Wrapped Around My Finger (17 page)

He exhaled heavily. “Not until later, I’m sure.”

“You’ll do great. Welcome to the team.” Diane stopped before she passed me. “Let go of his hand,” she muttered in my ear.

I ignored her. Jagger had it all wrong. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. This project had been born on the first night we met. For the first time in a long time, I was nervous. No, that wasn’t the feeling. Excited.

The New York crew introduced the segment, and Diane signaled for me to start. “We’re coming to you today from outside of Stowe, Vermont. The response we received to the
Second Chances
submissions was overwhelming—over a million votes. This is the property you wanted to see us restore. You’ll get to follow us every step of the way, starting this fall. I’m thrilled for all of you to meet my co-host, Jagger Holiday.”

“Thanks, Leah. Can’t wait for the show to start.” Just like he’d been doing this forever.

I almost forgot my next line. “You’ve been photographing properties like this for years. What draws you to them?”

“A lot of these places have been forgotten, but at one time, they were new and full of promise. The cool part of exploring abandoned properties is finding the pieces of that promise that people left behind. It makes it a living, breathing thing again.”

“Tell us what we can expect from your segments, Jagger.”

“We’re going back to when the property was booming. We’ll get all the stories we can, from the people who know them best. Then I’ll show you how we found the barn, the unique history of the property. We’ll be restoring the barn to be a modern, sustainable dairy farm, but as much as possible, we’ll remain true to the original design.”

“Thanks, Jagger. I can’t wait to get to work.”

Diane motioned for us to cut. “Perfect.”

“Social media is blowing up,” one of the production assistants said as soon as we got back to the video tent. The segment had been live, but it was still good to watch the clips. “Everyone wants to know who Jagger is.”

**

T
he rest of the crew headed back to New York after we finished filming the segment. Only Diane, Shannon, Jagger and I stayed behind to start our research on the property. We split up—Diane and Shannon left me and Jagger alone. I trailed after him, soaking in everything he did. He brought me to a coffee shop that looked more like a museum, populated by people who were born in the town and planned on dying there as well. Over a cup of coffee, he got more information about our abandoned farm from the townies than we would’ve ever found anywhere else. One of the old men was the cousin of the former owner. It had been in the family for generations, but none of his kids had been interested in keeping up the family business. He did his best on his own until his wife got sick. Then the whole thing fell apart. He tried to sell it, but not so long ago, people didn’t give a shit about preserving old barns. The town had blocked developers from coming in and building time shares, but no one had stepped up to take care of the property.

“Is he still alive?” Jagger asked. The old man shook his head. “Are you in contact with any of his kids or grandkids? Times have changed. One of them might be interested in it now. We’d love to keep it in the family if we could.”

“If we can’t find anyone to take care of the property when we’re done, it’s in the show’s contract to sell it.” I frowned. I hated that part, but it served two purposes. It ensured that the property wouldn’t fall back into ruin—in the short run, anyway, and all the proceeds would go to be my soon-to-be-named charitable foundation. I hadn’t decided what purpose the foundation would serve, beyond preserving abandoned buildings as landmarks. Possibly get them registered historically. “Then we lose all control over the property.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” the old man said, shaking our hands before we headed out.

We headed back to our bed and breakfast. There weren’t any actual hotels nearby, and that was fine with me. The B&B was cozy and it gave us a chance to actually live in the town, even if it was for only forty-eight hours. I’d been good the night before, sleeping in my own bed by myself. But there was only so long I could resist this man, especially when he slept just down the hall from me.

“When was the last time I told you that you’re amazing?” I climbed on top of Jagger, who lay on the four poster bed in his room.

“About twenty minutes ago.” He grinned. “But it never gets old, so keep doing it.”

“I know you had doubts about taking this project, but now that you’re involved, and I’ve seen you in action, this is the best decision either of us has ever made. We’d never get this stuff without you. I’d have no idea what to ask. Diane might, but she’d piss them off or decide they didn’t know anything before she got the information.”

