CeeCee hoots with gleeful laughter. “No wonder he was willing to move heaven and earth to get another bite at your glorious apple.” She smirks. “And if I’m not mistaken, the apple was rather desperate to get herself bitten, too?”
I blush and nod. “After I cooled down, I was pissed at myself for leaving that night.”
Again, CeeCee laughs deliriously. “Oh, my sweet Georgina. You’re endlessly entertaining.” She sighs. “I’m sorry if all of these shenanigans made you doubt yourself, and the fact that you got hired on your merits. I’m also sorry you doubted Reed. He’s actually a wonderful man.”
“Except for the fact that he messed around with Isabel when he’d promised to be exclusive with me.”
CeeCee frowns sharply. “I’m honestly shocked by that. I never would have expected that of Reed. He’s a bit of a fibber sometimes. A good salesman who’s spectacularly adept at getting what he wants. But I’ve never once thought of him as an actual liar or cheater. On the contrary, when it comes to important things—the people he cares deeply about—I’ve always known Reed’s word to be golden.”
I press my lips together at the painful thought flickering across my mind: Yeah, well, ipso facto, I guess that proves Reed never really cared deeply about me.
CeeCee juts her lower lip in sympathy with whatever she’s seeing on my face. “Aw, sweetheart, I don’t know what happened between Reed and Isabel in that garage. The only two people who will ever know for sure are Reed and Isabel, unfortunately. But whatever he’s been telling you about that, I think it’s highly likely he’s telling you the truth, the same way he told you the truth about the grant. I’d bet anything on it.”
I shrug. “Reed says he kissed her goodbye, and that it only made him realize he only wants me. But I’ve been cheated on before, CeeCee. And that’s exactly what my ex said. Plus, I know myself. I’m not going to be able to forgive and forget. I’m not the kind of person who trusts easily in the first place. So, no matter what ‘epiphanies’ Reed might have gained from kissing Isabel—or doing whatever else he might have done with her—I’m not going to be able to trust him completely, again. And that will doom us. So why hop aboard that train again, when I know it will ultimately lead to Misery Town, USA?”
She nods. “I get it.”
“If I knew for certain Reed only kissed Isabel, and that it truly made him realize he only wanted me... I think I could forgive and forget and move on. Everyone makes mistakes. We were still so new, and he was saying goodbye to someone he’d been linked to for a long time. I think I could process that. But like you said, the only two people who will ever know for sure what happened in that garage are Reed and Isabel. And I don’t want to jump back into a relationship where there’s not one hundred percent trust.”
She looks pained. “Will this affect your ability to complete Reed’s interview?”
“No. I’ve already got everything I need for my article. I just need to write it now. And it’s not like I hate Reed. Honestly, I still like him, despite everything. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but I do.”
“I know how. He’s fatally charming.”
“Yes, he is. We’ve agreed to be ‘friends.’”
CeeCee and I exchange a look, both of us acknowledging that’s a crock.
“So, did I address all your concerns?” CeeCee asks.
“Yes. Thank you. I’m excited to get to work on all my artist interviews.”
She looks at her watch. “Speaking of which, shall I buzz Margot to have Zasu come in? It’s still a bit early, but I’m sure Zasu is here somewhere, and I can’t wait to hear what you two have come up with.”
“Actually, can I run a quick idea past you? Something for Dig a Little Deeper?”
She withdraws her hand from the intercom. “Of course.”
“What do you think about an in-depth interview of Isabel Randolph?”
CeeCee looks at me like I just threw up on her desk. “As in, the woman who walked into Reed’s garage and blew your fairytale fling with him to Kingdom Come?”
“Okay, hear me out on this. Isabel doesn’t know I had a fling with Reed, and I won’t tell her, or anyone else. I met her at Reed’s party, before everything between Reed and me blew up, and she said yes to an interview. She promised to go deeper than her usual interview, CeeCee. To give me something she’s never given to anyone. So, why should I pass up this golden opportunity, just because a guy I had a fling with did who knows what with her in a garage? I’m a professional. I can separate my personal and professional feelings.”
CeeCee narrows her eyes. “Could it be you’re dying to get her alone so you can ask her what happened between her and Reed in that garage?”