Page 40 of Wild Tonic
“He doesn’t move in the same circles though, does he? You can do better than him.” Marika picked up her glass again. “Why don’t you stay here for a few days, and we can decide what you’re going to do?”
It was a statement rather than a question.
They seemed to have it all worked out for her and Clem didn’t know if she could summon the strength to argue.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It was like something out of a bad soap opera, thought Parker as he went to meet Lexi a couple of days after Poppy had found out about the situation. He hadn’t mentioned that he was seeing Lexi; he didn’t need the added stress.
They were meeting at the same hotel in Sloane Square that had been the location for their alleged affair. Lexi had finally managed to get Tommy to agree to see her. Parker had met him a couple of times, shortly before he and Lexi split up, and privately, he thought Tommy was an uneducated prick. Not that he’d ever tell Lexi that.
Lexi was dressed demurely in a cream high neck sweater and plain black trousers. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a French braid and she wore light make-up. The overall effect was very sweet and butter wouldn’t melt. One that couldn’t possibly have gotten involved in something so smutty.
“Did you book a room this time?” asked Parker. They had a corner table in the bar, away from anyone else who might possibly overhear their conversation.
Lexi shook her head. “I thought that might be a bit much for the Daily Mail. Me and two men.” She gave a wry smile. “Although that would fit nicely with the pictures Tommy has.”
At least she was able to make a joke about it, thought Parker. Despite the fact that Tommy was the reason they had split up, he still felt sorry for her. For anyone to try and exert some kind of power over someone in the way Tommy was trying to, was despicable. If he wasn’t such a pacifist, Parker would probably take the guy outside and give him a beating. It might be the only language that Neanderthal meathead would understand.
“Well, well, brought reinforcements, did you, babe?” Tommy’s voice filled the room before he arrived at their table. He slid his sunglasses on the top of his head, pushed back a chair and sat down, his legs spread. The woman tending to the bar immediately appeared beside them.
“Can I get you a drink, sir?” She simpered her words brazenly.
His gaze raked the length of her body and Parker felt Lexi tense beside him.
“Just a beer for now.” Tommy leered. “Although I may be ordering champagne in a while.”
“I don’t think you will,” said Lexi, her voice wavering.
They made small talk until Tommy’s beer arrived. Parker had made Lexi promise to let him lead the discussions. He knew that she would wade straight in and demand that Tommy delete the pictures, however he had the impression the actor wouldn’t be that accommodating.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Tommy leaned back in his seat. “Although I think I’ve got a pretty good idea.”
“Lexi told me what you did and I don’t think she did anything to deserve it.” Parker eyeballed Tommy, whose face was lit with amusement.
“She enjoyed every minute of it,” retaliated Tommy. “You wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise,” he directed towards her.
“I didn’t make any suggestion of the sort!” Lexi’s tone was shrill. “I was too drunk.” She hung her head, and Parker reached for her hand, which she clung to tightly, almost cutting off his circulation.
Parker switched into businessman mode. “Regardless of whoever suggested it, trying to extort money from her and threatening to damage her reputation is illegal.”
“Right, so go to the police. I’ll be happy to get this viral.” Tommy waved his phone at them, a smirk crossing his face.
“And you’d be happy to spend a couple of years in prison?” He’d done his research into revenge porn—and just hoped that Poppy wouldn’t see his internet history—to find out if Tommy would be charged or could be imprisoned if he did carry out his threats. “That would do your career a great deal of good.”
Lexi’s eyes went wide, and Tommy’s expression reflected hers. Clearly neither of them had researched it as thoroughly as he had.
“It was only a few pictures. A bit of fun,” stuttered Tommy. “Prison? Really?”
Parker nodded, not saying another word as he let the enormity of the potential fallout of the situation sink in. Inwardly, he was holding his breath. He hoped the threat of a criminal record and a spell in jail would be enough to give Tommy second thoughts.
There was a spell of awkward silence, as Tommy appeared to think about his options. Lexi gripped Parker’s hand tighter.
“A spell out of the limelight right now wouldn’t be a good thing for me,” said Tommy, after a while. “My agent thinks there’s a full-time part on a major British soap coming up soon and I’d be in with a shot at it. It wouldn’t be good to jeopardise that opportunity.” He sucked in a breath. “So maybe I won’t let anyone else see these.”
Lexi almost collapsed into a heap next to Parker. Silent sobs came from her, before she pulled herself together and addressed Tommy. “Give me the phone.” She held out her hand.
Tommy unlocked it and slid the device across the table. Parker watched over Lexi’s shoulder as she found the offending images and videos and deleted them, before removing them from the phone altogether.
