Chapter Nineteen
While Sawyer stood in the elevator, he took off his jacket and tossed it into the corner. Then, he unbuttoned and rolled up his sleeves. The door dinged as it opened, and he stepped out with a quick, purposeful stride.
He knew Travis’s mouth would force the two of them to collide. The stupid man didn’t know when to stay down. He paused at his assistant’s desk. “You can call security now, or an ambulance in about fifteen minutes. Either way, your boss is leaving here today.”
After a gasp of shock, she picked up the phone and began speaking in a hushed voice as he passed. Sawyer turned and pushed on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. What a useless waste of air. Travis had toyed with Liann until she’d broken, and now he hid behind a locked door so as not to deal with any consequences.
It took Sawyer a few seconds to realize the door would give with a couple of good kicks. Why the hell not, he decided. With that, he lifted an Italian-leather-clad foot and kicked at the door until it gave with a loud splintering of wood. He stormed inside and looked around. This place was weird, like Justine said. Odd shapes and dark colors. Probably a lot like the inside of Travis’s twisted mind.
After a moment, the chair swiveled around. Travis held a drink and lifted it in a toast to Sawyer. “You’ve arrived with your usual panache. If this is about Liann, you can save it. It’s not like I forced her to drink.”
“No. No, you’re going to wish that’s all this is about. You ran Chase Corp ten years ago.”
Travis sat up straight, looking queasy. “I might have worked there, for my father. I don’t know when.”
“Oh, I think you do know. Did you record Justine with her boyfriend yourself, or did you have someone do it?”
Travis shook his head. “I don’t have to discuss this with you.”
“That’s true. But when we stop talking, I’m going to kick your ass. I’m pretty sure your girlfriend out there called security, so if you answer my questions, you might avoid the hospital. Not making any promises…”
Travis stood and took a faltering step back toward the window. He maneuvered his chair in between them. Like that would stop Sawyer. This guy had gone to the trouble of learning all about Sawyer’s past. Did the idiot think a desk and a rolling chair would slow him down once he decided to make his move?
“Fine. I hired a private detective. Same one I used to find out about you. I wanted to know if she was screwing around, so he made the video as proof.”
“It’s not screwing around when you’re dating the guy. You invaded her privacy. That’s bad enough. But why would you then sell the tape? What the hell did you get out of that?”
“I taught her a lesson. She turned me down and then whored herself out with the first guy who gave her a second look. She needed to learn humility.”
“You little prick, here’s how this is going to work. I don’t kill you, even though I want to, and you leave. Don’t come back to work, don’t ever let me see your face again. Clear? You have one chance to say yes.”
“Sawyer!” Daniel called out behind him.
The rage that swept through him didn’t care about who was here or if there were consequences. He hoped Travis told him to go to hell, because then he could give him the beat down he’d deserved for the last ten years.
Travis tilted his head back, eyes wide. “What if I say no?”
“That’s it.” Sawyer pounced forward, grabbing Travis by his shirt collar to pound his fist into the man’s face. In no time, the collar ripped free as blood began to gush from Travis’s mouth.
Someone, two of them and big, too, began trying to pull Sawyer away. They dragged him to the corner, instead of out of the door, and he registered that Justine stood beside Daniel. She had her mouth covered, like the time she’d had the panic attack. Had he done that? No. No, this was Travis’s fault.
Sawyer convinced the two men he had no interest in fighting anymore, which wasn’t true, but he’d known he would go too far without intervention. What he hadn’t intended for was Justine to witness any of this. The two security guys stayed between himself and Travis, but they did let him go to Justine. He pulled her gruffly into his arms. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”
****
The world took on broken film quality, and Justine only saw pieces of action happening around her, spliced in with the blackness creeping over her vision.
Daniel turned to Travis, dumbfounded. “Why?”
Thea came into the office and took Justine by the arm. “Why what? What’s going on here?”
Travis spat out, “You heard why. She fu—”
“Don’t you dare speak about her.” Sawyer pointed at him, his voice booming everywhere. If Justine didn’t sit soon, she thought she might pass out this time.
