"Good, you can do so by leaving. If you could get me a mineral water on your way out, that would be lovely."
"Allow me to be clear, Veronica. You are the one who needs to leave. I am a guest of the Harris family. You are trespassing. You are not coming back here, and you are not going to contact Logan. Also, you are going to take off my sweatshirt."
"Oh this is yours?" Veronica asked feigning surprise. She sneered at Callie, and her tone grew harsh. "I thought it belonged to a twelve year old boy.”
“Take it off,” Callie said.
"Have it your way," Veronica said. She unzipped the sweatshirt halfway, revealing her bare skin, stopping just short of letting her breasts hang out.
"You're not even wearing a bra?" Callie asked. That was her favorite sweatshirt, and now she'd probably have to wash it a dozen times to get the smell of skank out of it.
"Sorry, none of yours were large enough. Funny, I thought your boyfriend had a thing for real women."
"Ladies, there's no reason to let this get personal," Logan said. “Nikki, give Callie her clothes back. Callie, what's the harm in her staying for a little while?" Logan asked.
“It’s not like I haven’t stayed here before,” Veronica said. “Hell, last year Logan and I spent an entire week without leaving this guesthouse. I’m sure he remembers how much fun we had.”
Callie turned to Logan. ”Can we talk outside for a minute? There's something I really need to tell you."
"Can't it wait a minute until we figure out what's going on here?" Logan asked.
"No, absolutely not." Callie opened the door and motioned outside. She took a deep breath as Logan followed.
"What the hell was that?" Logan asked.
As soon as she shut the door behind him, she said, "You know she's only here because she's trying to use you, right?"
"And what exactly is she using me for? I mean I get that the guesthouse is nice and all, but I think she could find better accommodations if she wanted them. I'm not thrilled about her being here either, but I don't get what the big deal is. Is there something I'm missing here?"
Callie looked into Logan's eyes. This was the moment she had feared since she had realized that he was more than just some hookup, since she had realized how much more there was to him. Now, he was going to hate her. What was even worse was that she didn't care about what the bad press would do for Hank and his legislation. She just didn't want to see Logan's name dragged through the mud. He was too good of a man to have that happen to him because of some mistake he had made in the past. She just wanted to protect him, but she couldn't figure out how to tell him that. Callie worked with words for a living, crafting statements and press-releases, drafting contracts, but whenever she was around Logan, she could barely find the words to say what she felt.
"There's a sex tape,” Callie said. The words barely passed her lips.
"Of who?" Logan asked.
"There are pictures and a video of you and Veronica having sex. She has an album release coming up in a few weeks, and now she shows up with paparazzi in tow? She's building towards something. You can connect the dots.”
Logan leaned back against the side of the house and ran his hand through his hair. “Wait, how do you know this?"
"Promise you'll hear me out,” Callie pleaded.
"I'm listening,” Logan said.
"In my line of work, this kind of thing happens more than you'd think."
"By this kind of thing, do you mean lying to someone about why you're there and then leading him along? Did my father put you up to this? I should have known that this was too good to be true, that you were too good to be true. All those times you bumped into me in town and around, were you just keeping tabs on me or were you setting a trap? This is what happens when I finally go out on a limb and try for something more. Thank you, Callie for proving exactly what I already knew. You know, I have no idea why Veronica is here, but at least she hasn't been actively lying to me for the past two weeks."
Logan's words cut deep.
“I was trying to protect you,” Callie said. “I came across the pictures when a client was being blackmailed. The whole thing was too much, and I had to get away."
"Maybe it's time for you to go back to DC."
"I can't, please." Callie tried to lean in to place her hand on Logan's arm, but he pulled away. “Logan, you get to choose who you are. You, and no one else, not me, not Veronica, not your father. If you want to be a better man, you have to make a decision and stick with it, but I’m not going to sit around here waiting for you to become something you don’t want to be. You said you want this to be something more than just a fun fling. So make it something more. Don’t sit around waiting for me to come running into your arms, because it doesn’t work that way. I’m an adult, and you’re an adult. If you want to be with me, prove it. I’m heading home after next weekend. It’s time for you to decide what you want.”