Page 80 of You Belong With Me

‘Even if those messages somehow definitively prove what you want them to prove – which is a high bar to clear – you’re smearing more dirt on someone who is already in a ditch, in a dirt-rolling contest with you. The public won’t see any difference.’

Edie took a shaky breath. ‘Right.’

‘It’s not libel if the facts are true. That’s called Justification. I agree with you that their quotes are stretching the definition of Fair Comment – even I was surprised they went this hard. I’m afraid it’s linked to Elliot’s value. He’s gone from upper B-to lower A-list now, and they will come for you as a result.’

Lillian drew breath. ‘But they’ve built this on uncontested facts. The rest is He Said, She Said. If you sue them, you will lose, cost yourself millions, and Streisand effect the motherfucker through the roof.’

‘Streisand effect?’

‘When trying to make something go away, all you do is make the information more widely known.’

‘So that’s it? He gets away with it.’

‘At Elliot’s level, there’s often nothing better than saying nothing. This is a say nothing, rise above situation. Kiss and tells are for lesser people on the other side of the red rope, not the ones at the Golden Globes.’

‘Mmm,’ Edie said, thinking the obvious point she wouldn’t make was that the only person being invited to the Golden Globes was Elliot. Edie was the one who might be heckled in Greggs. She was collateral.

‘You know when I first spoke to you, you asked was he going to be a problem, and I said no?’ Edie wasn’t sure if the masochism of this line of enquiry was wise, but she couldn’t help herself. ‘If I’d said yes and foreseen it, could we have avoided this?’

‘Honestly, I should tell you yes for my professional efficacy and as your best advice going forward. Off the record, with chequebook journalism, it’s gonna happen. If only we could un-fuck people, right?’

‘I didn’t sleep with him,’ Edie said.

‘Oh. Apologies! Yes.’

She had underscored something else Edie had avoided: that plenty would assume that she and Jack had a full-blown affair, and privacy laws and gentlemanly discretion –hahaha– must’ve forbade Jack from saying so.

‘Something to be grateful for,’ Lillian offered.

‘I’ll write it in my gratitude journal,’ Edie said.

‘You know what, Edie?’ Lillian said contemplatively. Edie was both gratified to finally win softness from Lillian, while concerned at how bad things needed to be for this to be the case. ‘I’ve been doing this job twenty-five years. Something I’ve found, without fail, is the truth gets out eventually. Sit by the river and wait for this jerk’s body to float past. It will.’

Edie thanked Lillian, while thinking that was a long wait for which she’d need many packs of cigarettes, a fully charged Kindle, and a gun.

42

The sense of game, set, and match to Jack was hard for Edie to accept. The final coup was her looking up his abandoned shot-across-the-bows message to her. She started to type responses, practising varying degrees of eloquent contempt and seething derision, demanding to know why he lied.

However, she knew why: to make money and clear his own name. Plus, he was far too canny to make useful concessions to Edie in a screenshot-table format.

Therefore, what would letting him know he’d got to her achieve? Nothing but more mendacious, enraging bullshit would flow from Marshall, and he’d no doubt derive satisfaction from forcing Edie into making contact. If he lacked the moral inhibitions that would stop him doing that story, nothing she said was going to hurt. Edie wasn’t sure he had ‘shame’ in his repertoire.

Elliot had said: ‘I’d gladly serve him a cease and desist from frightening Hollywood lawyers or organise a manure delivery on his driveway or whatever. But he’ll only use it to show off that he’s rattled us.’

Edie glumly concurred.

And in thenot her fault and yet very much her faultfile, Edie had to make extensive apologies to Declan for his featuring in Jack’s takedown. He assured Edie he couldn’t care less – whether this was true, Edie didn’t know. Declan was skilfully gracious and could hide it well if he did mind.

On Monday morning, Edie endured a meeting with vegan frozen yoghurt makers, full of boggling looks and an undue sense of fascination with her remarks on live cultures that told her they’d googled her.

Even with his high opinion of her and their Nottingham venture running well, Edie wondered how long Richard could withstand his agency being embroiled in this.

When she got to the doorway of the office, Declan was audibly still in a Teams meeting with Jessica. He’d given Edie prior warning, but she had hoped it would be over by now.

‘… I told you she’d suck you into her bullshit. At least I hope she’s only sucking youin…’

Hearing her speak reminded Edie of Jessica in person, someone she’d wanted to like her – and yet.

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