“He’s the one who sold the video,” Daniel said, his voice hoarse, pointing to Travis.
Thea picked up a stapler and threw it at Travis’s head. It hit with a thunk and dropped to the carpet. “Well, really, who cares why? I want to break him.”
Everything seemed to speed up then. Daniel’s face turned purple, and he was screaming at Travis; though Justine couldn’t hear any of it. Her own heartbeat pounded through her brain like drums, and as her head started buzzing, she realized she was hyperventilating again. “Oh… crap.”
Sawyer wrapped Justine in his arms once more. He didn’t say a word, just scooped her up and walked out of the room.
In the elevator, she let her hands drift from her mouth. “You can put me down.” Everything inside was still scooped out. God, she was imploding Sawyer’s life, like when they had first met and all he wanted was rid of her.
“In a minute.”
Down in the basement, he stepped out of the elevator, took a left, a right, and another left to find her secret office. Inside, he set her down and shut the door behind him. She leaned down on her haunches, back against the wall, and tried to catch her breath. She literally couldn’t think of a worse day in the history of her whole life.
“We need to talk.” He took a faltering step toward her.
“We so don’t.” She was toxic. Everything she touched became tainted. Didn’t he see that?
“Jacobs, it’s my last name. And I need to apologize, for yesterday.”
“No, you already did that. And I apologize that you got dragged into this horrible mess. And for insisting we track down Liann and not listening to you about who we should cast. I’m sorry, for all of it.”
“Marry me.”
He threw her, so threw her that she sort of half-turned to look for… something, someone else. “I’m sorry?”
“I want to marry you.”
Justine waved it away, understanding. “Oh, my father. I don’t think he’s going to fire you. I mean, with all the egg on his face at this point, I think he’s going to be inclined to forgive you. And I’ll tell him you didn’t take advantage of me, or whatever. It’s fine.”
“I don’t care about that. I’m asking you to marry me.”
“Well, I’m telling you no. That’s crazy.”
“Why?”
“Because. Because marriage sucks. My parents were married and look how well that turned out. And I’ve spent the last twelve years practically not speaking to my father because he wanted me to get married, and that’s not hanging over my head, at last. Since we now know my ex sold the sex tape of me with a boyfriend my dad paid to stay away from me. No sane person would marry me.”
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“Bullshit, Justine. If you don’t want to marry me, then say it.”
“I can’t marry you. I love you too much to drag you into my circus. You’d never be happy. You think you would, but you wouldn’t. You hate attention. You hate messy. Don’t you see? That’s all there is with me. One messy, huge, press-worthy thing after another.”
“Justine, listen—”
“No! You listen. I can’t make you happy, and you deserve happy. You hated when that photographer followed us around. You nearly killed Travis. You will hate my life. I won’t change my mind, stop asking.”
“We’re not done with this. For now, we have a show to fix. Head to Liann’s dressing room. I’m going to call a stylist to cut your hair.”
“Um…huh?”
****
Sawyer pulled his phone out and frowned at it. He ignored Justine, turned away, and pretended to search for Larry’s number. Even though he was so mad at her right now, he longed for the days when he could lock her up with a stack of files and torture her. If he saw her, he might resort to begging. He had too much pride for that, and it wouldn’t help either of them.
“Um, Sawyer? Why do I need a stylist?” She exhaled in frustration. “Can you turn around?”
He turned back to her with a shrug. “I was busy. With my phone.”
“Fine, whatever. Who made you the boss of my hair?”
“I need to find Veronica,” he said, his voice absent, like he wasn’t even listening to her questions.
“Sawyer! What the hell are you going on about?”
“When you first came to see your dad, you said you had a job offer, a correspondent.”
“So?”
“So we need a new host, because you fired the other one.”
“Still not following.”
“You. You’re the new host.” He had to call Larry. He wanted Justine’s name to saturate the news cycle.
