“But Paige, I swear to god, I didn’t upload it anywhere! Just think for a minute. What does the tape get me? I’m not going to become famous because of it. Nobody gives a shit about the guy in those videos, you know that. And it would only piss off Ryder, which is not what I ever wanted to do. I wanted him to star in my movie!”
“Shaun, I really don’t give a damn what you did because the sex video is out there for everyone to see, including my parents.”
“Did they really watch it?”
“I don’t know and I didn’t ask,” I spit.
“I can’t get a gig anywhere now, and Ryder’s lawyers are demanding, like, ten million dollars. What the fuck? I know he’s blackballed me.”
“Good. I told you you’d never get anywhere with him. But you’re so full of yourself you wouldn’t listen.”
“No, you aren’t listening. I didn’t do it! I’m telling you, my account got hacked!”
“Sure.”
“I’m serious. I even had to change my password.”
“To what? Shaunisawesome?”
A short pause. “How did you know?”
I close my eyes. “Oh my god…” I can’t even. “Shaun, listen to me very carefully. If you ever call me again, I will tell Ryder, and his lawyers will add harassment to whatever they’re suing you for already. I’m not going to lift a finger on your behalf, so you’ve just wasted both our time. You should spend your energy trying to convince Ryder and his lawyers that you are an innocent victim of hacking!” Breathing hard, I hang up and toss the phone back into my purse.
Just thinking about what he’s done is infuriating. But at the same time, the fact that he’s going to pay for it sends a hot streak of satisfaction through me. I told Ryder to let it go, but maybe he was right to teach Shaun a lesson. Some people just won’t learn without getting their wrists slapped, and I have a feeling that Shaun is one of the slower ones.
I climb out of the car and unlock Bethany’s house. Her office is on the second floor, so I climb the stairs and find it tidy as usual. She absolutely abhors clutter. I see a stack of papers on the desk plus a spiral notebook. I open it to make sure it has notes for the contract. Satisfied, I put it in my purse then stop. The first page of the contract has the information about Bethany’s web comic site and the other party: The Reed Trust.
I pause for a moment, remembering Julian’s threat. He wanted me to humiliate Ryder by ditching him at the altar. If I wouldn’t cooperate, he was going to start going after the people I care about. Is this somehow part of that threat?
I scan the contact info further. An address in L.A. Then a name: Brian Miller.
I blink. Brian Miller is Ryder’s business manager. Brian has other clients, of course, but this…
And there have to be other Brian Millers in Los Angeles, I tell myself. It’s not an uncommon name.
Still…
I tap my finger on the paper. If Ryder had created a trust, he probably wouldn’t have named it “Reed” since he hates Julian and everything his father stands for. On the other hand, he did adore his grandfather. And he genuinely enjoyed Bethany’s comics. So he could’ve formed a trust and named it “Reed” for his grandfather, then decided to fund Bethany’s comics.
I skim the rest of the paperwork, looking for clues. All I come away with is a sense that Ryder is not behind it. If he were, the contract terms wouldn’t be so onerous. He would’ve been tough, of course, but much fairer. He wouldn’t be asking to hold Bethany’s comics hostage for twenty-five years in the event that the partnership breaks up, and he certainly wouldn’t be demanding that Bethany match at least fifty percent of the money the trust is pouring into the venture.
But first things first. I take the notes and go back to my car, locking the house back up on the way out.
The drive over to Bethany’s lawyer’s office isn’t bad. The receptionist is a friendly Asian woman in her late fifties. Steel gray streaks her otherwise jet black hair, and she has large gold earrings in the shape of musical notes. “Thank you,” she says, taking the notebook. Her face creases as she smiles.
“Mind if I ask you a question?”
“Not at all.”
“Do you know who owns The Reed Trust?”
“Hmm. Not really. Let me see.” She taps a few keys on her laptop. “Nothing here except a contact number for the representative. Brian Miller. Do you need his information?”
“Could I get that number from you?”
“Sure.” She writes it down and gives me the slip of paper with another smile.