Forbidden Love

21

Lourde

With Olivia to my left, we watched Jessica’s live interview unfold on my phone outside ZF’s Soho boutique hotel. I felt sick to my stomach as she spooned out lie after lie, force-feeding it to anyone who would listen.

TV Anchor: “Tell America what happened that fateful night, Jessica.”

Jessica: “It all started when he asked me to work late for a meeting. I thought it was going to be my design manager and me, but it was just him and I, in his office alone. He moved alongside me, and the next thing I knew, his hand was on my thigh, rubbing it suggestively. It was then I knew I was there for another reason.”

TV Anchor: “And what reason was that?”

Jessica: “He said he could advance my career if I got on my knees.”

TV Anchor: “So let me get this straight. ZF Construction’s owner and multimillionaire tycoon, Barrett Black, invited you to his office under the pretense of work when, in fact, he was inviting you to perform fellatio in exchange for a promotion?”

“What absolute bullshit,” Olivia spat out in a fit of rage.

I just stared at the screen, unable to form the words in my mouth. Instead, time seemed to slow down as a heaviness formed in my stomach.

Jessica: “Yes, exactly.”

TV Anchor: “And what happened next?”

Jessica: “I pushed his hand away and got up to leave.”

TV Anchor: “Then what happened?”

Jessica: “As I was opening the door to his office to flee, he yelled, don’t come back.”

TV Anchor: “So, did you file a case for unlawful termination?”

Jessica: “I have my lawyers working on that now.”

TV Anchor: “Well, thank you for speaking out, Jessica. We have invited Mr. Black to come on the show to tell his side of events, but we haven’t received a response to that request. His team, however, has vehemently denied any accusations you have leveled at him.”

Jessica: “Typical.”

Pepper and Grace had called when it was question time and checked in to see how I was doing, which was fine because I really couldn’t listen to any more of her lies and betrayal. I was fucking livid. Mad to the core that someone could lie blatantly on live television and ruin a man’s reputation just like that. Destroy everything he’d ever worked for in one minute of airtime.

“Shh, quiet down,” Pepper said. “I just heard your name, Lourde.”

Grace and I went silent, putting a lid on my rage for the minute.

TV Anchor: “What do I think his girlfriend, Lourde Diamond, would make of your accusations?” she said, repeating the question.

Jessica: “I guess I hope she just sees him the way I do and protects herself.”

“Fuck you!” I screamed out. This cannot be happening to us.

“That fucking bitch,” Pepper said.

“I can’t believe this, Lourde,” Grace added.

I felt Olivia’s hand across my shoulders, but it was doing little to calm my fireball of nerves. I needed to call Barrett, and I needed to get the hell out of this development and go to him.

“Girls, I have to go. I have to see if he is okay.”

“Call me later,” Pepper said.

“Take care of yourself,” Grace added.

I inched the cell over so Olivia was in the screenshot. “Olivia’s got my back.”

“I do,” Olivia added and waved at the girls on the screen. Unfortunately, it was their first introduction, not how I wanted them to meet.

“Thanks, Olivia,” they both said in unison.

As soon as I heard my name, I knew I was a target. And Olivia read my mind when she’d ushered me to the nearby car and directed our driver to take me home. She’d offered to stay, but I sent her away. I needed to think. I needed to understand how I could help Barrett.

All afternoon I paced my apartment, hoping to find some clarity to the messy situation we were in. At the bare minimum, to help Barrett. But mad as a rattlesnake, I still couldn’t make sense of it all.

It didn’t help that my calls to Barrett went unanswered. All five calls, to be exact. And when I was getting ready to go to my parents, I was so goddamn desperate to speak to him, I called Aimee, his assistant, and pleaded for her to put me through to him.

After holding on the line for what seemed like forever, it was her voice on the other end, not his, relaying a message from Barrett that he’d meet me at the Diamonds as planned.

Okay, fine, he was busy. Whatever, but it was me. Supporting him was at the top of my list, but I couldn’t do that if he wasn’t letting me in. His guard was up, and it was time I tore it down completely.

By nightfall, there was a media pack waiting out front of my Tribeca apartment. Luckily, Pepper had cleverly created a decoy so I could slip out undetected out the back. We’d done it a few times in the past, fooling the photographers when we hadn’t wanted to be snapped, and it had the desired effect.

Dad had messaged me earlier, stating the obvious—don’t talk to the paparazzi. But I was two steps ahead of him. If I could handle anyone, it was the paparazzi. Born and raised into the Diamond family kind of prepares you for life in the public eye.

But Barrett was private, always had been. never making a fuss or calling media conferences. Even when his prestigious hotels and towers opened, he always had others speak at the opening.

He wasn’t afraid. Barrett wasn’t scared of anything. He was just incredibly private, and with his upbringing, it all made sense why. Why draw unnecessary attention to yourself when you could cruise through life undetected while building an empire?

He was the opposite of my family. The Diamonds waved their money and notoriety around like it was oxygen, hosting parties, charity balls, attending benefits, and every social event in the calendar. Mom lived in the tabloids, dragging Dad along with her, and she loved every moment.

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