Page 48 of Not A Whisper

“I thought, with distance, his engagement with Carmilla, and extra responsibilities within a few of my companies, you’d be a fleeting memory. Alas, I think it’s not working.”

Wait a second.What?

Grant’sengaged? No, no, no… He can’t be. Therecan’tbe another woman in the picture. I’d know. There’s no way he’d be able to hide something like this. It’s too big. Then again, I haven’t seen much of him lately, have I? Doubt slowly creeps in. If this is true, do Trip and Jason know? I know the answer the minute the question forms.

Of course they would know.

Reeling from the bombshell piece of information, I don’t realize that Garry’s watching me closely until he leans forward and says,

“You didn’t know? I guess I’m not surprised he hasn’t told you. Wouldn’t want to ruin an easy thing. Still, I would’ve thought Jason or Trip would’ve said something. They usually help keep Grant on track.” Garry tilts his head. “I’m curious, are they acting as Grant’s mouthpieces? Or are you fucking them too?”

Though his smile is gone, I swear Garry’s eyes are twinkling with mirth as he revels in my shock.

“Look, Miss Wilson, I’m afraid that this infatuation has lasted longer than I’d like. I wanted to tell you to your face that, engaged or not, my son doesn’t belong with someone like you. I’m not sure if you’re with him for the money, prestige, or if you’re trying to entrap him with a child, but you’ll get nothing from me or him. I’m letting you know that right now. That being said, I like you. Really, I do. So, here’s my proposition.”

My loud scoff of indignation is ignored. It’s the only sound I can make as heat flares in my cheeks and my heart shudders painfully in my chest.

Garry continues talking as if everything he has said is completely reasonable.

“The next time Grant comes to see you, you need to make it clear that it’s over.” Garry smiles. It’s cold and has an edge to it that makes me shiver. “Do that, and you can keep your job. I don’t need proof my son’s been fucking the staff here at Groveton. I practically own this place. If I want someone gone, they’re out of here. But I have a feeling, if I did do some digging, I’d find some evidence of your entanglement, wouldn’t I? Better yet, if you leave my son alone, not only will I not have you fired, I won’t put a black mark on your record that would follow you everywhere. You’d never get hired at any other school. Maybe not even another library in the States. Hell, my reach is so great, I could make it sono onewould work with you in any career path that you choose for yourself. What’s my son in the grand scheme of things? Is a quick fling worth a lifetime of being jobless? Unable to pay bills?”

So here’s the Garry Gipson that the guys warned me about. The cruel one with no morals. A man who will do anything to get what he wants. My heart hammers in my chest as I stare him down. The unexpected pain from the announcement ofGrant’s engagement collides with the shock and then molds into anger. Howdarehe threaten me? After everything I’ve gone through in my life, I willnottolerate this bullshit.

I open my mouth, ready to tell him to go to hell, but his smile widens, as if he knows exactly what I’m about to say.

“If that’s not enough. I’ll ruin your friend’s life too. What’s her name? Ah, yes, Pianna.” At my gasp, Garry’s face splits into two, his white teeth flashing against his tan skin. “You wouldn’t want to ruin her life because of a mistakeyoumade, right?”

The blood drains from my face. Too many emotions are flooding my system, causing my hands to shake. I shove them into my lap, under the table and out of sight. But while I can hide my hands, I’m too upset to hide the emotions from my face. After a short silence, Garry nods.

“That’s what I thought.” He sighs and uncrosses his legs. “Now that we have that out of the way, I feel much better. Unfortunately, I don’t have much longer to chat. I have places to be and people to meet. Be a dear and throw this away for me on your way out, would you?” He waves his hand at the untouched plate of food in front of him as he stands. “It was a pleasure speaking with you, Miss Wilson. Please let Ms. Barbara know to expect a hefty check from me in the next few days.”

With that, Garry strolls away from the table. I don’t watch him leave. Instead, I stare down at my own lunch.

Tears well up and my chest heaves. It takes a great deal of effort not to outright sob right there in the cafeteria. I’ve been played. Strung along by three assholes who take nothing but pleasure from the misery of others.

How can I have been so stupid?

I stand. My chair nearly topples over at the abrupt movement, but at the last minute, it rights itself. This is my fault. I should’ve just stayed away after Grant picked me up from theairport. I knew there was no future between the four of us, butthis?

They’re fuckboys,Pianna’s words come back and haunt me. The truth in them ringing loud and clear now.

I allow rage to overshadow any other feelings. It takes away the burning pain in my chest and allows me to think a little more clearly. Grabbing my tray, I leave the table. I dump the contents of my lunch into the trash and storm across campus back to the Atwater Library.

Rather than head straight back to my desk on the second floor, I sneak up the back stairwell and slip into the break room. There, I grab my phone from my purse. There are text messages from Grant waiting for me, but I ignore them as I pull up my social media accounts. I don’t normally use them. The only reason they’re active is because I wanted to snoop on the guys while they blackmailed me. Now I’m glad I haven't gone back to deactivate them.

I pull up Grant’s account first. If there’s going to be any evidence of an engagement, it would be there.

Immediately, I wish I hadn’t. There, as hisprofilepicture, is Grant standing with a pretty blonde, both dressed like they’re at some type of fancy soiree. She’s clearly closer to his age, sporting a large, unnaturally white grin. While Grant leans in to kiss her cheek, the girl—who must be Carmilla—holds up her left hand for the camera to catch the massive rock resting on her ring finger.

Beneath the picture are over a hundred comments congratulating Grant on his engagement. Within those comments I find Jason’s and Trip’s.

Jason Nani: Way to go! Can’t wait to be your best man.

Trip Baniker: Congrats.

The time stampfor the profile picture says December 31st. It's mid-February now. It’s been nearly two whole months oflies. And now their absence on New Year's Eve makes sense. They were busy celebrating. But why would they have me get dressed up and go out if they were never planning on showing up? I guess it was just one of their cruel games.

The pain in my chest is nearly crippling. I sob loudly, unable to choke it down. Thankfully, no one is around to hear it. I close the tab and pull up the text messages waiting for me.

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