Page 108 of Strut

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

Alec

Friday dawneddull and cold and I shivered and drew the extra blanket over my body. Almost November and the weather was letting us know it.

We played rock paper scissors for coffee duty, and ten minutes later Hunter brought me in a steaming brew, and I smirked as I took it out of his hands. “You so suck at that game.”

He grumbled something about cheats and retribution, and I couldn’t fucking wait. The man came up with the best punishments. Then, as had become our daily habit, we drank our coffee and scrolled through social media and the enormous number of texts and emails we were still getting. We still hadn’t heard from Ron, and with no modelling work or castings to attend, I’d done two evening shifts at Color but had swapped out Friday for the following Tuesday, as I wasn’t sure I could hold it together for a third. They’d been good about it, better than I’d expected, and I planned to talk to the owner next time I worked.

Hunter had managed two full days of work but had taken Friday off to stay with me. He’d had one job cancel on him, but it seemed most people were waiting to see where it all went, support landing on both sides of the debate. Hunter looked as ragged as I did. The texts and calls never stopped. Most supportive, some not. We blocked a lot and muted most of the notifications, but we needed to stay in contact with what was happening, which made it hard.

With more and more big-name models and other people in the fashion industry posting their MeToo accounts, our three-day-old campaign had become a massive talking point and we weren’t going to be left alone any time soon.

“Hey, look at this.” I turned my phone so Hunter could read the email from the Model Cooperative. “They want me to join them onGood Morning New Yorknext week to talk about sexual harassment in the modelling industry.”

His eyes popped. “Wow. Will you do it?”

I shrugged. “I’d like to. I’ll have to check with Ron, but I imagine as long as I don’t mention Darcy by name and keep it general, it’ll be fine. It would be one way to repay the cooperative for getting behind the campaign and helping me out.” Then it occurred to me. “Oh. My. God. Maybe I could take my parents along? That’s serious brownie points, right there.”

Hunter snorted. “Nothing like throwing them in the deep end.”

We lazed in bed until ten, then showered and dressed and were sitting at the dining table planning a tour of New York for my parents when we got the text from Gary.

They’re here with the warrant. Darcy’s here too.

Hunter didn’t get a chance to object. In a few seconds, I was pulling my coat and shoes on and heading out the door with him in hot pursuit.

“Jesus, Alec. Wait up.” He hopped down the hall still trying to get one foot into a shoe. “What do you think you’re gonna do when you get there?”

“I don’t know,” I called over my shoulder as I hurried down the stairs. “I just want him to see me when he comes out. I want to see the look on his face when he knows he’s so fucking screwed.” I spun to face a puffing Hunter who was still doing up his coat. “I need to do this, Hunter. I have to. It might be all I get.”

He stopped buttoning his coat and cradled my face. “I know you do, baby.” He kissed me softly. “And I’m going with you. Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

I nodded. “That’s why I’ve got you. Your job is to stop me, right?”

He smiled at that. “Right.”

We grabbed an Uber and were outside the building that housed Darcy’s studio in fifteen minutes. We took position on the stoop of an apartment building across the road and swallowed down a couple of coffees from a nearby cart to pass the time, stamping our feet to keep warm while scrolling through social media. The icy northerly blowing through the Manhattan streets whipped through our hair and drove crunchy fall leaves and random litter into the doorway and over our shoes.

After nearly an hour, I pocketed my phone with a sigh. “What the fuck are we doing here?” I reached for Hunter’s freezing hand and shoved both his and mine into my pocket. In the rush, neither of us had remembered to bring our gloves and hats. “It’s been an hour. Maybe the files aren’t even there anymore. Maybe Darcy guessed something was up, or maybe he’s not even there. Maybe he removed the cameras with all the talk about him. Maybe—”

“Look.” Hunter tugged at my hand.

I followed his gaze to see Gary walking out the front entrance of the building. I waved frantically and he crossed the road at a jog.

“Well?” I bounced on my toes. “What’s happening? Did they find it? Are they arresting him?”

Gary’s face split into a huge smile. “They found everything. I don’t know about an arrest, but they’re taking him in for questioning. They found the two cameras with my help—that’s all there were—and a quick search of the computer system with my help brought up the files.”

Thank Christ.Hunter’s hand squeezed around mine and Gary’s face blurred in front of me. I needed a minute to digest the fact that they actually fucking had him on something. “Is he still inside?” I finally managed to choke out.

Gary nodded. “He’s there. They’re leaving soon. God, I wished I could’ve taken a photo of his face when they gave him the warrant. He was so red I thought he was going to explode. And then when they asked for my help to point out the cameras, Darcy was so fucking shocked, it was epic. Best moment of my life.”

“Yes!” I fist-pumped the air.

“I know, right?” Gary beamed. “He never saw it coming.” He shook his head and went quiet for a moment, but he never took his eyes from mine. “I’m so sorry about what happened, Alec. I still can’t fucking believe he did all this right under my nose. I know you said none of it was my fault, but that’s not really true, is it? I knew about him. I didn’t know how far it went, you have to believe I wouldn’t have allowed it to go on if I had, but I’d seen him...tuckguys... lots of times.” Gary shuddered at the memory. “And I let it go. In a room full of people, no one pays attention, and you just tell yourself he wouldn’t do something so obvious with others watching. And then you start questioning what you really saw. If I’d just had the balls to say something or call him on it, it might’ve made a difference.” He swallowed hard and his gaze slid off mine.

“Well, you’ve made a difference now.” I put my hands on his shoulders. “To me, and to any others he caught on those videos. Not to mention all the guys he might’ve done this to in the future.” I locked eyes until I was sure he understood. Then I dropped my hands and a thought occurred to me. “What are you going to do now? You’re out of a job, right?”

---