Chapter 95 Reed #2
“Yeah, well, you know something. At the very least, you know what he’s done to you, personally. But I’m here to tell you, you’re not alone. He’s done stuff to others. And he won’t stop, just because he’s marrying you. He’ll never stop.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you to tell the truth, on the record. Either to the police, or in an interview, or in a press conference. I don’t know. I want you to stop him. Because once you speak out, everyone else will, too. And that’s the only way we’re going to take this man down. If we band together.”
Isabel is trembling. And there’s no doubt in my mind Georgina is right: Howard’s done something to Isabel. The thought physically pains me.
“For what it’s worth, I have a glimmer of understanding about how hard this is for you,” Georgie says.
She reaches into her computer bag and pulls out a copy of her Gates article.
“This is going to be published in a couple days in Dig a Little Deeper. It’s an article I wrote about the forty-two-year-old man who tried to rape me when I was seventeen.
He wasn’t a billionaire movie producer, and I wasn’t a young actress with big dreams, who felt like she had no other choice.
But he was very powerful in my little world.
After he assaulted me—and to be clear, he came as close to forcibly raping me as a person can get, before I wiggled free from his clutches and ran away—after that happened, I was too terrified to say a word to anyone.
So I kept it bottled up inside me for almost five years.
But, recently, I found out he’s hurt other girls, too.
And that made me realize he’s going to do it again and again, unless someone stops him.
So, I decided that someone is going to be me. ”
Isabel picks up her martini with a shaky hand and drains it. But she doesn’t speak.
Georgina taps the article on the table. “Pretty soon the whole world is going to read this article and know what he did to me, and to those two other girls. And I can’t begin to tell you how fucking proud I am, how freeing it is, to know I’m not hiding this secret anymore.
And not only that, I’m doing everything in my power, however small, to protect other girls from suffering at the hands of that fucking prick.
” Georgina reaches across the table and takes Isabel’s hand.
And to my surprise, Isabel doesn’t flinch or jerk away.
“You’re about to play a superhero on screen.
But on your deathbed, won’t you be far prouder of yourself for playing a superhero in real life? ”
Isabel slides her hand away. But not forcefully. Her demeanor is dejected. Scared. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”
“You can do this,” Georgina says. “If I can do it, then you can, too. And, by the way, I don’t want you to do this to help me. I want you to do it to help yourself. To help the other women he’s hurt and the ones he hasn’t yet but will.”
Isabel’s features harden. “You don’t understand. You’re not me. I’ve got too much to lose.”
All of a sudden, I get it. “Howard has been blackmailing you, hasn’t he? You met him at CeeCee’s party, not at an audition a year later. Howard found out you were a working girl at that party, and he’s been blackmailing you about your past, ever since.”
Isabel’s breathing halts, and, just that fast, I know I’m right.
Isabel did, indeed, meet Howard the same night she met me.
The night we went back to my hovel of an apartment and fucked like rabbits and talked until sunrise about our dreams and ambitions.
The night I told her I didn’t want her working for that fucking escort service any longer.
The night I told her I’d pay her rent, even though I could barely afford to pay mine, so she could stop selling her body and concentrate on her auditions and making her dreams come true.
The night I told her I’d always protect her and have her back, no matter what.
And she let me say all that. And do all that for her.
She let me think I was her knight in shining armor.
.. and all the while, she was fucking Howard on the side.
Or, if not fucking him, then flirting with him.
Stringing him along. Wrapping him around her finger until he finally gave in and gave her the big break she’d been trying to coax out of him for a fucking year.
“Did you fuck Howard at CeeCee’s party?” I choke out.
“No,” Isabel says. “Reed, no.”
“But you met him that night.”
She exhales and nods. “I flirted with him and gave him my number.”
“Why did you lie to me?”
“You’d made it clear to Francesca your date that night wasn’t allowed to network for herself.
You told Francesca that was rule number one—your date had to be there to support you, and only you, and not her own agenda.
I knew you’d be furious with me for hunting Howard down and slipping him my number.
I thought you might even demand your money back from Francesca. ”
I take a deep breath. “You told him you worked for Francesca that night?”
“Yes. And he liked it. It turned him on.”
I look down at the table. I can’t believe Isabel let me pay her rent that entire year, when she knew how hard I was working to keep my own dreams afloat. I can’t believe she did that to me, when Howard was probably slipping her gifts and God knows how much money, at the same time.
“I really did quit Francesca’s when I told you,” Isabel says.
She begins to cry, but I don’t believe a single tear.
“Howard was my only client after that. But he hired me directly. After a while, though, I told him I’d fallen in love with you and wouldn’t be doing anything with him, anymore.
And that’s when he drugged me. The first time.
When I woke up, I told him I’d go to the police, and he said, go ahead.
He said he’d tell them, and everyone else, I’d worked for Francesca.
He said he’d make sure I never got hired for anything but porn.
And that’s when he finally gave me that first big role.
And then another one. And another. Until my career really started taking off.
.. But then I felt trapped. Like I couldn’t get away, even if I wanted to.
.. Which I did, Reed. I swear, I did. But I was in a gilded cage.
” Isabel wipes her eyes. “He said he’ll finally let me go if I marry him.
He said he’d never let a ‘scandalous’ secret like mine come out about his wife. Not even his ex-wife.”
“And when will that be?” I ask flatly. “What does the marriage contract say, Isabel?”
She looks down. “Five years.”
I shake my head. I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been.
For so long, I thought I was defective, thanks to my childhood.
I thought I was literally incapable of falling in love.
I knew I’d felt a glimmer of something special with Isabel that first night.
Something I’d never felt before. Not quite that thing everyone writes about in love songs.
But, still, it was definitely something more than I’d ever felt before.
But then, as our relationship progressed, I felt myself constantly butting up against an impenetrable wall.
And I thought that was because of me. Because I was too fucked up to let someone get too close to me.
Because I was too guarded to ever let someone in, all the way.
But now, suddenly, I realize it was never going to work for Isabel and me, not because I’m too fucked up to love.
I mean, yes, I’m fucked up. But not to the degree I’ve always thought!
No, Isabel and I were doomed because our entire relationship was built on lies, from day one.
Because Isabel was playing me, and using me, and a piece of my heart always sensed it, and held back out of self-preservation.
“I’m sorry, Reed,” Isabel chokes out. “I’ve always loved you. Only you.”
“You don’t know what love is,” I say. I look at Georgina, my eyes plainly telling her: But you sure do.
I return to Isabel, my jaw muscles pulsing.
“If you’re hoping I’ll save you from Howard, the same way I’ve always saved you, then stop hoping right now.
I’m not here to save you this time. Georgina is.
She’s your white knight. She’s the one throwing you a lifeline.
So, grab it with both hands.” With that, I grab Georgina’s hand under the table and squeeze.
“Nobody can blackmail you about something you’re not hiding.
Set yourself free. I don’t know if you’ll find true happiness by doing that.
But what have you got to lose? You’re obviously miserable now. ”
As Isabel sits quietly, her chest heaving, Georgina reaches into her computer bag, and pulls out a pad.
She scribbles on it, tears off a sheet, and slides it across the table to Isabel.
“I don’t blame you for not wanting to talk to me about any of this.
So, call my boss, CeeCee Rafael. This is her number.
CeeCee’s been wanting to expose Howard for years.
I’ve also confidentially listed the names of the women I’ve spoken to about Howard, several of whom were on Francesca’s roster, early in their careers.
Talk to them. Hear for yourself what Howard did to them.
See for yourself if you feel okay with staying silent after you speak to them. ”
To my relief, Isabel takes the paper. But, again, she says nothing.