Page 14 of Endless Love: Novella

“Poison…” I whispered with a sinking heart. She had a point, sadly, though her blunt delivery lacked tact.

It hit him hard, making his features pinch together like he was in pain. “She’s already dealing with the fire. All I want is forher to have the day she’s always dreamed of. She doesn’t need this.”

“Whatisthis?” I asked. “What is it she doesn’t need?”

“It’s bound to come out soon in the media. Which is why I wanted to talk to you,” he explained. I watched as he tried to pull himself together, sitting up straight and pushing his hair back from his forehead. “I’m not asking for a cover-up, mind you. But I know damn well what he’s going to put out there. His twisted version of the truth.”

After he took a deep breath, he said, “When I was sixteen, I was in a pub in London. Back then, I was always looking for another reason to fight. I was pissed off all the time, wanting to take it out on somebody. I didn’t like the way one of the lads was looking at me. He was posh, and I was anything but. I was raised to hate people like him.” He slid an almost guilty look my way, one I instantly understood. He was raised to hate people like me.

He cleared his throat, then continued, “When he made the mistake of looking at me again, I charged at him and got in his face. Asked him what his fucking problem was. He threw the first punch.” He made a point of telling us, looking back and forth like he wanted to be sure we believed him. “Not that I wouldn’t have if he didn’t beat me to it.”

A lengthy pause followed. I was on the edge of my seat, and Ivy wasn’t much better, her eyes glued to Miles while we waited. “The thing was…” he continued, “… he was practically blind drunk. The force of his swing made him lose his balance. He smashed his head against the edge of the bar when he fell.”

“Jesus,” Ivy whispered, covering her mouth with a trembling hand.

“I already had a record by then,” Miles continued. “Fighting, minor vandalism. And I did start things according to the witnesses who spoke to the police. There was never any full agreement on whether or not I threw the first punch, buteveryone agreed none of it would’ve happened if it weren’t for me charging him the way I did. I paid a lot of money for legal counsel to have my record expunged, but money can also be used to hire investigators.”

“So this Damian guy dug up the story?” I asked, wincing when Miles nodded.

“What happened to him?” Ivy asked in a tight voice. “The guy who fell.”

Miles stared down at the hands now resting in his lap. “He suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was studying medicine,” he explained in a heavy voice. “He’s never walked again. He’s only regained the ability to speak a few words. He needs constant care around the clock.”

“Fuck, man.” I sighed. What was there to say? “So Damian is going to use this against you to get the edge? Do you know when he plans on getting started?”

It could’ve been a trick of the light streaming through the window, but he looked a little green. “For all I know, the ball is already in motion. The story as he plans to tell it, of course, is about how I was a young punk who destroyed the brilliant future of a smart, ambitious young man who is now little better than a vegetable. It’ll cause a scandal, naturally. My financial backers will vanish. He’ll swoop in and claim the patent and make a mint. At least, that’s what we’re assuming.”

“And I guess that’s what Spencer was on the phone about this morning?” I asked. “The two of you looked pretty pissed off when he came down.”

“He has people with their ears to the ground, watching and listening. His team out in Silicon Valley is working their asses off to pull everything together for the patent, but they’re afraid it won’t be fast enough, and then there’s the possibility this asshole already got to one of the team members and is paying for info. He has the money to offer just about anything,” he concluded,his anger and accent clipped the words until they were sharp as knives.

“He sounds like a real supervillain.” Ivy winced as soon as the words were out of her mouth. “Sorry.”

Miles only chuckled as he nodded slowly. “You’re not wrong. The worst part is…” he shifted in the chair, uncomfortable, “… the contact Spencer spoke to earlier this morning reported at least one of Damian’s associates was spotted in the Hamptons recently. Some thug on the payroll. Naturally, we’re concerned he’s been watching.”

“Watching for what?” I asked.

“That’s the thing. We don’t know. We only know there’s no reason for him to be out here unless it’s to gain further leverage against me.” He sounded sick and with plenty of reason to. I couldn’t imagine having something like this hanging over my head two days before my wedding, worrying my fiancée would find out.

I looked toward Ivy, who now wore an expression I easily recognized. “You’re already coming up with a plan, aren’t you?” I asked.

“What do you think? Of course, I am.” She chewed her lip, tapping her nails against the edge of the desk she sat on. “Sympathy. We’re going to drum up sympathy.”

“How?” Miles asked, exchanging a glance with me.

“There have been articles posted online about the fire at the store.” Her brow wrinkled in concentration, eyes narrowed, and I had to wonder if she had any idea how absolutely captivating she was.

There was nothing as hot as the sight of her using her incredible brain. All I could do was sit back and let her work her magic.

She pushed away from the desk, pacing in tight circles in front of it. “We share those articles across all of our social mediaaccounts,” she suggested, talking more to herself than us. “We make sure to tag Miles or at least mention his name along with the others. This wedding has already gotten a ton of press coverage. We can play up this little plot twist as a tragedy but an opportunity for love to triumph. The wedding party keeping a stiff upper lip and all that. How nothing can get in the way of true love… I mean, look at this young man who clawed his way to the top despite the odds being against him. If a poor boy from London can find true love with a Manhattan princess, anything is possible.”

“We’ll beat them to the punch,” Miles summed up. “I like it. I like the way you think.”

“It’s sort of my job to understand what people respond to,” she pointed out with a small smile. “I want us to do everything we can to help things go smoothly.”

“And I’ll have team members set up Google alerts on your name,” I assured him. “Their entire purpose for the next few days is to watch for anything having to do with you being shared online. We’ll do everything in our power to drown Damian’s shit out with all this goodwill we’re drumming up.”

He released a long breath, almost deflating like a balloon. “You have no idea what it means to hear you say that. Thank you both so much. I won’t pretend you’re doing this for me. I know it’s for Aria and Valentina and everyone else. Making sure things are set for the wedding. But I’m still grateful.”

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