Francesca looks outright amused now. She can’t hide it.
“Francesca, please. I’m a person who follows my gut. And it’s telling me this is my purpose. My calling. My destiny.”
Francesca presses her lips together. “Show me some proof you work for CeeCee Rafael.”
I scramble into my purse and breathlessly pull out my ID and press pass. Also, as further proof I am who I say I am, I also hand her my student ID and a “membership card” from my favorite frozen yogurt place on campus. It’s got eight stamps on it at the moment. One shy of getting my next yogurt free. Which proves, I think, I really did attend UCLA, just like my student ID would suggest.
Francesca looks over everything and hands it back to me, seemingly satisfied. “So, one minute you’re worried about some asshole blackmailing Isabel, and the next you want to take down her fiancé?”
“I’m not entirely sure how Isabel fits into all this. All I know is she’s engaged to a monster, and I’m going to take him down. I have no desire to hurt Isabel, but if she happens to get humiliated because she’s engaged to a sexual predator, then sorry not sorry. Was Isabel one of the women who told you about Howard?”
“Like I said, I don’t talk about my former girls or clients. Everything I’ve said in this room has been off the record, and totally confidential, and I’ll sue your fucking ass, and your boss’s, if you print a word of it.”
My stomach twists. “I won’t print a word of this conversation. I just want to do the right thing. This is highly personal for me. In high school, someone I trusted tried to rape me and I didn’t say anything because he was far more powerful than me and I thought nobody would believe me. Looking back, I realize he was counting on me feeling too powerless to report him. And that’s what Howard counts on, too. Well, fuck him. Ciao, stronzo. That’s Italian for—”
“Yes, I know. Bye, asshole.” For a long moment, Francesca stares at me, her face unreadable. Finally, she says, “As I’ve said, Georgina, I make it a firm rule to never name any of my clients.”
My heart falls. Dang it. For a second there, I thought I had her. “I understand. Thank you for your time.”
She puts her palm up. “But if you really think it will help your ‘destiny’ to be able to tell my former girls I’ll corroborate their stories, then, yes, I’ll do it. I’ll make an exception to my firm rule, just this once. Only for Howard.”
Chapter 13
Reed
Thursday 8:48 pm
After our waiter leaves our table, CeeCee leans back and says, “All right, my darling.” She pushes aside her empty plate with purpose. “Now that I’ve got you nice and loose on a fabulous bottle of red, and your belly nice and full on a fantastic meal, it’s time to talk about my magical unicorn of an intern. Georgina is obviously head over heels in love with you, Reed. And yet, you were stupid enough to do God knows what with Isabel in your garage?”
Damn. I’ve been waiting for CeeCee to bring up Georgina, ever since we sat down in this restaurant. Up until now, we’ve talked about Bali and the special issue. And, stupid me, when CeeCee hadn’t yet chastised me for being a dipshit by the time our entrees were served, I started thinking maybe Georgina hadn’t told her about The Garage Debacle, after all.
“What did Georgina say I did in that garage, exactly?” I ask calmly, even though my pulse is pounding.
“She doesn’t know for sure. So, tell me. What did you do?”
My stomach tightens. “I kissed Isabel. It was a goodbye kiss.”
“A little peck?”
I flash her a look that says, What do you think? And she smirks and flares her nostrils, nonverbally calling me a cad.
“She’s marrying Howard, and I gave her a whopper of a kiss goodbye, to prove my point that she shouldn’t marry Howard. Not to be with me, mind you. But I gave Isabel a kiss to remind her what it feels like to actually feel something. But, damn. The moment my lips touched Isabel’s, I knew I was in love with Georgina.”
CeeCee swoons. “Well, that’s actually kind of romantic, in a twisted sort of way.”
“It is, right? That’s what I thought!”
“Oh, simmer down. I’m not the one you need to convince. And I’m sixty, for goodness sake. I’ve been around the block enough times to make your head spin, little boy. To me, one drunken goodbye kiss with an ex would merit an eye roll. But to sweet little Georgina, something like that is the Apocalypse. And understandably so. You broke her trust, Reed. Shattered her little newbie heart. Shame on you.”
“Please, don’t pile on, CeeCee. I’m well aware I’ve blown it. By the way, you’ll be happy to know that little newbie totaled my Ferrari with a golf club that night in retribution for my transgression.”