Chapter 85 Shooting The Messenger
ALICE
"So," Todd began before taking his phone out of my hands, "that's what you've been up to, huh? I must admit that I honestly thought there wasn't anything else between you and Theo, but I was wrong. You're quite the actress."
My mind was racing. My parents. If they saw this...God.
How the hell did this happen!?
"I have some connections in the film industry. If you want, I could—"
My eyes snapped up to his face and I burst out, "What the hell are you still doing here?"
I stood up when he stared back at me with a stunned look on his face instead of answering my question. I was already fuming about what he showed me, so it was easy for me to let it all out on him. "I'm struggling to understand why you even bothered to come all the way here just to show me this. Don't you have anything better to do with your time? I'm starting to think that I need to get a restraining order against you!"
A slow smile spread across his pathetic face. "Shooting the messenger, I see."
"Get out!"
He planted his hands on my desk and leaned closer to me. Minty breath fanned my face as he said, "If you'd been honest with me, I wouldn't—"
I interrupted him. "I don't have to be honest with you. I don't owe you a single damn thing, Todd. What do you even think you'll achieve by showing me this?"
His eyes hardened and his mask slipped just enough for me to see the peons behind his cool, laid-back exterior. "You act like you're too good for me, yet you're perfectly content with being a married man's whore."
"One, he's not married, and two, that's absolutely none of your business. I decide who I want to fuck, when I want to do it. I could spread my legs wide for a thousand men and that still wouldn't give you any right to my body. Is that so hard for you to understand? I. Don't. Want. You."
Todd backed away slowly, tilting his head slightly to the side. He turned around and walked toward the door just as Freddie showed up. They exchanged a look, and then Freddie entered my office and closed the door. "What the hell was that about? What did he want?"
I felt weak in the knees and had to sit down. "I'm fucked."
"What happened?"
I met his eyes and chose my words carefully. "There's a photo circulating. If you haven't seen it yet, you probably will at some point."
"I take it you're in the photo?"
I nodded. I couldn't say anything else.
"Huh," he let out. "I see. And Todd Steimer was here because...?"
Even the mention of his name pissed me off. "Because he's a dick with nothing better to do than pester people! He's the one who showed me the photo. I just wish he'd leave me alone! I can't take this anymore. I just..."
I trailed off and put my head in my hands. My head felt like it would explode and my stomach churned in a way that made me think I'd throw up right here. Freddie stood on the other side of my desk, watching me with a kind look in his eyes.
My face burned with embarrassment. What would they all think of me?
"Look, what you do with your personal life is no concern of anyone here, alright? We all have shit we're dealing with in private. Besides, if Miss O is on your side, who're we to say otherwise?"
"It's just that...he told me he'd end the engagement."
"You believed him?"
I didn't even think about it. I nodded right away.
"So, this is all just bad timing."
The worst.
Freddie pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. He took my hands in his and told me, "When Miss O asked me to keep an eye on you while you worked here, she didn't give me much of an explanation why. I agreed to the whole thing because she'd done so much for me and this was my way of repaying her. That doesn't mean that I haven't been genuine with you, Alice. I do care about you. We work well together and you're an incredible person, alright? I know that. I don't know what's going on between you and Miss O's grandson, but I'm on your side no matter what. You don't have to be embarrassed."
I took a deep breath and nodded. If it weren't for the knot deep in my throat, I would've thanked him.
"I think you need a day off."
Again, all I could do was nod. I'd take the damned day off.
God. What a nightmare.
I went straight home. Francesca had already left the office by the time I was out the front door, so I didn't have a chance to talk to her. What would she think about the article? Theo and I should've been more careful.
This complicated things, right?
Before I could even drop my handbag in my room, my phone started ringing. My heart dropped to the pit of my fucking stomach and I knew it was Mom. I felt it deep in my gut.
I took several deep and calming breaths, then swiped my thumb across the screen. "Mom?"
"Alice?" She sounded upset already. "Alice, your father and I just saw something on the internet. There's a photo of you and Theo kissing, and it says...I thought you two were engaged? I don't understand what's going on. The article says he's engaged to someone else. A Carmen Something."
I didn't know what to say to them. I couldn't lie because it didn't feel right, but the truth was awful, too. "I know it might look terrible, but the truth is that Theo was going to end his engagement. It's just—"
Mom reacted like she'd been shot or something. "What? Alice Rhodes, I can't believe you're saying this to me! You're that man's mistress?"
"No, it's not like that!"
"When you and Benjamin broke up, you told us that it was a misunderstanding and we believed you!" she exclaimed. I closed my eyes and rubbed the spot between my eyebrows with enough pressure to make the skin red. "But you...What kind of daughter did we raise? Honey, are you listening to this?"
"Give me the phone."
Dad took the phone from her and my heart just skipped a beat when I heard how angry he sounded. "Alice Ann Rhodes, I can't believe you'd embarrass us this way! I'm heartbroken. Absolutely heartbroken."
Tears rushed to my eyes. "Dad, it's not what you think!"
"So, the article's wrong?"
"N-No, but it's not—"
"My own daughter!" he burst out. "How could you do this to us again, Alice? We opened the doors of our home to that man. We were under the impression that you had something solid with him. You told us you were engaged to him!"
Theo was the one who said it, but I wasn't going to contradict them now.
"I'm..." he sighed. "I'm devastated. What will the people at church say when they see this? What will they think?"
"Why should their opinions even matter, Dad?" I asked, anger hitting me from out of nowhere. "God, why can't both of you just listen to me for a moment? Why do you jump to conclusions? Why can't you hear my side of the story, for once!?"
"The proof's right here in our hands!" he yelled. "What do you expect me to think!? Do you deny this!?"
"No, I don't!"
"You don't even sound ashamed! You're not sorry!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Alice Rhodes!"
"I'm sick of this!" I yelled back. "I'm sick of both of you! You never support me when I need you! I have to be the perfect human being or you withdraw your love, yet you're both allowed to fuck up as much as you want to! You've been like this your entire lives! You're allowed to gamble our entire lives away but I'm not allowed to be a whore for once! What would people in church think about your gambling and your drinking?"
There was only silence on the other end of the line and it wasn't long before I regretted my words. "Wait. Dad, I didn't mean it. I'm sor—"
The line went dead. He ended the call.