Chapter Seven #2
“Sadie,” he says as he steps in front of me and puts his hands on my shoulders. “I need you to understand just how many people are in that lobby waiting for the four of you to come down.”
“Why would someone do this to me?” I whimper as a tear slides down my cheek. “I’ve never done anything to anyone. I mind my own business and stay out of people’s way. All of this is because some vindictive bitch wanted something that was never hers to begin with.”
“I know, sweetie,” he says softly. “Everyone in this room is here for you. Okay? We are here for all four of you, and we will continue to support y’all just as we always have.”
“My parents are going to see that. They probably already have,” I say.
“Hey,” Mason says as he pulls me into a hug. “We can help handle your parents. Our parents love you, so you know they will also help.”
“What should we do when we go out?” Dean asks. “Public relations isn’t my thing.”
“The public isn’t your thing,” I say, sniffing back tears.
“She’s not wrong,” Todd smirks. “They’re trying to make it look like you three pressured her into this.
Let her do the talking. She needs to be the one who has complete control, and none of you should be talking for her.
The only time that should be reversed is when people are attacking her or being crude.
You four are partners, so defend each other on everything, no matter what. ”
“As far as QuadTech?” I ask.
“You’ll have investors pull pretty fucking fast, but your loyal ones will pick up the slack.
You’ll have more to come in and support you.
No publicity is bad publicity when it comes to this.
What you will have to battle is personal attacks,” Todd says.
“Understand that I am a criminal defense attorney as well as a corporate lawyer. Obviously, I’ve always helped you guys with legal matters, but my expertise is in the depraved.
Watch your back because people are fucking crazy. ”
“You don’t think someone would target her, do you?” Jake asks.
“Honestly? Yes. She was labeled as an innocent who was taken advantage of and liked it. People will start linking things that do not exist, and let that be an excuse to harm someone,” he says.
“Just make sure you don’t go out by yourself for a while and keep the alarm on at home.
Change the code and don’t tell anyone what it is. Not even us.”
“Come on,” I say. “I’m sick of standing here.”
He nods, and we all walk out of the room. We all get into the elevator and go to the lobby. I am overwhelmed, but I need to keep a level head until I get home. I can melt down there when it’s just me and the guys.
When the doors open and we step out, we see that the lobby is flooded with people.
They turn, and suddenly people are taking pictures.
Panic that I was storing away for later is about to flood out of me.
I stop abruptly and turn to the guys for support, and Lance immediately takes my face between his hands.
“Breathe with me,” he says softly. Mason and Dean are rubbing my back as I try to stop my body from trembling. All of our friends are with us. I match my breathing with his and try to calm myself down. After a minute, my heart rate slows, and the panic subsides enough so I can keep walking.
Lance is to one side, Mason is on my other, and Dean is directly behind me. Todd is beside Mason while everyone else is surrounding us so that no one can get close to me. All of their hateful questions are thrown at me.
“Were you raped?”
“Was the video leaked intentionally?”
“How do you know these men?”
“Did they buy a night with you?”
The questions go on and on. Most of them are annoying, but a few of them make me mad. Any of the ones insinuating that the guys did anything wrong to me make me want to scream. I don’t scream, though, I just keep my mouth shut and go to the front desk.
“I need to speak with the manager, please,” I tell the woman.
“He’s not here today,” she says simply.
“You and I both know that is bullshit. There’s a lobby full of reporters and random strangers screaming at me, and they know damn well that I was illegally recorded in this hotel. I want to talk to the manager,” I repeat.
“I’ve got it, Kyra,” a man says as he walks over. “You guys can come back. Although I don’t have room for everyone.”
“Todd, go with them. We will stay here,” Stacy suggests.
“I am John Gains,” he says as we follow him down a hallway away from the lobby. “I am the hotel manager. We’ve been trying to get the lobby cleared, but the police have been no help.”
We step into what I assume is his office, and he gestures for us to sit. I don’t, because I’ll implode if I do.
“What are your names?” he asks.
“Sadie Graves,” I say. “This is Dean Thompson, Mason Campbell, and Lance Hudson.”
“So, I want this to be a show of good faith that I’m not involving a legal team,” he says. “I want to come to a resolution where everyone gets what they want.”
“What could you possibly want from this?” I snap.
“Preferably to not be sued,” he says bluntly.
