His uncharacteristic openness was the only thing that stopped me completely hating myself. What he’d said about wanting to spend the night with someone who wouldn’t sell him out was the most sincere thing he’d ever said to me, and I refused to allow him to take it away by trying to pass it off as a trick.
With narrowed eyes, I said, “Let's not speak until the meeting starts.”
We sat silently until six o'clock when Richard and Taylor entered the restaurant.
She had her bowed and to my utter shock, she still seemed to be playing the victim.
“Okay,” Richard began once they were seated, “I met with Taylor a few minutes ago because I wanted to explain the situation to her and hear her side of the story.”
My eyes shifted to her but she kept her head down.
“Now,” he went on, addressing me, “I need you to go over your side of things again now we’re all here. This has gone on for long enough and I want to get to the bottom of it today.”
I realised he was trying to be professional but I knew there was little doubt in his mind that Taylor was the liar. I would never have provided McCoy with an alibi otherwise.
Richard met my eye. “Leah?”
“Radleigh arrived in Boston on Saturday afternoon,” I said. “My former flatmate's boyfriend invited him to the party we were going to and when we got back, Radleigh realised he'd lost his hotel room key, so he slept on my sofa. He was still there when I woke up, so he can’t have been outside Jesse’s house when she called you.”
I didn't even falter at the lie I told.
“Radleigh,” Richard said, turning to him, “is this what happened?”
Radleigh nodded. “That's what happened.”
“Why are you lying?” Taylor asked, finally looking up from the table to speak.
“Maybe a better question would be, why are you lying?” I said bluntly. “I believed you. You made me believe you, and all the time you were lying.”
Taylor let out a laugh. “Funny how keen you are to defend him now. When I told you he'd forced himself on me, you couldn't wait to report him.”
I felt McCoy's eyes on me but I didn't turn my head.
“That's not true. You said you didn't want to make trouble, so I offered to talk to Radleigh first.”
“And did you?” Richard asked me.
“Yes, I did. He said he hadn't done anything wrong. The next thing I knew, Taylor had reported the whole thing to you.”
“Only because I thought that if I left it to you, he'd use his charm to win you over, like the slimy lech he is!”
“For someone who thinks I’m a ‘slimy lech,’ you sure spent a lot of time following me around,” Radleigh said.
“I didn't follow you anywhere. I’ve no idea what you're talking about.”
This girl deserves an Oscar.
“Let's focus on what we do know, shall we?” Richard suggested.
“What we know,” Radleigh said, “is that I was with Leah when Taylor said I was outside Jesse’s apartment. And she just admitted that I didn't touch her.”
“What I'm curious about,” I began, “is why you even started this. What did you hope to achieve?”
“I hoped he'd get fired,” Taylor answered, glowering. “If I had you on my side, I thought we could get rid of him. I saw him with you, Leah. I saw him outside your apartment. He pushed you up against the doors and trapped you so you couldn’t move.”
Goosebumps crept over my skin. That was almost exactly what she said he’d done to her. She’d been watching. Months ago, she’d been there, watching his every move.
“So … you used that as a way to make me believe you,” I said, but it was more a realisation than a question.