Jagger sat up quickly, rocking me back in his lap. He had me in his grasp before I lost my balance. “Seen me in action, huh?” His words were hot breath against my neck. “I’ve been watching you in action all day, and there’s only one thing I want to do about it.”

Heat radiated from his lap. My skin was already damp with his desire. “I bet it’s the same thing I had in mind.”

My shirt and scarf were up over my head, we worked in perfect tandem. Jagger couldn’t wait long enough to get my bra off, his lips hungry and wanting against the lace. Didn’t matter what was in his way, he had no problem hitting the mark. He pulled hard on my nipple, and I ached to actually feel his tongue against it.

I ground my hips against him, and he moaned. My hands were everywhere, in his hair, and on his back. I wondered what everyone would think if they knew I ripped his back to shreds almost every time he fucked me. He’d be nothing but scar tissue if we could do this all the time. But it would make him even more beautiful because he’d be mine.

Of course my phone started vibrating on the nightstand next to us. I reached for it, but Jagger grabbed my hand before I got it. Expert level move, he didn’t break contact with my nipple. I gave in, his fingers lacing between mine, but the phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.

“Jagger.” I was breathless. “I have to answer it. What if it’s Raven?”

He groaned against my breast, and just like that the magic was gone. “You need to set a special ringtone for her.” He handed me the phone.

“I know. I keep meaning to do that. But it wouldn’t matter now. I had it on vibrate from work.” I looked at the screen and frowned.

It was even worse than a Raven emergency. Diane wasted no time getting her point across.
Dining room. Both of you. Now.

L
eah

“Jagger, what did you do for work before this job?” Diane asked as soon as we walked into the dining room. She didn’t give us a chance to get comfortable. A few other guests milled around the main floor of the old farmhouse, but Diane had created her own vortex, and time stood still.

He didn’t bat an eyelash. “I was an escort.”

“Is that how you met Leah?” She hadn’t acknowledged me yet.

“Yes, it is.”

Diane turned to me. “And you didn’t think this was worth mentioning before we put him on live, national TV?” It wasn’t really a question, more like a verbal slap across the face.

“He can hear you.” My blood boiled when people did that, treated Jagger like less of a person once they found out what he’d done for work. Like he didn’t deserve the same respect they gave him before they knew. “And no, I didn’t. I have no idea how you met your husband.”

“My husband isn’t on this show.” Diane snapped open her laptop and put on her reading glasses. Things were getting serious. “Jagger apparently reneged on a contract, and you were involved somehow?”

We’d been wrong about everything. Beth found someone to file her lawsuit. Someone pretty damn good, since my executive producer knew the details of the case the day Jagger debuted on the show. I’d been dealing with Beth’s shit all my life. This was no coincidence. But how did they choose
today
to make the lawsuit go public? All we’d said about
Second Chances
was that the winner would be announced. We never mentioned I’d have a co-host. All the press releases about Jagger released after the segment. And Beth even figured out a way to tie the lawsuit to me. This wouldn’t die quietly. “I’d prefer not to comment on that until I know all the details.”

Diane took off her glasses and pinched her nose. “We were thrilled when Jagger started trending online. People loved you. You had your own hashtag before the show ended. Of course, we followed it. Everything was setting up beautifully for
Second Chances
. Then the tone of the posts changed. Drastically. Didn’t take too much work to find this story. So Leah, if you can figure out a positive way to spin that you hired a prostitute and then made him your co-host, I’m all ears. Because I’ve got nothing.”

I needed to call Kari. “The lawsuit is bullshit. It won’t amount to anything.”

“Maybe not in court, but in the court of public opinion...the seed has already been planted. You paid someone to have sex with you. What the hell were you thinking? This kind of thing ruins careers. And before you think it won’t happen to you, we’ve already had word from one major sponsor who plans on pulling their advertising from
Great Start Today
.”

And the first domino fell.

“That’s not exactly what happened—“

“Jagger, it doesn’t matter what happened. It matters what’s been reported.” Diane pinched her nose again. “The only reason we’re not dealing with a throng of rabid reporters right now is because we’re in the middle of nowhere. I have no idea what happens next. But if this goes badly, a lot of people who believe in this project could be out of a job.”

