She stalks away in her stilettos, reaching into her clutch to pull out her phone. I should count myself lucky she didn’t put one of her spike heels through my eye.
Sighing, I hide in the powder room and sit down. The fact that Anthony lied to get invited to the party upsets me, but what he said won’t leave my mind.
Another Lauren.
So the other man she was dating must’ve been Anthony. But why couldn’t he see that both he and Ryder were the victims of her manipulation? It’s obvious she wanted fame, not either of the two men.
If Anthony was honest about having been Ryder’s friend, doesn’t he understand what a terrible waste it is to throw that friendship away for a woman who was only using him as the lowest rung on the ladder to fame?
It might be years ago and she might be gone, but she obviously still casts a long shadow over the men…and now me. I expected the worst that would probably happen in this fake marriage was getting caught between Ryder and Julian. I never thought I would end up in an old feud over a dead woman.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ryder
Mira approaches with her mouth set in a hard line, cutting through the crowd like a shark in still water. People move out of the way.
I look at her with a small smile even as an internal alarm goes off. She had the exact same look when that tramp released her fake sex tape for publicity. Whatever it is, I’m sure she and the team can handle it, but I still can’t help but feel a little tense. I have a lot more to lose now. I don’t want some bullshit out there to hurt or humiliate Paige.
Mira puts a hand on my arm. Even in stilettos she’s short, so I bend down so she can whisper into my ear. “We have to talk. Private. It’s urgent. Your office?”
I nod, and we go upstairs to my office together. I look back at the crowd below. I haven’t seen Paige since that ugly scene with Anthony, and I hope she’s having a good time with her friends and family.
She closes the door behind us. I lean against the edge of the desk, too wired to sit. “What is it?”
“It’s Paige.” Not a ghost of smile passes over Mira’s face, not even to reassure me.
Nervous energy jitters over my nerve endings. “What about her?”
“I just got a text. Apparently there’s a sex tape of her and her ex.”
“A what?”
“A tape. Of sex,” Mira says, enunciating with care. “Showing Paige. And her ex.”
“How?” I ask almost stupidly. My brain can’t process what she’s saying. The individual words out of her mouth make perfect sense, but together? Paige isn’t the kind of girl who does stuff like that.
“‘How?’” Mira cocks an eyebrow. “Obviously they filmed themselves while having sex. Probably had the camera on a tripo—”
“I know that,” I snap at her. “I’m asking you how it leaked. Who did it?”
“I don’t know yet. It’s ‘anonymous,’ although I have a shortlist of suspects.”
“Who?” My hands clench with the need to pummel someone.
“The most obvious one is Paige herself.”
“What? No.” I push myself off the desk and stand up. “No way.” My first instinct is to blame Anthony, but that doesn’t make sense either. He hasn’t been in town long enough. Besides, this is too weak a volley for what he vowed to do.
“Ryder, when a sex tape is released, it’s almost always the woman doing it for publicity.”
“What about her ex? Have you considered the idea that it might be revenge porn?”
“Of course I have. But if it was Shaun, he would’ve released it sooner. Like when she dumped him or something like that. Why sit on it until now? He didn’t know you were going to marry her.”
My mouth is dry, and an ugly cocktail of incredulity and fury courses through my veins. I draw in a lungful of air to calm myself. Losing my shit won’t do any good. “Maybe her ex did it for publicity.”
Mira makes a face. “It’s almost always the woman who gets the press. Men bragging about sex in public are a dime a dozen. Women? It’s titillating. Deliciously scandalous. I can name too many female celebrities who have zero talent but made themselves famous with a judicious use of sex tapes. They make people talk about the women for months if not years.”
I rub my face with a shaking hand. “We don’t even know if it’s real.” It could be some asshole trying to hurt me through her.
“I’m sure we can ask Paige.” Mira pauses. “Or have it authenticated somehow.”
“She doesn’t like the spotlight.”
“Don’t be so sure. She knows what fame can do for you. She’s seen it first-hand.”