Page 39 of The Marriage Bid
“Something like that, but it’s nothing to worry about. It’s a hit piece, and I intend to sue.”
This made Massimo raise his bushy eyebrows. “They seem to have some pretty strong evidence. They even published the emails your father sent to the commissioner.”
“Yeah, those emails are fake,” Tyler said after a slight glance at me. “The thing is…” he glanced at me again. “The thing is, someone’s been blackmailing me with this material for years. It’s not real; it’s all doctored, but it looks legit. Only this time, they finally decided to go to the newspapers with it. They’re desperate, but I can fix this.”
“I don’t know. You know what they say: where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And there’s a lot of smoke in your house.”
“I can testify to what he’s saying, Massimo,” I jumped in, surprising Tyler. “The emails are fake. The commissioner he apparently bribed is dead and can’t speak for himself, and the only people who can be harmed by this are Tyler and Sebastian.”
“What can you say? You’re his wife,” Massimo said. “And besides, he might have lied to you. Your husband might not have told you everything. I know I don’t discuss all my business with Clarita.”
We were losing him. Tyler was losing Massimo. You could feel it in the air. He was even leaning away from us, his body wanting nothing to do with the scandal that was about to befall Hawthorne and Hawthorne. And if he were to pull out of the deal, if the news were to come out, it would only legitimize the story. If that were to happen, Hawthorne and Hawthorne would crumble. And with it, Marble Row.
“I know he’s not lying because I know it’s fake. My father doctored those emails. I saw him do it.”
Chapter 19
Tyler
The meaty aroma coming from the grill gradually turned to a charred scent of burning meat. It took the grill master, Massimo, to register it until smoke was filling the air. Then he jolted to his feet and rushed to the grill.
“You knew about it?” I turned to her as soon as Massimo was out of earshot.
“No, of course not. But you were losing Massimo, and you said you wanted me to help, right? This is me helping.”
How could she not have known? I couldn't believe her. Of course she knew, and this was the proof. Now that her business was on the line, she finally told the truth. And yet I did not feel the satisfaction I had hoped to feel. There was still an emptiness within me. An unfilled hole that wanted more. “What else did he show you? Do you know where the rest of the documents are?”
“Oh, God, Tyler.” She rubbed her temples. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“The meat’s fine!” Massimo shouted from the grill. “Only a piece fell into the fire.” He rubbed his hands on the apron he had put on, removed the apron, and came back to us. “The meat is fine.” He sat back down on the chaise lounge, only this time, he sat straight, fully facing us. “What were you saying, Saffron?”
“My father blackmailed Tyler into giving him money. The blackmail he created was all doctored documents, made tolook real. Those are the documents the newspaper reported on. They’re fake, I can assure you.”
Massimo folded his arms, leaning back. “Why would he do that?”
“He was, uh, he wanted money to save his business. Tyler couldn’t extend it to him, so he resorted to blackmail. It’s horrible. Tyler and I went through a bad patch because of it, but we’ve healed now.” She made an effort to rub my thigh. A thrill of electricity ran from the place she rubbed, shooting straight to my hardening member. I placed my hand above hers to still her and also to make it appear as though I was accepting her gesture.
Massimo rubbed his chin. “Hmm. You have an interesting wife, Tyler.”
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride, but I love her.” I wrapped my hand around her waist, a gesture I should have been repulsed by, but welcomed. “What can I say? We can’t choose our in-laws.”
Massimo hollered. “That is true,” he leaned forward and whispered, “You didn’t hear it from me, but I am glad my in-laws are no longer alive. They were such a headache.”
“I know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“So where’s your father now?” Massimo said to Saffron. “Can’t you talk to him and make him retract all of this? Because it’s hurting your husband.”
“My father died, but we think that he sent the emails to the journalist before he passed. Tyler refused to extend even more money in his final days, so that must have angered my father.” I gave her a surreptitious glance. Why was she making me out to be the bad guy? If anything of that nature had happened as she said it did, I would have given him the money. But she gave me a look that said, ‘You don’t like my saying it, but it was the best explanation I could come up with on the fly.’
“But he was willing to pay his medical bill and let him leave in comfort,” she added.
Massimo rubbed his chin again. “So, you’re sure it’s all fake?”
“It has to be. I did not do anything they accuse me of,” I cut in. “And like I said, I am suing the paper to ruin. You can take that to the bank.”
“Good. You do that. These papers love spreading lies based on shoddy journalism.” He looked like he was in deep thought, scratching the beard on his neck, and then he said, “You know what, I like you, young man. I’ve told you this before, and I will say it again.”
My heart beat a little faster. I dared to hope. Massimo was difficult to read. He could act as though he agreed with everything you said. He could make you feel as though he liked everything you said only to send you an email the next morning telling you he disagreed.
