Page 79 of The Bet
Come to think of it, he had seen a few newspaper headlines, and trending news on social media. Stuff was starting to come out, about famous people, famous women, actresses and models who had made complaints about some pretty top level people. A whole heap of scandals had come out, something to do with men and their abuse of power, mostly in the entertainment industry.
Gisele had said it was common, that everybody knew and nobody said anything. That if you wanted a role, you had to go along with it. There was a producer her friends had spoken of, it was common knowledge he was a pervert, but nobody said anything. It didn’t seem to be a big deal.
He didn’t fully understand. There were always two sides to a story. “No wonder the roads were a nightmare yesterday.” It was all he could say for fear of saying something and getting his head bitten off.
“Sorry that you were inconvenienced,” said Izzy, her tone icy. “You seem to be dismissive about the march. Do you have a problem with it?”
“No,” he replied, slowly. He felt as if he was walking into a trap and worded his reply carefully. “I don’t have a problem with that. Why would I have a problem with that?” He slapped a hand around his nape. “Why would you think I’d have that opinion?”
“Because of the way you asked.”
“No.” He cleared his throat. “I think it’s a good thing.”
“Standing up for something you believe in, standing up for people who’ve been victims, yes,” she said, fire in her eyes. “It is a good thing.”
“For sure,” he replied. He would agree with anything she said right now, knowing he was at a disadvantage, at her place, with her friend.
“And wanting the basic things that you men have. You know, like knowing you won’t get touched up by a woman at work, just because she’s feeling horny and you happen to be around.”
He had to fight so that his lips wouldn’t spread into a smile. The idea of a woman boss trying to get it on with him suddenly appealed.
“It would make for a fairer world if women could experience the same sense of safety,” said Izzy, continuing on with her rant.
“Absolutely. So how come you got trampled on?”
“A woman got shot by her crazy ex-husband who was pissed she’d gone to march. She’d probably gone because she was married to a bastard like him.”
Strong words. He doubted he’d ever heard Laronde speak like that before.
“And there was panic and people ran, and I fell over and sprained my ankle but Izzy pulled me away. Except, the crowd was heaving so she didn’t escape unscathed.”
“Whoa, that’s bad that it turned ugly.”
“An angry man shot into the crowd and tried to kill his ex-wife. What do you expect?” Izzy blazed. There was a quiet anger behind her words.
“I didn’t realize how many men had an inability to control their dicks. He obviously felt threatened that she was empowered enough to want to rise up and make a stand.”
He felt outnumbered. “That’s true.” He opened his mouth, tried hard to think of something to say, something which would melt the anger that was so evident on Izzy’s face. “I think it’s a noble cause.”
“It’s a necessity, in this day and age. It was about time too. Don’t you think it’s a sad state of affairs that so many of my friends have a story somewhere in their past, something to do with a misuse of power, something to do with a man being apervert.”
Her anger spilled out into her eyes, and there was something about the way she said it, the way she levelled her fury at him, that made him wonder what she was so mad about. It wasn’t as if he’d done anything to her.
He swallowed. Maybe Laronde wasn’t the type of girl he ought to be messing around with. Already he sensed he was in way over his head. Did he need this extra headache when there was so much other shit to be dealing with? A new business to start, investment to procure.
Did he need to work his ass off just to get a taste of her pussy when all he needed to do was walk into The Oasis any day of the week and get it, guaranteed?
“It’s okay, Izzy.” Cara’s voice drifted over, reminding him that it wasn’t just him and Izzy in the room.
“I’m explaining it to him,” said Izzy said, biting the words out slowly. “Because it seems as if Xavier doesn’t know, or isn’t aware of the protests, and why.”
He let out an exasperated sigh, wondering how he had ended up being caught up in the crossfire of something that wasn’t his fault, but for which he seemed to be getting the blame for. “Not all men are dirty perverts, Laronde.”
“I never said they were, Stone. Just like a lot of the stuff, it needn’t always be sexual, but most of the time it is.”
“And sometimes, men get the blame for things they didn’t do,” he replied, testily. Jeez. He was starting to wonder if she wasn’t one of those man-hating chicks. The kind who’d slice his dick off after they’d had sex, just to spite him. That is, if he ever got around to doing the deed with Laronde. Things looked less hopeful each time he saw her.
“And sometimes they should get the blame but they don’t.”
