Page 47 of First Comes Revenge

“Or else I’ll start punching!” Jameson announces, still smiling.

This time, his words get some real laughter and seem to break the spell the fight caused. The DJ turns up the music and people start dispersing to enjoy the party again.

“I feel kind of guilty about all that,” I admit once Jameson’s attention is back on me. “I hope I didn’t goad you two into that.”

“Nah,” Jameson says. He eyes his knuckles, which are red, but otherwise unscathed. “I may not typically be the punching type, but some guys really need to be punched. I think it’s the only medicine that will get through to them. Vaughn might be one of those guys.”

I grin. “I can’t believe I hired strippers to dance for him in front of everybody.”

Jameson matches my smile. “That was fucking amazing.Youwere amazing. I’m proud of you. Seriously. You handled that perfectly.”

“Thank you for letting me,” I say. “At first, I wanted you to jump in from the start. But I feel better. I stood up to him and spoke my mind. Maybe none of it sank in for him, but it felt really good to know I had the courage to say it. So, thank you for that.”

“Any time.”

“Hey,” I say slowly. “You told me I couldn’t know the full story behind you hating Vaughn–that it was part of your mystery. Do I get to know yet?”

He chuckles. “I guess a man of mystery has to eventually give up his secrets, huh?”

“That’s right. Spill it, mystery man.”

“When Nolan and I were just getting started, Landmark was already huge. We were making good ground and had already signed contracts with a few authors. Then, out of nowhere, we got resignation notices one after the other. Our agents were quitting and our authors were declining to sign with us on future books. Turns out Vaughn Vanderlesh was trying to get a good start with his father by spreading lies. I guess he figured he could make a good impression with Daddy by sabotaging an up-and-comer.”

“Wow. But what was he telling people?”

Jameson’s expression sours. “Lies. He claimed I was sexually involved with several of our female authors and employees. Simultaneously. He managed to convince people they would be next, and that I was only in the business to abuse my power and get into people’s pants.”

My stomach twists. I wish I could say I can’t believe him, but I can see Vaughn doing something exactly like that. Worse, I can see his father being proud of him for the idea. “What happened? I mean, you guys seem to have overcome it. How?”

“I managed to get everybody together and prove his stories were bullshit. The women he said I slept with came forward and verified we’d never been involved. It was a mess, and I don’t think I ever fully got the stain off my name, but we moved on. We got over it. Well, mostly. I’ve always wanted to pay that little asshole back.”

“I don’t blame you,” I say. “Thank you for telling me, though.”

We spend the next few hours finally enjoying the party. Jameson goes back to his piled high plate of finger foods and makes short work of them. He gets a picture of us with the costumed actors. We both laugh when I scream so hard I nearly pee myself in the haunted house because some jerk with a fake chainsaw pops out and starts chasing me. We even dance as the party starts to wind down and the first waves of people leave. First, we dance fun and wild and then we dance slow, with his hands all over me and our bodies dangerously close.

I let him kiss me on the dance floor and I don’t even bother to look and see if Vaughn is watching. I don’t care if he is or isn’t. The first part of the party was about paying him back. This part is for me.

Neither of us seem ready for the night to be over, but midnight passes and almost everyone has left. We sit in two cheap metal chairs at the back corner of the room together. And then we sit on one chair, because he beckons me into his lap, and my skimpy costume has me feeling chilly, so I cuddle into his warmth gladly.

“Well,” he says. “That was fun.”

“It was,” I agree. My mind has started turning toward what’s next, though. Everything we agreed on led up to this moment. Nothing ever went past this. The Halloween mixer was an endpoint. A goal. And now we’ve reached it.

“Did you notice Vaughn and Aubrey didn’t leave together?” he asks.

I grin. “No. I didn’t, actually. Once the stripper thing was over, I kind of got distracted with you.”

He chuckles, and the vibration of his amusement rumbles straight through his chest into me. “I like that I distracted you. Did tonight help? I know the book thing is still unresolved…” he pauses so long I think he’s about to say more, but then he pushes on. “But did tonight help you maybe feel like he got some of what he deserved for the way he treated you?”

“It did,” I say. “I’m sure Roxie is still going to have some more childish ideas for getting him back, and maybe I’ll listen to some of them. But, yeah, honestly it feels different now. I want my book back, but I just… don’t care about him. Not even to be mad. That’s progress, right?”

“It is.”

“So have the legal people said what’s taking them so long?”

He hesitates again, and for the first time I wonder what it is he’s not telling me. Did they already give him bad news and he’s just trying to save my feelings? “I think it’ll all get worked out,” he says, not exactly answering my question. He looks like he’s about to say more, but decides to stay silent.

I’m exhausted after everything, so I just nod my head and let it drop. I’ve been anticipating tonight for what feels like ages, I had to get through dinner with my family, and then there was all the activity of the night. “I think I could fall into bed and be asleep before my head hits the pillow,” I say, yawning.

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