Chapter 13 The fallout

Chapter 13 The fallout
Lily's POV

The morning light made my eyes hurt, when I opened them. For a moment, I was disoriented; I didn’t know where I was. Then memory flooded back. Aiden's penthouse. Victoria's lawsuit. Everything.

I turned my head and saw Aiden looking at me. His hair was in disarray, his jaw dark with stubble.

"Morning," he said softly.

"Hi." My voice came out scratchy.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Better than I should have." I sat up, cradling the sheet around me. "We need to discuss that email.”

His expression darkened. "Yeah."

He left his bed and quickly put on pants. I tried not to stare. He noticed that I was staring, and grinned.

"See something you like?"

Despite everything, I blushed. "Just get dressed."

He tossed me one of his shirts and I nodded. We went to his kitchen and he began brewing coffee.

"So Victoria's lawsuit," I started.

"Is garbage. My lawyers would get ahold of that and tear it apart.” He poured two cups. “We broke up and terminated our partnership agreement.”

“But she promised me she’d damage your reputation.”

"Let her try. I've never done anything illegal." He reached around and squeezed my hands. “And she’s not going to touch you either. I have as many contacts as she does.”

“I don’t want you to fight my battles.”

"Too bad. We're in this together." He squeezed my hands. “And your work speaks for itself, after all.”

I wanted to believe him. But fear kept whispering.

"I should go home," I said. "Get changed. Check on the gallery."

"Stay. Have breakfast first."

I almost said yes. But I needed space. "I need to check on my show. Just check in and make sure everything’s still going well.”

He looked disappointed but nodded. "I'll drive you."

Twenty minutes later, we idled in front of my building. And that's when I saw them. Photographers. At least five of them, cameras on.

"What the hell?" I stared in shock.

Aiden cursed. "Victoria. She tipped them.”

The photographers spotted the car. Spotted me. They swarmed forward, shouting questions.

"Miss Monroe! Are you really dating Aiden Cole?”

“Did you break him and Victoria Sinclair up?”

“Are you just in it for his money?”

I shrank back. Aiden wrapped a protective arm around me.

"Don't answer them. Don't even look." He pulled out his phone. "I'm calling security."

This is where I live, Aiden. You can't just—"

"Watch me."

As he placed calls, I watched the photographers. This was my life now?

"Come on," Aiden said. "Security's coming. "But we have to get you inside.”

"I can't go out there."

"Yes, you can. Head up. Don’t let them see you afraid.”

I drew a deep breath and opened the car door. Immediately, cameras went crazy. Flashes everywhere. Questions shouted. Aiden's hand was on my back, pushing me in the direction we were walking.

We got in and the door closed behind us, muting the pandemonium.

"You okay?" Aiden asked.

"No. Not even a little bit."

My phone started ringing. Hannah.

"Lily! Oh my God, are you okay? I only looked at the photos online!”

"Photos? What photos?"

"Check your email. Actually, don't. The headlines are awful."

My stomach dropped. "What do they say?"

"Just tabloid garbage. And look, the gallery’s been getting calls all morning. And reporters all up in my face, asking about you and Aiden.”

I closed my eyes. "This is a nightmare."

"It gets worse. Some clients who were going to come and be at your show are pulling out. They don't want the drama."

"What? No. My show. Everything I'd worked for. "Hannah, this is my career."

"I know. We're trying to manage it. But I wanted to warn you."

I put the phone down and turned to Aiden. "My show's falling apart. Clients are backing out."

"This is temporary."

"Will it? Or is this how I’m going to live now?” I pulled away. "Perhaps I should just finish. Walk away."

"Don't you dare." His voice was sharp. "That's exactly what Victoria wants."

"Well, it's working!"

My phone rang again. Marcus.

"Lily? I need to warn you. Victoria Sinclair contacted me yesterday. She was asking after you. About our friendship. She asked if we had ever been together.”

My blood ran cold. "What did you tell her?"

"The truth. That we're just friends. But she appeared to be rummaging for dirt.”

