone else, I might’ve felt bad. But it wasn’t, so I didn’t.
I was scrambling, trying to figure out what to say.
But again, the effort wasn’t needed.
“If I were you,” Josh started before leaning close to scan me.
“I’d get used to working with me. If that’s too hard for you, then you should quit now.
Because if you get in my way or try to make this difficult, I’ll go live on every platform.
Get on every news program. Go viral with every gossip vlogger.
One misstep, and I’ll blast my videos far and wide so everyone sees how guilty your dad is. ”
How did I ever love him?
I used to think his cockiness was endearing. I would make excuses for his inattentiveness. Justifications for his selfishness.
But he’d always been his mother’s son.
A spoiled dickhead.
I knew I wasn’t hiding my reaction well when he looked down at me and smirked. “Do the smart thing. Quit now.”
“That’s not very nice,” Easton said as he came into the room, his voice gruffer than usual.
Tripp followed him in, his forced smile in place as he slammed the door and leaned against it. “I know. It makes me want to rescind my generous offer.”
Josh returned the smile with a strained laugh. “I’m just fucking around—”
“Hold on. Let me confer with my counsel.” Tripp’s words reminded me of the Alex interaction at his birthday party. “Can I legally rescind the offer?”
A rare glimpse of amusement lightened Easton’s face as he shrugged. “You could if it was a real offer.”
“What?” Josh’s gaze darted between the two men, and he looked every bit the immature boy he was. “What’re you talking about?”
That brief bit of humor was gone just as fast when Easton moved to stand across from Josh. “Were you aware that California is an all-party consent state?”
My ex jolted out of his seat like his ass was on fire, and his arms shot up. “I don’t know what she told you, but everything we did was consensual.”
Tripp looked enraged at the reminder that I was standing next to a man I’d dated.
Easton just looked like he was praying for patience as he closed his eyes for a long second. “With recordings,” he clarified. “An all-party consent with recordings.”
The blank look he got made the answer clear.
“Do you know what an all-party consent state is?”
Another blank look.
I had secondhand embarrassment for Josh, and firsthand embarrassment for myself that he was the loser I’d clung to for so long.
Way, way too long.
Easton spoke slowly. “An all-party consent state means that all parties need to consent to being recorded. Doug Moore didn’t agree to being recorded. I’m guessing whatever patient he was seeing also didn’t agree.”
Josh’s expression tightened until he looked every bit the weasel Maddie had accused him of being. His tone conveyed his anger, but also his shock and betrayal as he asked me, “You told them?”
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I got the feeling that would set Tripp off even worse.
“Don’t look at her,” Tripp bit out.
Yup, smart move not poking the bear.
Josh tried to play it smooth, but he was nowhere near as good as Tripp. “Look, I think we—”
“Some legal advice,” Easton interrupted. “Delete the footage. Delete whatever cloud the footage is in. Delete whatever account that cloud is registered to.”
“Why should I?”
“Because if any of that footage you have leaks, I will happily represent every last person you secretly recorded in a lawsuit against you. Pro bono. And when I’m done, you won’t be able to keep a lucky penny you find.”
“You can’t prove it’s me who recorded it. Or me who released it.”
“Sure I can.” Easton pointed to a couple cameras. “All meetings are recorded.”
Josh thought he had a gotcha. “You can’t use that. I didn’t consent.”
“Sure you did.”
With a timing that couldn’t have been a coincidence, there was a light knock on the door. Tripp opened it, and June breezed in with a pleased smile that confirmed she’d definitely been waiting in the hall for that opening. She handed her boss a folder and sashayed right back out.
He tossed it onto the table before opening it. “Along with the NDA that says you can’t ever speak of any of this, there’s your consent to be filmed. That’s your copy, feel free to keep it.”
Josh finally gave the papers a more thorough skim. “I thought I was signing a contract for a film role.”
Easton pointed to the cameras again. “You did.”
The reality of the situation sank in with the dejected slump of his posture. “So there’s no part?”
“Not with me,” Tripp said.
“But I… I thought… I quit my job with Chase Majors for this.”
“That’s probably for your benefit,” Easton muttered with a vicious scowl, reminding me that Maddie had an unpleasant run-in with the entitled jerk.
“Whatever,” Josh said like a whiny ass who was taking his ball and going home. He tried to storm around the table, but he clipped the corner with his thigh. If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, when he neared the door, Tripp didn’t move.
The taller, bulkier man who dominated my life stared down the weasel who’d made it miserable.
“Stay the fuck away from Greer,” he said, his words eerily calm.
“Don’t call her. Don’t text her. Don’t hit her up for a favor.
As far as you’re concerned, she doesn’t exist to you.
If you stick to that and the NDA, I’ll keep my mouth shut with all my connections.
You’ll still have a chance to book work.
But if you so much as whisper her name, I’ll torch every bridge you try to step on.
You’ll be done before you begin. Understood? ”
Josh gave his clenched jaw a jerky lift.
Tripp held eye contact for a few stretching seconds before stepping aside.
A small, vindictive part of me was tempted to call Josh’s name. To tell him that it wasn’t such a hilarious concept because I was dating Tripp.
That I was in love with Tripp, and that feeling was definitely reciprocated.
More than anything, I was tempted to tell him to find a new purpose because if his demo reel was any indication, acting wasn’t his true calling.
But I kept my mouth shut.
He would figure that out eventually.
Or maybe not.
I didn’t really care.
Easton followed after Josh—likely to ensure he left without incident—and Tripp wasted no time.
Closing the distance between us, he tugged me from my chair and kissed me with an intensity that said it had been years and not hours.
He tore himself away, but not before I was breathless and clutching him to stay upright.
Or maybe to keep him close. His gaze was searching as he looked down at me. “You did so well, siren. Perfect.”
I leaned into him even as I shook my head. “I barely did anything. You and Easton handled it all. Just like you said you would.”
There was still a chance it would blow up in our faces. That Josh would throw gasoline on those bridges, not caring if Tripp torched them.
But I doubted it.
He was nothing if not self-serving.
Which meant that for the first time since Maddie showed up at my apartment with smoothies and bad news, the ever-lurking dread in the back of my mind disappeared.
“Still, that couldn’t have been easy for you.” Tripp continued to show how well he knew me. “Want to go on a cheese shopping spree then watch a movie?”
I laughed. “Yes, but not for dairy-based emotional support. Just for the love of cheese and the need for a cinematic palate cleanser after watching that mess last night.”
“On it.”
“You really are.” I shoved my face into his chest to hide the tears burning in my eyes. “I love you, Sir.”
“I love you, too. So damn much.” He gripped my arms in the way I liked as he leaned me back. “Let’s get out of here, and I can show you exactly how much.”
“That’ll have to wait,” Easton said as he moved back into the room, his focus on his phone. “Maddie just called. She wants to have Greer over to see the reno.”
His invite sounded nice and all, but the look on his face said there was something else happening.
Maybe I do need emotional support cheese…