Page 166 of The Hookup Situation
“What’s wrong?” I ask, holding her cheeks in my hands, looking into her shining green eyes.
“I’m worried this will ruin what we have. I could hurt your reputation, and?—”
“Don’t worry about me,” I say, taking her hands. “I’m used to this. You matter more.”
She searches my eyes. “I’m a liability. Your girlfriend’s nudes aretrending.”
“My girlfriend is trending because she was brave enough to stand up to an abuser.”
A moment later, Autumn moves over to us with her phone open. It’s a video of Craig at the brewery, fighting.
“Is this live?” Asher asks.
“Yes,” Autumn tells him.
“We need to call the authorities,” Zane says, unlocking his phone, but I’m already on it.
Craig’s behavior is out of control.
“He’s escalating this,” Asher tells us. “A security system, even though it’s as locked down as Fort Knox in here, isn’t enough. You need personal protection.”
Julie’s mouth falls open. “I can’t have a bodyguard. That?—”
“You go nowhere alone,” Asher explains. “Not until he’s caught.”
As I report the commotion going on at the brewery, Julie breaks down.
“I feel so violated. First my home, now my body—my privacy. He’s taken everything.”
Blaire holds Julie tight as she cries, and I hate this. It’s breaking my heart.
“No,” Autumn says. “He’s tried to take everything. But you’re still here. Still fighting. Still with Nick. You’re strong.”
Zane and Asher stare at me.
“Okay, sir, we already have a squad car heading out there now,” the dispatcher tells me.
“Thank you,” I say and end the call.
I move to Julie, and the girls step away as I wrap her in my arms. I kiss her hair, tell her how pretty she is and how we’re going to work through this.
Asher clears his throat, moving close to us. “The LadyLux interview will be published tomorrow if you can return her email tonight. I know this sucks, but trust me when I say, I’ve cleaned up bigger messes than this. I am in no way minimizing what happened. It’s utter bullshit, and if I could chop off that guy’s dick and shove it down his throat, I absolutely would. However, it could be a lot worse. We will remove all instances of it that are posted. Eventually, a new scandal will happen, and everyone will move on to that. It’s the nature of this.”
Julie nods, finding that fighting spirit. “Do you promise?”
“Yes,” Asher confirms, then glances at me. “I’ll do whatever I can to fix this. Not to brag, but I’m the absolute best in the business.”
“I know that,” I say, grinning.
“Thank you. I’m … I’m so lucky to have all of you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Autumn and Zane head out, promising to keep an eye on the town chatter. Blaire leaves crystals on every windowsill, kisses Julie’s cheek, and threatens to hex Craig into oblivion before slipping out the door.
Asher lingers the longest, running through a list of follow-ups with his interns until I all but shove him out the door.
“We’ve got it from here,” I tell him.
“You’d better,” he warns, pointing at me likehe’sthe older brother. Then his expression softens when he looks at Julie. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you. I’ll check in first thing tomorrow.”