"Thanks for the warning."

I told Aiden about the conversation. His jaw clenched.

"She's building a case. Attempts to portray you as the kind of woman who uses men.”

"This is insane."

"I know." He pulled me close. “We have got to tough it out.”

"For how long?" I pushed against his chest. "I can't live like this."

"Then we fight back. We don't hide. We stand our ground."

I wanted to believe him. But fear was stronger.

“I have to go to the gallery,” I said. "Face this. Do I even have a show still?”

"I'm coming with you."

"Aiden—"

"I'm coming. End of discussion."

We took a cab to the gallery. Hannah practically jumped us when we walked in.

"Thank God. It's been crazy." She glanced at Aiden. "Hi. It must be you who have brought all this confusion upon us.”

"Hannah, this is Aiden."

Hannah leaned back and blinked at her, but kept it neutral.

The director added that he would like to see me. I started towards her office with Aiden in tow. But I stopped him.
"Wait here. I have got to take care of this myself.”

"Lily—"

"Please. This is my career."

He looked as if he was about to argue, but instead nodded. "I'll be right here."

I rapped on the door of Margaret Chen. She called for me to come in.

Margaret was in her fifties, the soul of elegance and matter-of-factness. She had handed me my first real opportunity. Now she peered at me over her glasses.

"Lily. Sit down."

I sat. My hands were shaking.

“By now, you are of course aware that...” Margaret began.

"The tabloids. The photographers. The clients backing out." I took a breath. "I'm so sorry."

"No, I imagine it's not." She leaned back. “I’ve been around this business a long time. I’ve seen artists dominate headlines for many reasons. It usually destroys their careers."

My heart sank. She was canceling my show.

“But,” Margaret went on, “I’ve seen how the good kind of attention can make a career. People love a story. And you have quite a story."

I blinked. "I don't understand."

“Ever since the photos dropped our hits are up three hundred percent on our website. We’ve gotten calls from collectors we have been trying to contact for years. Some clients who did not ultimately acquire the works were replaced by larger collectors.”

"Are you saying—"

"Your show is still on. It may just work — so well, in fact, that it might be more successful than we hoped.” She leaned forward. “But I need to know that you can take this. The attention. The scrutiny. If you cannot, now is the time to withdraw.”

I thought about everything. The photographers. Victoria's threats. That pervasive sense of being watched.

Then I thought about my art. On the years of struggle to get here.

"I can handle it," I said.

Margaret nodded. "Good. Let’s do something Chicago will never forget with this show.”

I walked out in a daze. Aiden was pacing. When he realized it was me, he came running.

"What happened?"

"My show's still on. You know what, it’s going to be better because of all this publicity.”

"That's great!"

"Is it? Because it feels so much like I’m winning for all the wrong reasons. Not for my art but because I’m dating you.”

"Your art got you here. The more it’s publicized just brings more eyes.” He took my hands. "This is a good thing."

Maybe he was right.

The gallery door opened, and a delivery person came in carrying a package.

"Delivery for Lily Monroe."

Hannah signed for it. There was no return address.

"Should I open it?" I asked Aiden.

"Let me." He carefully opened it. In the envelope was a flash drive and note.

I recognized the handwriting. Victoria's.

“You might want to know who you’re really sleeping with before you get in any deeper,” the note read. “Aiden Cole is not the man you think he is.”

I looked at Aiden. His face had gone pale.

"What's on the flash drive?" I asked.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, Victoria thinks it will make you turn against me.

I was shaking as I set the flash drive into my hand. And part of me didn’t want to know. But another part, the hurt part, needed to know the truth.

“We’ve got to check it out,” I said, under my breath.

"Lily—"

“If there is something I have to know, I’d rather know it now. From you."

There was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded.

"Okay. Let's go somewhere private. Whatever’s up there, we’ll fight it together.”

But as we made our way to Hannah’s office, I couldn’t help but feel that whatever was on that flash drive was going to be a game changer.