Page 60 of Run, Run, Roommates
“I want there to be repercussions,” Brin says firmly.
“You could go to the police.”
She shakes her head. “What would they do? It’s just a few messages, albeit they’re threatening and scary. But he’s not stalking me and he doesn’t have any other way to reach out to me. Although now that he knows we’re roommates, he knows where I live. I don’t want to wait to see if he does something else.”
I feel a pang of guilt. Greg helped me move Brin in here, for fuck’s sake. And now she’s going to feel unsafe in her own home? Greg needs to know that he’s fucked up, and I want to make sure he gets exactly what he deserves.
“Another option is to approach his boss,” I say.
Brin’s eyes widen. “Get him fired?”
“Yeah. He probably has a morality clause in his job, because people like William don’t want someone who’s so close to them behaving in a way that makes them look bad. This is a perfect example. Ishimoto is a public figure.”
Her surprise turns to determination. “Yes. That’s what I want to do. How do we do that?”
I explain what I want to do and why. A hint of a smile shows on Brin’s lips for the first time since she got home last night, and she nods eagerly. “If you think it’ll work, let’s do it. I don’t want to see him again, I just want him stopped.”
I hold out a hand. “Open up Sugary and give me your phone. I’ll screenshot everything and send it to myself.”
Brin follows my instructions. I text myself the images and hand her phone back. I spend a few minutes crafting an email. The trickiest part of this is making sure Greg’s boss sees it. If I emailed the contact I have for him, Greg would probably get the message first, and it’s unlikely it would ever get to Ishimoto. I hit send, and then make the call on speakerphone.
William answers on the fifth ring. “What is it?”
I have never called William on vacation, not even in my early days of working for him, and I’m thankful for that because William is going to take this seriously.
“I’ve never asked you for a favor, but I’m asking you for one now and I want you to act on it today.”
William is quiet for a beat. “Go on.”
I explain the situation. “I’ve sent you an email so you can see for yourself. I want you to contact Ishimoto personally—not through Greg—and make sure they see what Greg’s done. If they don’t fire Greg, I want you to never buy another of Ishimoto’s work again, and sell all the ones you own.”
“Anything else?” William asks dryly.
“We’ll see how Ishimoto responds.”
William is quiet for a moment, but I can hear him moving in the background. I wait.
“I don’t like sticking my noses in other people’s business. Why should I?”
“Do it or find another assistant.” Brin’s eyes widen. I wasn’t planning on making the threat, but it feels right. If William isn’t willing to stick his neck out for me, why should I keep doing it for him?
William’s quiet again, and I think I’ve shocked him. “My, my,” he says. “You certainly have a taste for vengeance. Who’s Brie to you?”
All the screenshots of the conversation show her name as Brie. “Her real name is Brin.” I meet those sky-blue eyes with mine. “She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Brin’s lips part in shock. She keeps her eyes on me until I get off the phone with William and then she crawls into my lap and kisses me, her hands on either side of my face.
When she pulls back, I tell her the truth. “Brin, I love you.”
She sucks in a breath. “You do? Even though I’m a hot mess?”
I pull back to really look at her. “Why do you think that?”
She laughs, self-depreciatingly. “This is my third job this year. I can’t even remember to track my period. I don’t feel like an adult, ever.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit.” I stroke her cheek with my thumb. “I don’t see someone who is struggling. I see someone who’s bright and funny and too kind for her own good. Someone who’s spontaneous and willing to jump in to help anyone who needs it, like the mom upstairs or the roommate who suckers her into a multiday wild-goose chase around the city.”
She looks away from me, the compliments hitting her hard. “There’s something you don’t know, though.” She swallows, and I feel it under my palm. “I have a lot of credit card debt. Like, a lot.”
