“What does it say?”
Downcast Rachel passed the folder to Larry who opened it, peered at it, and drew in a breath, releasing it with a silent ‘fuck’.
She had stared at the papers after Jacob’s less-than-polite lawyer had left her gaping at the absurd contract. What’s with me and contracts now anyway? She thought to herself, next I’ll be signing a contract to fucking breathe!
Larry had come up to her to tell her that Francis was done checking out the pictures and he thought they were all good when he paused at the fiery teary look in her eyes. Without a word to Larry, she went to Francis who watched her approach with a smile.
“I think you should switch careers, Miss Rivers, modeling will definitely put you up there among the number ones.”
She wished she could share his enthusiasm but right now she felt like a piece of meat men bargained over with a contract. Okay with Nate he had dangled an offer in front of her and her treacherous body had made her say yes but the offer Jacob was offering was nothing short of ridiculous.
“Thank you,” she said to Francis, taking the hand he offered for a handshake. “I am very grateful for that offer,” she said feeling anything but grateful at the moment. Not when her world was tipping over again. “Are we done with the shoot yet? I really need to go.”
“Oh for sure we are. I will send the images to Larry later and when the articles are written and the pictures printed in the magazines I planned to send them to you too. But just a moment,” he paused to take his phone from his pocket. “Mr. Madden instructed me to give his driver a call when we are done,” he smiled down at her with a glint in his eyes. “He must care for you a lot.”
Rachel forced a smile at that new piece of information. The gift just keeps on giving. A dragon could fly over her head and pick her up right there and she would not be surprised. She should have known Nate had Francis watching her like a hawk. “Did he?” she asked.
If only Nate cared for her! He cared for her as much as the next girl to sign his contract if she were to go by anything Vera had said at the fashion week in Mainland.
Before Francis could dial the number she stopped him. She wasn’t in the mood to see Nate now, she definitely wasn’t in the mood to be tied up and fucked till her brains fell out. With the revelation in Jacob’s stupid contract, all she wanted to do was drink till she dulled her senses from the reality crashing around her. “Wait, Francis, actually Nate wants me to meet him in a coffee shop just round the corner.”
He eyed her suspiciously. “Mr. Madden wants to meet you in a coffee shop?”
“Yes. He has a private booth reserved.” He still didn’t look like he believed her so she pulled the card he played. “He does care a lot about me you know? I bet he’s eager to hear how my day went.”
Francis's frown cleared. “Uh,” he said. “Alright then. I hope we get to work again together Miss Rivers.”
As soon as he went she grabbed Larry, took the papers she was served, and stashed them in her handbag.
“Where are we going?” Larry asked.
“To cry over coffee.”
But when they approached the doors of the coffee house Rachel felt the tingle of tears behind her eyes. Coffee wouldn’t do the trick, she decided.
“You know what Larry? I change my mind, I need something stronger. I need alcohol.”
For once Larry didn’t condemn her choice. If he were in her shoes he would choose alcohol over weak coffee. He took her hand and silently led her away to a shop he knew with a rooftop bar.
Rachel didn’t acknowledge the patrons sitting on the rooftop going about their business. She saw them, she recognized some of them but she barely acknowledged them. When Larry ordered a pink wine for her with a strong taste she gladly opened the bottle and reminded herself not to drink directly from the bottle. She poured out a healthy amount into the glass and nearly drank the whole thing.
Larry who had ordered whiskey took a small sip and put his hand over hers. He loved Rachel – no he wasn’t in love with her. He was in love with her stubborn sister, Mabel, but he loved Rachel because, in all his years as an agent, she was the best person he ever worked with. He had once worked as an agent to an 18-year-old actress who had walked all over him like a rug. Rachel was not like that. She was more than just his boss, she was his friend. He knew how much she adored Jacob during their marriage because she always compared him with what she once used to refer to as ‘Watered-down demoralized men.” He never quite approved of her high criticism of men like Nate or of anyone she thought deserved to be slayed by her venomous tongue. Which was why he had willingly agreed when Nate Madden wanted to meet her after the horrible affair with Jacob’s infidelity. He knew she had lived a sheltered life all her life and he had hoped that Nate Madden would open the doors of the feisty Rachel he glimpsed behind her meek, highly superficial exterior. Yet how was he to know doing so was going to be a roller coaster ride?
“How could Jacob do this?”
Larry squeezed her hand tightly. She dropped her wine glass and removed the papers from her bag.
Jacob had typed out a lot of gibberish but everything came down to two things: If she went back to their marriage like nothing ever happened he would clear the misinformation about her integrity.
The second option was: He was going to drag her through a lengthy divorce, take everything she had saved in the banks, and expose her true relationship with Nate. And show the world the whore she truly was.
And why was he doing this? Because he missed his 'sweet, darling Rachel.'
And how had he known about her relationship with Nate? Vera had approached him and told him. Jacob Henderson was a bastard willing to use anything against her. Vera Chang was a greedy bitch looking to dig her fingers into the arms of a man she once almost destroyed.
Rachel wanted to call Jacob’s bluff and fling the papers in his face with a smile of satisfaction. But the thought of Nate stalled her. She didn't care what happened to her but she cared about him. If the secret of their relationship came out he would find himself out in the public eye for the wrong reasons again. And once again it would be because of her.
Rachel paused with a start. Since when did she start caring about Nathaniel Madden enough to defile Jacob to protect him?
She didn’t want to ponder on that question. Instead, she washed it down with a gulp of wine and poured out another glass. By the time she was done drowning her sorrows in her cup, it was almost 1 in the middle of the night. Larry supported her down the stairs of the bar and called a cab for her. Rachel sat in the back of the cab as it drove to Nate’s house debating the question in her mind: should she tell him about the contract? Should she keep her mouth shut?