Page 73 of Doc Hollywood

Clara sagged in relief. She had been so close to pushing the door open and demanding that Taylor be given a copy.

“Sure,” Brian replied easily, not putting up any resistance.

“Now leave. Devon, I will make this believable and won’t bad mouth you to anyone else. However, I can guarantee we will never work together again. I’m giving you one chance to not do this. And that chance is gone the second you walk out the door. Do you understand?”

Clara hoped that Devon would accept his offer, and her heart shattered a little when the other woman uttered two quiet words.

“I’m sorry.”

Clara heard footsteps moving away from the bedroom and assumed that Taylor was escorting them out. She waited a while and couldn’t hear anything else they said clearly, so she stopped the recording and pulled herself off the floor.

Glancing around the room, she dismissed the bed as somewhere to sit and made a dive for the sofa, unsure if she should admit to eavesdropping.

She pretended to be casually scrolling through her phone when Taylor flung the bedroom door open, leaning against the door frame and gazing across at her.

She was obviously a rubbish actor, as he lifted an eyebrow and said, “You heard?”

Clara debated lying and feigning ignorance, but instead, she nodded. “Yeah.”

“I thought the door would be fairly soundproof.”

“Not if you have your ear pressed against it,” she muttered.

“You pressed your ear against the door?” His eyebrow rose higher.

“Maybe.” A blush rose up her cheeks.

“Maybe means yes.” Despite the awful situation, he laughed.

“Yes, I pressed my ear against the door,” she admitted, casting her eyes downwards. A little embarrassed now that she had listened in, she debated not telling him that she had also recorded the meeting. But she finally said, “Now, don’t get cross.”

“As long as you’re not trying to blackmail me too, I don’t see what you could do to make me cross.” His voice sounded exhausted.

He strode over and flopped down on the sofa next to her, his arm resting on the back cushion.

Clara stiffened, sure that she had felt his fingers brush against her neck and muttered, “Would it help your lawyer to have an audio recording of the meeting?”

She wanted to look at Taylor to see how he was reacting but didn’t want to move her head away from his fingers, which were grazing over her neck.

“You recorded it?”

“Yeah,” she replied slowly, pulling her phone out and pressing play on the audio file.

The voices were muffled, although it was still clear enough to understand and make out who was speaking.

“That’s—“

Clara cringed when he paused.

“That’s amazing. Yes, it’ll help my lawyer. Thanks.” He hesitated for a moment, then looked away from her. “I suppose you want to know what’s in the photos?”

“I do want to know what’s in them, of course. But I would never ask you to show me. It’s something you think could ruinyour career, and it’s none of my business.” She was surprised when a moment later his phone was in front of her with the photos open.

Clara hesitated before she took it.

Her hand shot to her face when she saw the first photo, and she understood exactly why Taylor was so upset. He was pictured lying on a bed on his front naked. In the background, several other naked bodies were visible, male and female. And when she zoomed in on the table next to the bed, there were piles and piles of drugs.

“I was young and away from home for the first time. Things got a little wild.” Taylor’s head flopped back on the sofa, and he stared up at the ceiling.

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