“A lawyer? From where? The school?” I asked Mel.
“Nope, a private one,” she answered.
“Who would hire an attorney?”
“I don’t know, but she came in with a stack of papers and disappeared into the editor’s office. They were in there for a while. When she came out, we were all called in. We had to sign confidentiality agreements and aren’t allowed to discuss the content of our article. In fact, I’m not even supposed to be saying this.” She laughed a little and sipped her drink. “Seriously, that lawyer threw around all these legal things like confidentiality and privacy laws. I really thought maybe you knew something about it, considering she threatened charges of something called false light on your behalf.”
“Wait, what?”
She slapped her hand over her mouth.
“What’s false light?” Fallon asked.
“I have no idea,” I said. “But you’re saying this lawyer used my name?”
“Yeah. But I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. God, if she’s your lawyer, please don’t tell anyone I said anything. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“No, I swear, I didn’t hire a lawyer. I couldn’t afford one even if I wanted to. God, I wish I knew who leaked the story in the first place.”
“His name’s Noah Price,” Mel said.
“What?” I blurted.
She buried her head in her hands. “Shit. You know him, don’t you? I have to stop talking. I’ve drunk too much. Um, I need to go find Leena. Please don’t repeat anything I’ve just said.”
Fallon and I watched her walk away then looked at each other.
“What the hell’s going on?” she finally asked.
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out.” I shook my head and glanced at the table where Ryder had been. He was gone, and a part of me was disappointed; another part, relieved.
“Do you think Noah hired a lawyer and helped you out of this?”
“But if he’s the one who outed the site, why would he then get a lawyer to stop it? Makes no sense.”
“Remorse? Guilty conscience?”
“But, really, a lawyer? Could he really even afford that?”
“Maybe he has a relative who’s a lawyer.”
I gasped. “Ryder.”
“Huh?”
“His stepdad’s a lawyer. But he hates him.”
“This is getting weird. I think you should talk to Ryder and find out for yourself what’s going on.”
“I don’t want to talk to him.”
“What did he say when you ran into him?”
“He apologized and asked for a chance to explain things. I told him I didn’t want to hear anything. Then he said he loved me.”
“He said what?” Her eyes widened and she leaned forward.
“I think he was drunk. He left early, so he was probably trashed.”
“No he didn’t. He’s right there.”
I spun around, and sure enough, Ryder was back in his chair. His forehead rested in his hand and he slouched forward.
“He looks kind of pathetic,” Fallon said.
But he looked more than pathetic. I’d never seen Ryder look anything less than irresistible, so this was beyond out of character. It tugged at me and a tiny part of me wanted to make sure he was okay, but then I remembered he’d fucked me to earn points and my sympathy vanished.
Some guy walked by and slapped him on the back. With a big smile, he leaned down and said something to Ryder.
Ryder bolted upright, knocking his chair down in the process. He grabbed the guy by his collar and slammed him against the wall. The guy’s hands flew up and he shook his head. Two of Ryder’s friends grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back. But he ignored his friends, refusing to let go. A bartender signaled the bouncer.
The guy he’d pinned to the wall said, “I didn’t know, man. I thought you’d be happy about it.”
He slammed him against the wall again. “You don’t know shit about me.”
The security guard neared them. I tried to find satisfaction in him being thrown out on his ass, but it was hard. I’d never been good at turning off my emotions. Look how many times I’d picked Mom up, regardless of how she’d hurt me.
But this was different. I wouldn’t go to him.
“Ryder,” his friend shouted. “Back off, man. He didn’t mean anything.”
Security weaved closer.
Ryder finally released the guy with a shove and threw his hands up. “I’m going,” he muttered to the bouncer.
His friend added, “He won’t cause any more trouble.”
Security eyed Ryder then said, “He’s not allowed back in tonight.”