“You. You’re insane. I’m the queen of bad press. And I’ve never done anything like this. I can’t do a talk show.”
“You talk all the damn time. If anybody should get paid for talking, it’s you.”
When he turned to call Larry, she followed him out the door to Liann’s big pink dressing room. “I can’t stand-in for Liann. Liann is a drunken, husband-stealing bitch, but she’s beautiful.”
“Oh, God. I don’t have time for you to freak out about being labeled beautiful.”
“I think you’re biased because we’re sleeping together. You know, like you’re associating good sex with physical attractiveness, and they’re not the same thing.”
“Would you stop, I’m on the phone here.” He spoke to Larry, asking him to meet him out front in twenty minutes. He had to promise him something he could print, and he had no clue what that would be, other than what Sawyer wanted Larry to spread far and wide, but he’d figure it out later.
He turned to face her glare. “I’m not debating this with you, because it doesn’t matter what you think. I know what I’m doing, this is what I do. You need something that says you, but different. The woman they read about and downloaded, but not.”
“Oh, yuck. Yes, let’s not forget the video.”
He shook his head and dialed the phone. “Your mom, she can help. This is what she does, right? Makeovers?”
Justine stared at him while he tracked down Veronica and asked her to bring Thea downstairs with her.
When he hung up, she crossed to Liann’s makeup counter and sat, her chin in her hands. “You’re mad at me for saying no, but you don’t want to marry me.”
“Grow up, Justine.”
She traced her finger through clear liquid on the counter then lifted her finger to sniff. “God, more vodka. We could open a liquor store in here.” She yanked open a drawer and pulled out a bottle of Absolut. “See?”
A knock on the door sent Sawyer to open it. Thea and Veronica walked into the dressing room and froze when they crossed the threshold, shocked by all the pink.
“Thank you, ladies. She’s being very…what was the word you used, Thea? Resolute. She’s being as resolute as a mule right now, and I need your help.”
“I’m not being stubborn, I’m being reasonable. He’s insane.” She twisted in the chair toward them.
Thea lowered her voice. “Is she all right?”
“I’m right here, Mother. I can hear you.” Justine rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror with a huff.
“She seems fine. Except she doesn’t want to be the new co-host, and she won’t marry me. Maybe you can talk some sense to her.” He sure as hell hoped someone could.
Eyes wide, Veronica tapped her ring finger on her lips and looked back and forth between the two of them, clearly uncomfortable. “What’d you do?”
Sawyer scowled at her. “I’m not being an ass. This isn’t my fault, not this time.”
“I didn’t say a word.” Veronica shook her head and shrugged.
Thea held a palm up toward both Sawyer and Justine. “All right, we can work this out. One thing at a time. You want her to be the host?”
“I want her to be a co-host. She’s everything we wanted Liann for, without the drinking problem.”
“Or the baggage,” Justine mumbled.
“Oh, no, princess. You’ve got baggage.”
Justine spun out of the chair and stormed to join them. “I didn’t sleep with my boss. Liann…” She held up a finger at him, unable to finish the sentence. “I’m not speaking to you anymore. And you’re not my boss.”
Justine turned to her mother, whose eyebrows had climbed into her bangs. Justine slapped a hand over her face. “Crap.”
Thea took Justine’s hand away and gave it a squeeze. “No, I know everything, sweetpea. Your dad told me all about it. We’re fine; it’s fine. I’m tired of being mad about things that happened when disco was in.”
“Oh, Mom, I’m so glad. And sorry I didn’t tell you.”
Thea wrapped an arm around Justine and squeezed her tight. “There’s no need to be sorry. Everything is in the past.”
“The show.” Sawyer started over, going for reasonable and reaching it as much as his clenched teeth would allow. “You’ve got a scandalous past, you’ve got a name people recognize, you have chemistry with people who don’t spend more than ten minutes with you, and damn it, you’re easy on the eyes.”
“Tell him I think he’s an idiot.” She spoke to her mother, her voice serene.
