Page 52 of Without Judgment

She steepled her fingers, her shrewd eyes assessing me. “Your father’s PR folks have made you out to be the victim while making your ex look like the creep for filming you. It’s not a bad way to go. The buzz has all but died down.”

“There’s a rumor of a second video that will hit the Internet soon.” I didn’t want to be exact in telling her my father had a copy with a note. “I haven’t seen it yet, but based on its reputed content, I know it couldn’t have been me. And I don’t wish to sit around as the victim anymore. I’m not sure what Edward’s motivation was or is, but I need a way to expose the truth.”

Julia crossed her perfect legs and tapped her carefully manicured nails. “The challenge is that even if we could prove it’s not you, the potential of that fact going viral is nil. Most people prefer dirt. They love the story they aren’t supposed to click on when they come across it in their newsfeed. That little bit of voyeurism into someone else’s life. That kind of fanfare is tough to top. So even if you could get one, a retraction becomes the article on the thirteenth page in the bottom corner after a splashy front-page news story.”

Damn.

“Do you have any idea who the girl is on the video?”

I shook my head. Based on her body type, I knew it wasn’t my ex-best friend. I assumed the second video was of the same girl. On the other hand, I hadn’t studied her very closely in the first one. Maybe it was time for another look. “What if I know who might have a copy of the second video, but they won’t let me see it?”

Her eyes narrowed, and she wrote something down. “Not sure what the legal precedent is regarding your right to view the video, but sometimes just the threat of legal action can spur people into action. Here’s the name and number of a good attorney you can talk to about it.”

Yes, perhaps the threat alone would get my father to hand it over. I took the name, intending to call the lawyer directly after this meeting.

“Once you view it, let me know if you can identify the girl. If we could convince her to come forward, it may generate some buzz. The paparazzi still hanging out at your house?”

“No, but I’m sure it’ll pick up again once news of this new video is out.”

“You know, some of my clients would be shopping a reality show or finding ways to capitalize on their newfound fame if they were in your shoes.”

I frowned. “I’d rather have the truth than the notoriety.”

She flashed me a genuine smile. “Good girl. But unless you can figure out a way for it to blow up the Internet, I’m not sure we’ll be able to get anyone to care, let alone believe you.”

I left Julia’s office and sat in the back of the Uber on the way home, feeling dejected. The dejection turned to guilt when I found Roberto waiting on me in the driveway. He looked half relieved and half pissed.

“I’m sorry. It was nothing personal,” I said, walking by him and straight up to my room. I had a lawyer to call.

My conversation with the attorney Julia recommended was frustrating. There was no legal way to force my father give me a copy, but since the rumor of a lawsuit by his daughter would be embarrassing to him, perhaps a letter threatening legal action would work. It was a bluff, but I hoped it would do the trick.

Since I couldn’t get the video off my mind, I decided to view the first one again. Perhaps I’d missed something. Maybe I needed to view it bigger. After downloading the clip from the Internet onto a flash drive, I went downstairs to my father’s office and fired up his computer, which had the capability of projecting onto the fifty-inch-plus flat screen on the wall. After shutting the door, I sat on the couch against the opposite wall and pressed play.

Viewing it made me less physically ill this time around. Maybe because I knew it wasn’t me. Or because I no longer cared who my ex was having sex with on the video. Unfortunately, even watching it three times didn’t yield anything new. I needed the second video.

“Watching porn in the afternoon a new hobby of yours, princess?”

Mason’s voice made me jump. When my gaze met his, I saw the tick of his jaw. His tell for being pissed. Deciding to ignore it, as I had more pressing issues, I simply made my request. “I want to see the second video.”

“No.”

I leveled my exasperated gaze on him. “No? Seriously, you can say that to me when last night you told me I should stop underestimating myself?”

He closed the distance between us, pulling me up from the couch. He didn’t let go of my arm. “Where did you go today?”

“You tell me what you talked about with my father, and I’ll tell you what I did today,” I replied sweetly.

“We’re not playing this game, Avery.”

“Then which one are we playing, Mason?”

The muscle in his jaw ticked again before he dropped my arm and backed up a step, running his fingers through his cropped hair. “Where were you?”

“You tell me. Can’t you track my phone?”

Another tick. What was wrong with me? Why did I find a pissed-off Mason hot?

“I can’t go back and see where you were, only where you are now. Since Ricardo didn’t notice you were gone until you were in the car on the way home, I don’t know where you went in between. Now, where were you?”

“Give me the video, and I’ll tell you.”

“I don’t have it any longer. And your father will be here in an hour.”

My brother had sent me a text warning me to prepare as the PR team would be with my dad. I noticed Mason didn’t offer that same information.

“Then I guess I’d better get ready.” I ejected the thumb drive, shoved it in my pocket, and walked upstairs to do just that.

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