Part 15 (1/2)

”We'll put that on the long list of things that would be best for me. Right below having a different family and moving to another state.”

”Why don't you?”

”You're all full of questions, today, Wilson.” I narrow my eyes at him. ”Why?”

”Good for you to get this s.h.i.+t out now, realize it's all there on the tip of your tongue.”

I stare at him. ”You're doing this so I don't say it to the reporter.”

He blushes, which is weird. The more I learn about Wilson, the more I'm using that word. ”She's going to be a pro at pulling this s.h.i.+t out of you. That level of honesty would sell a lot of magazines. So when she gets here...you need to know where you might go, so you can not go there.”

”You're evil.” I take a deep breath. ”Okay. I won't get tripped into talking about why I still live in Was.h.i.+ngton.”

”What about dating?”

”I date. I'm young. I'm not looking for anything serious.”

”Good. Career plans?”

”I love the non-profit sector, and consider it a real honor to work hands-on with people who are working hard to get ahead in the shadow of all this wealth and power.”

”Great.”

He takes me through ten more questions before the reporter arrives, then excuses himself to the kitchen to give us privacy. Ha. Like he can't hear everything from ten feet away.

She introduces herself and tells me to call her Leanne. I make the same request for her to call me Hailey and she sets a voice recorder next to the tea.

She starts with easy questions, letting me orient her to my life.

When she finally asks about Taylor, I spill my guts about going in different directions in high school, and slide in honest praise for my sister's creativity and social prowess. I talk about my little sister and my brother, too, all approved talking points, and the whole time she nods and smiles. On the more dangerous points, I keep to the canned answers, and after a few runs at me from different directions, she gives up trying to get more.

After an hour, I'm pretty sure we're done. Wilson moves closer, and I think he's going to shut her down when she leans forward. I can hear the s.h.i.+ft in her voice, and it scares me, because I don't know where she's going with what she asks me next.

”Did your father ever s.e.xually abuse you, Hailey?”

I gape at her, speechless. No. I hate my father. He's an a.s.shole, and now that I'm an adult, I've come to understand him as a sleaze. But if he'd ever touched me inappropriately, I'd have...G.o.d. I can't even imagine what I'd have done. Stabbed him in his sleep, probably.

Wilson joins me on the couch, but he doesn't stop the interview. ”Are you okay?” he asks quietly.

I nod. ”No, my father didn't abuse me.” I say the words slowly, staring at the reporter. ”Really, he didn't. Why are you asking me that?”

I want to know if Alison said something in her interview. I can't remember if that's happened yet. I can't think clearly about anything, actually, and all of a sudden I want both the reporter and Wilson out of my apartment.

I want to call Cole. And then I want to call my sister and make sure everything is okay.

Because even though my father never touched me, a cold realization slithers through my gut that I can't entirely rule out that he didn't touch one of my sisters. I can't say he's not capable of that.

”Do you know Gerome Lively?”

I shake my head. Beside me, Wilson doesn't move-and that's a big tell, because he's actually a pretty twitchy guy. Constantly in motion, even as he's hunkered down behind a computer. His head bobs and his fingers tap. But right now, he's an ice giant.

”Have you ever been to a private resort in the Bahamas?”

I turn to Wilson and silently ask him with my eyes if I can answer that.

”Have you?” he mutters, his brows drawn tight.

”No.” My mind is racing as I turn back to the reporter. ”What is this about?”

”Something that has come up in the course of my interviews. Gerome Lively-” Leanne glances at Wilson, and I follow her gaze. His face is an unreadable mask. ”He's a British financier with property around the world. Your father has visited his compound in the Bahamas many times over the last ten years.”

Memories flash. My parents fighting when my father returned from a business trip. My mother, half in the bag, tossing words at him that shocked and scared me, so I shoved them out of my head until now. ”I've never traveled with my father out of the country.”

”Have your sisters?”

”No.” The denial comes fast. I don't actually know if it's true about Taylor, but I'm certain Alison's never gone to the Caribbean with him. My mother prefers Hawaii and Europe, and both of my parents prefer not to take children on their separate vacations. We're inconvenient. My stomach turns at the new implications of that long-accepted reality.

Did my father just have a general disdain for us all, or did he actively hide a gross part of his life from his family for all this time?

I want to throw up. Instead, I smile, not giving a f.u.c.k if it reaches my eyes. It doesn't.

Leanne pauses before lifting the recorder and turning it off. ”If you think of something along those lines...please get in touch with me.”

”I will.” I say it automatically, being polite to the person who's just quietly blown apart my world. I should be used to having the unthinkable dropped in my lap. I'm not. And I won't contact her again, no matter what. But I lie and promise I will because it's the right thing to say.

After she leaves, I shove Wilson's knitting project back into his hands and tidy up the mugs, then go to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face. When I come back, he's added two inches of perfect rows to his scarf. Interesting.

”You've gotten quite good at that all of a sudden. Who is Gerome Lively?”

”You heard her. He's one of the richest men in the world.” The needles clicked and his fingers flashed as he whipped through one last row before casting off as I stared at him. ”Here you go. A present.”

I scowl at the knitted square. ”She wasn't asking about a society puff piece. Who is he and what does my father have to do with him?”

”Your father is also one of the richest men in the world.”

”And?”

”And they're both dangerous. Kinky as f.u.c.k, and not in the good way.” He shoves himself up to stand. ”I shouldn't be the one to tell you about this.”

”I'm not sure anyone else will.” Cold, slimy revulsion squirms through my gut. ”Like, more of what my father did last year?”

”Probably.”

”And you guys help them?” My voice is fluttery, full of panic and disgust.

”No. No! What happened six months ago...that was a...” He clenches his jaw and presses his lips together. ”I can't tell you anything about that, but no, we're not on the same side of anything as Gerome Lively. He's a vile human being.”