Page 95 of Jesse

“You tell us,” Hannah says. “Where the hell have you been?”

“And why didn’t you return my calls all weekend?” Mila barks.

“I was…” Shit. There is no good way to explain this weekend. So I decide to keep it simple. “I was on my date.”

“Your date?” Natalie says.

“Yup. My ten-million-dollar date.”

“Why would you do that?” Hannah asks.

“Well… he called me up on Saturday morning saying he had a toxicology report and…” You know. It goes on like that until it ends with… “And then he drugged me and took me home.”

To their credit they didn’t say a word as I told them about our weekend. Not one word.

But then Natalie takes a deep breath and finally says, “You left out the part where he sends the lake house security footage to the Hot Tonight Show and they run the story about four cosmetic moguls who clearly lost their minds and kidnapped a billionaire after paying ten million dollars for him at a charity auction.” She makes one of those curled-lip smiles with raised eyebrows that are very clearly not innuendo, and aims it all at Mila. “This time next year we’ll all be in prison and Lifetime will be running a docudrama called Bright Berry Bitches.”

“He didn’t do that, you guys,” I say.

But no one is listening to me. Mila starts pacing in front of her window, then says, “We’re going on the defensive.”

And Hannah says, “I’m calling the lawyers.”

And Natalie says, “I’ll get in front of it and call a meeting with management.”

And then everyone is in motion and everything is moving too fast, so I put two fingers in my mouth and shriek out a whistle so loud they all cover their ears.

“Stop it! Right now! And listen to me!” I pause to let them do that, then stand up and straighten my blouse. “He didn’t send that footage. OK? It’s not him. And he’s not pressing charges. He can’t anyway, he drugged me back! He’s not the same guy we knew back in Key West. Something is going on with that family and none of it will ever be aired in the courtroom.”

“They’re going to kill us, you mean?” Hannah says.

“We need more security,” Mila adds.

“Stop!” I yell. “You’re not listening to me!”

“That’s because you’re acting insane,” Natalie says. “You’re crazy if you think this will just blow over. They’re running security footage of us dragging Jesse Boston’s limp body into a boat, Emma! Get your head in the game! We’re about to be ruined!”

“Let me see the footage,” I say. “Do you have it?”

Hannah starts tapping on her phone and then holds it out to me. “Here.”

I watch it. Several times. Then hand Hannah’s phone back. “You can’t even tell who that is,” I say. “It’s all grainy and dark.”

“You know what you can see,” Mila says. “Three women in black cat suits and one in a red gown, dragging a body across the Boston family lake house backyard. It’s clearly us!”

“It’s not,” I say. “Unless we admit to it and we will not admit to it. And if Jesse doesn’t corroborate, no one will ever be able to prove it. He has to press charges, you guys. And I’m telling you right now, he won’t. Not after what he told me about his family. So just… calm the fuck down and think rationally.”

“What is your ‘rational plan’ then?” Hannah says, making air quotes when she says ‘rational plan.’

“We deny it. I’ll go back over to Jesse’s place and we’ll come up with a story. Then we stand together. Us and them. And make a statement to the media denouncing this as… fake news.”

“Well,” Hannah says with a sigh. “That does usually work.” And she’s not even being facetious.

Mila stares at me, her face angry and red. “Why do you have so much faith in this asshole? And even if he does go along because he drugged you too, what makes you think his brothers won’t push the cops to arrest us?”

I think about this for a moment.

Why do I have such faith in him? He drugged me last night. He fucked me, and drugged me, and took me home, and put me to bed. And then he left. And he’s not coming back. Not ever. That was an exit. That was… goodbye.