Page 47 of Waste
“My solicitor is hitting her with a gag order,” Drew said lamely.
“It appears to be too late for that,” Shelley replied after a few minutes. She ground her teeth together. What a damn bitch!
Jo had detailed how she worked with Shelley in the coffee shop and had at first thought Shelley was a nice person.She mentioned Shelley kept herself to herself but had an air of mystery, which intrigued men. Jo continued to claim that Shelley flirted with male customers, often to the detriment of her job.
“Jo’s describing her own work ethic.” Shelley laughed with a little bitterness.
She hated her hard work and friendly efforts being lied about. Seconds later, she caught her breath as John Saville was mentioned. Jo claimed Shelley had flirted so much with a customer that he’d taken her at face value and had tried to meet with Shelley. During that meeting, John was killed, and nobody knew what had happened. Jo neglected to mention that John had beaten Shelley or attempted to kill her. Instead, it read like Shelley had murdered John.
Shelley’s hand flew to her mouth, and she gasped. Her eyes filled with tears. Was Jo really this spiteful? It appeared so as the article continued mentioning Drew’s name and how Drew had offered Jo his number. Jo claimed Shelley had kept interfering in Drew’s efforts, as Jo was too shy to accept Drew’s advances. She stated that she believed Shelley had caused her own car accident after discovering the route Drew took home and trapped him into a relationship.
“Oh, my word,” Shelley exclaimed in disgust.
“Dad’s solicitors are also involved,” Charlie said, sitting by her.
“Doesn’t matter, does it? There’ll be people who’ll believe this nonsense. Especially Drew’s fans. How could Jo harbour such spite, such cruelty? Most of this is lies or Jo transferring her own actions onto me.”
Drew shook his head. “She’s a vile woman, petty and jealous. I’m so sorry about this.”
“This isn’t your fault, Drew. Nobody could have seen this coming. Well, Jo got her fifteen minutes of fame. I hope it wasworth it, because Jo won’t have a job by the time Dad finishes. Our solicitors will shred Jo’s reputation,” Charlie stated.
Drew nodded. “My PA, Charlotte, is putting together a press release refuting a lot of Jo’s claims, but that story is out there.”
“Perhaps I should contact DI Wilson. This could get messy with John Saville’s family,” Shelley mused.
“Possibly. Charlotte has asked permission to mention Saville stalked and beat you, injuring you badly,” Drew murmured softly.
Shelley guessed he didn’t want to upset her further. Jo had caused enough problems.
“Sure, as my life is out there for anyone to dissect,” Shelley muttered.
Drew and Charlie flinched.
“How are your fans reacting?” Shelley asked suddenly, and Drew winced. His reaction told Shelley everything she needed to know.
“Damn. Guess they think you’re the victim in this mess. Can’t say I blame them after Jo’s hatchet job.”
“My fans will calm down once my PA releases my statement, and my solicitor moves to sue the pants off of Jo. This is libel, and Jo will pay the price for that,” Drew responded.
“In the meantime, I’ve got masses of rabid fans after my blood, someone trying to kill me, and two broken limbs. It’s going great for me,” Shelley replied sarcastically.
She immediately felt guilty when Drew and Charlie both winced. “Sorry, I’m so angry. I don’t understand why this is happening. Hell, I just want a quiet life. Yes, Charlie, we don’t always get what we want.”
Charlie smirked, but there was an undercurrent of concern.
“I shouldn’t have asked you out in front of Jo. I’ve had a lot of experience with women like her. I should have guessed how she would react to rejection. Shelley, I was more worried aboutensuring you felt safe and didn’t consider the surroundings,” Drew said guiltily.
“This isn’t your fault, Drew. Jesus, why does Jo involve herself in everything? It’s crazy. Jo’s so desperate to live the life of Riley, it’s unbelievable; she’s a total narcissist,” Shelley replied.
“She needs a short, sharp lesson and will be getting one,” Charlie stated.
“Too late to think about my privacy. I’ll be all over the media.”
“Excuse me, this is Charlotte,” Drew said and stepped away.
Drew/Ghoul
He listened carefully to what Charlotte Madden had to say. His PA was an older woman and highly efficient. She’d had Drew’s solicitor draw up papers and was submitting them to the court. Should they be approved, Jo would be issued a gag order before being handed documents stating that she was being sued.