Diane was always a doomsday prepper, but this time, I believed her. I grabbed Jagger’s hand, and he squeezed it, hard. “Don’t say anything else until I call Kari.” I turned to Diane. “She’s my lawyer, and she’s the best.”

“Good. You’re gonna need her.”

**

I
was shaking. After almost thirty years of this bullshit, Beth and Shelley were still one step ahead of me. They’d removed me from one home, and now they were coming for the one I’d built myself. No. Not this time. They had everything they wanted, but their lives were still so empty they were hell-bent on destroying mine. I would’ve pitied them if I didn’t have to stop the avalanche that had become my career and future in the last five minutes.

“I’m sorry, Leah,” Jagger said as I picked the phone up off the bed and called Kari. I’d dropped it twice already. “I would’ve never accepted the job if I thought it would fuck with your livelihood.”

“It doesn’t matter.”
Please, Kari, pick up
. “They would’ve done this whether you worked with me or not.”

“I meant the escort job.”

He’d stunned me into silence.

“Please don’t say that.” My eyes burned, Jagger was blurry through unshed tears. “If that’s what you really think, you’ve let them take everything away from us.”

“What the fuck, Leah?” Kari knew exactly why I was calling. I couldn’t answer her. “Hello? Are you there?”

“Yeah.” I took a deep breath and tried my best to get my shit together. “Sounds like you’ve heard the good news.”

“How can you even joke about this? Have you been online this afternoon?”

When we talked about the lawsuit before, Kari had my back. Kari always had my back. And my best friend didn’t freak out about anything. She’d been my rock for so long. My stomach soured. “No. I called you as soon as Diane told me the story broke.”

“It didn’t
break
. It erupted. A high-profile woman hiring an escort? Especially you, the girl next door on the morning show? That was too good for the press to leave alone. They’ve posted information about the agency and made the website public. It’s still password protected, so they can’t see any of the guys. It only took everyone about thirty seconds to realize if someone like Leah Godfrey used this service, a lot of women like her must be, too.”

“Oh.” The domino train was about to knock Kari and every other woman who’d used the agency down with me.

“I’m working with Barry to suppress the client list, as well as the names of the other escorts. Jagger is the only one specifically named in the lawsuit, but Beth figured out a way to worm herself into the agency. We have no idea who she talked to, if they’ll come forward, and what they’ll say.” Kari sighed deeply. “Hopefully, they’ll decide the repercussions outweigh the benefit of talking to the press.”

I sunk down on the bed. “Kari, no one knows you used the service. I didn’t even know until you told me.”

“And I should’ve kept it that way,” she snapped. The second slap of the evening. “If that client list comes out, we’re fucked. Technically, we didn’t pay for sex—we paid to spend time with the escorts. But it’s a slippery slope. I’ve watched more than one senator have his career ruined over the same thing. And it will be worse for us because we’re women. Sad, but true.”

“What happens now?” I held on to hope that my alarm clock would go off, and I’d wake up from this nightmare, secure in Jagger’s arms.

“I need to read over their complaint thoroughly and look for places I can put this to bed without further damages. If not, we file a countersuit for defamation of character. Do not talk to anyone. I will contact the network’s legal department. We’ll figure out what your statement is. Basically, at this point, it’s a race to the finish, to see if I can block that client list from being exposed. If not, Beth’s lawsuit will look like child’s play.” Kari chuckled grimly. “There’s a very real possibility you’ll lose your job over this. You’ll be the sacrificial lamb. I’ll do everything I can to protect you from what happens next, but there’s only so much I can do.”

What did I say to that?
Thank you?
I sighed. “Keep me posted.”

“We’ll get through this.” Kari didn’t sound convinced. “Just like we get through everything else.”

Jagger looked up from his phone when I hung up. “It’s worse than we thought,” he said.

“Way worse.” I sighed and crawled over to him, grabbing the remote on the way. I clicked on the TV. My timing was horrifically perfect. The nightly news was coming to a close, leading into the gossip shows. “Knowledge is power, right?”