Thea turned to look at him, and he took a step closer. “Tell her this show is going to get taped, she is going to cut her damned hair, and we’re not sending all of these people home, unemployed, because she’s camera shy!”
“Stop telling me things through my mother that you want to say to me!”
“Tell her she started it,” he spat.
Justine’s mouth dropped open. “All of these people being unemployed was what you planned with my father from the beginning. Why do you care?”
“That’s not exactly true. And I care because of you. You made me care. And while I’m on the subject of you making me care, why the hell won’t you marry me?”
Justine’s rolled her eyes upwards, threw up her hands, and turned away.
Thea stepped in front of Sawyer and laid a hand on his chest. “I’ve got this, Sawyer. Why don’t you go do… anything and let me talk with my daughter?”
At the door, he stopped. “Go find me an audience, Veronica. We’ll start taping at one.”
He walked down the corridor, and Justine screamed after him. “I’m not doing this!”
Scowling, he jabbed fiercely at the button on the elevator. She was doing this show. He wasn’t arguing with her anymore, because he may not be able to push her into marrying him, but he could get this show done.
He took the elevator up to the top floor, to Daniel’s office.
Monique gave him a small smile. “He’s expecting you.”
“I bet.” He paused at her desk. “About how long did it take for what happened downstairs to make it all the way up here?”
“Less than a minute.”
“Perfect. That’s perfect.” He turned on his heel and headed into Daniel’s office.
Inside, he looked around and didn’t notice Daniel at first, staring out the window at something in the distance.
The man took his time turning, and Sawyer sat down across from the desk.
“What’s it going to be, Daniel? Historically, I understand a bribe is in order, perhaps termination.”
“I asked you to keep an eye on her.”
“I did. God help me, it’s all I’ve done since I met her. She just…she brings it out in me.”
“Yes, I know the feeling.”
They stared at each other for a moment before Sawyer cocked his ankle up on his knee and slung his arm over the chair. “I want to marry her.”
“What does she say?”
“She says no. Over and over, she keeps saying no.”
“She’s…resolute.”
“Tell me about it.”
Sawyer stood up with a shrug. “So, no bribe? Because I’ve got work to do. Justine is going to be our new host.”
“Justine as a host…you know what? She’ll be great. Now, as for a bribe?” Daniel waved the idea away. “I’m getting too old for this.”
“Don’t sweat it. I was going to tell you to go to hell, anyway.” Sawyer started toward the door, but Daniel cleared his throat and he stopped to turn. Maybe there was some fight left here, which would be great. He needed to get rid of all the irritation coursing through him at the woman he loved.
Daniel buttoned his jacket. “If you hurt her, I’ll have your head on a stick, in the lobby.”
“Noted.”
Daniel gave a brief nod. “I was wrong about Travis.”
“Big time.”
“Justine says you’re a good man. And I trust her judgment.” He tilted his head in concession. “Now I do, for what that’s worth. So, take care of her. And good luck.”
Sawyer stood still for a minute, uncomfortable in the newness of letting himself feel. “Your daughter is…everything I didn’t know was missing. If I’m the man she says I am, it’s because of her.”
A smile broke across Daniel’s face. “Then stop standing around here. She’s the one you need to convince. I’ll see you downstairs for the taping.”
Sawyer took the elevator back down and stepped out onto the street, swallowing in the fresh air in big gulps. Larry gave him a scornful look and threw his cigar to the sidewalk, stomping it with a loafer.
It would take all the help he could get to pull this off. Sawyer beckoned for him to follow and took off walking down the crowded street. “I need a favor, Larry.”
“No shit.”
“I need you to leak something for me.”
“Oh, I love leaking.” He deadpanned. “Giving away scoops to everyone, so we can share the exposure equally.”
“I’ll pay you back, Larry. Once I convince Justine to marry me, we’ll have to tell people some things about me. And she’ll have to talk about her past. I’d rather you do the interview than some annoying fly paparazzi dig it up.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“Nope,” he said. Larry kept walking but Sawyer froze, staring in a store window. “And I think I know how to change her mind.”