“Then I want answers,” I say. “I know who did this, but I don’t know how. I’m not telling you anything because it will make you biased, but I want answers. I want to know how that camera got there.”
“Police are in the room and have the camera,” Todd says as he slips his phone back into his pocket.
“I am personally going through the hotel security footage to find out who went into that room before you all did. The housekeeping manager said that it was due to be cleaned again by request, but as far as she knows, no one actually went down there to do it. Obviously, that’s a lie, but she wasn’t on shift, so I can’t exactly blame her. ”
“No one requested it to be cleaned again,” Dean says. “The lady at the front desk said it was being cleaned and to give them a few minutes. I didn’t even request that room specifically. I only asked for a suite.”
“Okay. So, I will find out who that was and get answers from her,” John says as he writes himself notes. “I hope you understand that this is going to have a negative impact on us. We have nothing to gain from doing this to you all.”
“How?” I ask.
“We have to be able to assure our guests that their privacy is protected and their safety is guaranteed. Right now, this is the exact opposite of what I want for this hotel. I promise I will find all of the answers that I can for you.”
“In exchange,” Todd says, glancing at me. “They will report that the hotel is being cooperative and supportive. If a private investigator is involved, we expect that you cooperate with them as well.”
“I assure you that anything I have that I can legally give is yours,” John says. “Admittedly, this is out of morbid curiosity, but how do you know each other?”
“We grew up together,” I say. “We’ve been friends since we were five, and now we own QuadTech.”
“Ah. I thought I recognized you. A magazine did an article on you a few months back,” he says.
“Mhmm. Apparently, women being in tech is weird,” I say. “Anyway. I expect a statement to be made that expresses your disdain for this situation.”
“That won’t be a problem. I can email it to you for approval first. Is that okay?” he asks.
“Yes. That will be fine,” I tell him. He hands me a piece of paper, and I write my office number and my work email. I don’t want people to have my personal information. I get emails for any voicemails left for me, so it’s easier to do it this way.
“Ms. Graves…”
“It’s just Sadie,” I correct him.
“Sadie, I’m sorry this happened,” he says. “I can’t imagine what you are feeling right now. I won’t even pretend to understand how violating this must feel, but I assure you I will help you in any way I can.”
“I appreciate that,” I say. “That doesn’t change the fact that this hotel’s negligence led to this incident. It doesn’t change that our privacy was violated because your employees didn’t do their job.”
“Have your employees never made a mistake, Ms. Graves?” he asks with defensiveness in his tone.
“They’ve never helped release revenge porn,” I yell at him. “They’ve never tried to ruin someone’s fucking life.”
Dean comes over and gently squeezes my shoulder to try and pull me away from my rage. “Hey. It’s okay,” Dean says softly.
“It’s not,” I say with tears in my eyes.
“But it’s going to be. I promise,” he says, cupping my chin. I nod, and he softly kisses me before turning to John. “We expect an update soon.”
“Yes, sir,” John says with an obedient nod.
“Right now, she is handling things. If I have to be the one to reach out to get an update, you’ll be having a bad day. Understand?”
“I do,” he says simply. Dean nods when he is satisfied.
“Okay. Let’s go home,” Dean says to me. I nod, and John walks us to the door. He doesn’t say anything else because there’s nothing more to be said. When we get back to the lobby, he turns to us and shakes our hands for the camera to show that they are cooperating with us.
The rest of our group spots us and comes over. “Can someone drive my truck to the house?”
“I can,” Stacy says.
We fight through the crowd of people before getting to the car. “What do you want to eat?” Mason asks me.
“I want to go home,” I say simply.
“Sadie…”
“I want to go home,” I say again. I try to be firm, but it just comes out broken. They don’t say anything else. We sit in silence as we drive home. We don’t go straight home, though; we take a longer route home and make a few extra turns to ensure no one is following us.
We pull into the driveway, and I get out, leaving the guys behind. I’m glad they’re not forcing me to talk right now. I don’t think I could manage a conversation.
I go to unlock the door, but there is no resistance when I turn the key. Someone’s inside. I throw the door open, expecting to find some creep, but I am instantly brought to tears when I come face-to-face with Mason’s mom.
“Oh, honey,” she says softly as she hugs me tightly. Penny was a single mom. She was more of a mom to me than my own.