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“Jeremy,” I say obviously.
“No. Not him. It’s not about him.”
I furrow my brow. “Just tell me, man.”
“I know you don’t follow social media,” he begins.
I don’t. There’s no point. I have a large staff to handle things for the foundation work. And I have a supervising secretary who doubles as a social media manager as needed just so I have a professional presence.
But I know Johanna lives on it.
“Shit.”
He nods, knowing I’ve caught on already.
“What has she done?”
Caleb and Lauren were embroiled in a mess with threats. He had to deal with scandals tied to his name, and he was in the news. Jeremy tried to exploit that and further smear his name. If Johanna is trying to spread crap about me online and ruin my reputation, that’s too much of the same bullshit we’re dealing with.
“What did she say?”
He shakes his head. “It’s not so much what she’s saying. It’s what she’s trying to make happen.” He gets his phone out of his pocket and unlocks it before he swipes, scrolling to whatever damage Johanna is trying to do.
She’s got nothing on me. I won’t try to think I’m squeaky clean. I’ve made mistakes. Everyone has. But I’ve avoided scandals, mostly because I prefer to be quiet. I don’t make a lot of noise because I prefer to listen and observe, not act out. When Caleb and I drank and partied a lot in the previous decade, he was the one who always made the news. Between the two of us, Caleb’s the one in the public’s eye. He was the more outgoing playboy and the media has always been more interested in him and what—or who—he was doing.
I know Johanna can’t be claiming I impregnated her. She can’t accuse me of taking anything from her because I was the one treating her and paying her way. And most importantly, I gave her my loyalty. I was committed and faithful. She was the one who wronged me. I’ll be damned if she tries to play the victim.
She’s not trying anything of the sort, though. I glance at Caleb’s phone and wish I was seeing something fictional. A joke. Even a prank. But it’s neither.
The picture attached is a form that I would have once been happy to turn in to the state of New York. I obtained the document first. I did it the same day I purchased the engagement ring I wanted to give to Johanna when I planned to propose. I’d been so serious about making her my wife that I obtained a marriage license application from the courthouse. I never got to the point of asking her to fill in her name. After the sudden discovery of her infidelity, I dismissed the paper. I must have stashed it in my desk at home to be forgotten about. The ring, I know I got rid of. I promptly returned it to the store, wanting no reminder of the emptiness the little box made me feel when I spotted it.
“What the hell?” I whisper, stunned to see not only the paper again but also with her name filled in. I never showed her the document because she ruined it before I could. She’s found it somehow though, and has filled in her name.
“That’s your handwriting,” Caleb points out.
I choke on air as I struggle to breathe. “Yeah. I know.” I glance up at his shocked expression. “I picked this up after I got the ring. I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to propose that night and show her the form to prove I didn’t want a long engagement.”
“Did you give her the paper?”
I scowl at him. “No. When I saw her in bed with him, I didn’t even get to the step of showing her the damn ring! I never showed her this form.”
“How’d she get it then?”
I stare back at the image. She’s holding the form next to her smiling face as she stands in front of the courthouse. Her other hand is up and showing the tops of her fingers. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her face, and it peeves me to have to face her now. But just seeing her isn’t as bothersome as the intention behind her very public post that’s captioned About to get a ring and get hitched!
“The hell you are,” I mutter at the phone. She’s not getting my ring or my name. She’s getting nothing from me. Is this why she’s been contacting me so much? Because she found that form I never threw away?
“She must have conned the doorman to let her in or something.” I shake my head. “I changed the locks because she had the key.”
“Wouldn’t they have known to not let her in?” he asks.
“Of course. Unless she bribed one of them. You know how she is.”
He scoffs. “Manipulative? Yeah.” He crosses his arms. “And stooping to trespassing, taking your personal property, and lying.”
He’s really been on a roll with coming after others to be so quick to list those charges.
“It won’t work.” I shake my head, needing the physical gesture to emphasize it to myself. “We both have to be there to sign the license application at the courthouse together. It won’t be notarized.”
