Page 38 of Mr. North
R aphael : Are you okay? I’m sending Nate over for you. Go outside. He’ll be waiting for you.
T he last messagewas sent at one in the morning, nearly five hours ago. I make my way into the living room, over to the window. Stepping out onto the fire escape, I lean over the railings, and there, ten floors below on the street, Nate’s gleaming black Tesla is parked directly out the front of the building. At least four parking tickets are pinned to the windshield, and a shadowy, dark figure is leaning against the side of the vehicle, smoking a cigarette by the looks of things. A bright red dot of light flares and ebbs in the pre-dawn, pale blue morning, and I suddenly could use a smoke myself.
Mechanically, I climb back into my apartment from the fire escape, and I grab a long coat from the back of the front door. I leave the apartment and I head down the stairs, shifting one foot at a time, one in front of the other, concentrating very hard on simply moving forward. In the lobby of the building, the night manager, Gareth, doesn’t meet my eye as I shuffle out of the front door and head out onto the street. Nate flicks his cigarette away and pushes off the Tesla, standing straight the moment that he sees me. He looks fresh and well rested, his eyes bright. He must have been out here for hours already but he doesn’t look even remotely tired.
“Morning, sunshine,” he says cheerily.
I grimace in return.
“Ahhh. Yeah, I’d say you’re entitled to feel a little less than sparky,” he continues. “I’ve already had to make a few threats in order to keep the paparazzi from your doorstep. I’m sorry, Beth. This fucking sucks.”
“Sucks?” I laugh, the sound hard and unhappy. “That’s the understatement of the century.”
Nate steps away from the Tesla, unfolding his arms. “He wants to see you. He needs to see you. I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s losing his fucking mind.”
“If he’s so distraught, if he needs to see me so badly, why hasn’t he come down here to find me himself?”
A strange, tight expression forms on Nate’s face. “He would if he could, believe me. He can’t, though. I’d love to explain, but it’s not my place. It’s…complicated .”
“What a surprise.” Everything seems to be complicated with Raphael North. His life is one big complicated mess, and now I’m tangled up in the epicenter of that mess, on display in the most embarrassing, humiliating way possible. “I’m not going to him, Nate. I can’t. The press is watching the Osiris. They must be if they were able to even record that video in the first place. I’ll only make it worse if I’m seen heading inside the building.”
“No one makes it into that underground parking lot without Raphael’s say so. And these windows are tinted. No one will know it’s you inside.”
I look at the Tesla, frowning. He’s right, of course. The windows are all blacked out, so dark it’s impossible to see inside. But still… They’ll know. They’ll manage to snap a shot of me somehow. I can’t bear the idea of my face being plastered all over the morning newspapers as it is. Along with the rest of my body. The idea of new photos of me, shamed, trying to make it into the Osiris Building without being caught, only serves to make me feel even sicker. This is a nightmare. A serious fucking nightmare.
“I’m sorry, Nate. I hope he won’t be mad at you. I can’t come.”
Nate slowly shakes his head, but he doesn’t look angry. Perhaps a little frustrated. “It’s okay.” He smiles. “I enjoy the fact that you don’t jump at his every command. It’s refreshing to say the least. He’s not going to let this drop, though. You know that, right? He’s a very possessed kinda guy. Once he makes up his mind about something…”
I already know this about him. I saw the conviction in his eyes when he told me back in the penthouse that I would fall in love with him. There was no doubt in his mind that he was telling the truth. I read it on every part of him. “Tell him you didn’t see me if you need to,” I say to Nate. He hits the unlock button on the Tesla, plucking the parking tickets from underneath the windshield wiper, slipping them into his back pocket.
“I’ll see you soon, Beth. If you need anything, just call me. Anything at all. It can be our little secret.” As Nate drives away, though, the car sliding soundlessly away from the curb, I get the feeling there are no secrets between Raphael and Nate. Not one. Which means Nate knows him a whole lot better than I do, even if the man was inside me less than twelve hours ago.
* * *
M y journeyto school is not fun. I’d go so far as to say it’s absolutely miserable. There are news crews parked out front when I came out at eight A.M. Three of them. A gaggle of female news reporters glare angrily at one another, flipping their hair and applying lip gloss while overweight camera guys stuff their faces with bagels. I felt stupid putting on a ball cap and sunglasses when I left the apartment, but when I duck out of the building and hurry off down the street I’m glad I thought to wear them. I’m almost free and clear, fifty paces down the street, when I look back over my shoulder and one of the camera guys sees me, though. He drops his half eaten breakfast and points at me, slapping the guy standing next to him on the shoulder.
“That’s her! That’s Elizabeth!”
Like a bunch of startled meerkats, the news teams all turn in unison to look at me, their eyes filled with hunger. Fucking animals. I’m not ashamed to admit it: I run.
There’s no way the reporters in their five inch heels and their morbidly obese camera guys can keep up with me, but it still feels very undignified barreling down the street, my book bag hitting me square in the back every time I take a step. I try not to crash into anyone but it’s virtually impossible. On the subway, women glance at me out of the corners of their eyes and I know they recognize me. My cheeks are flushed red the entire ride. No one says anything to me until I’m waiting by the doors, itching to exit the carriage, and a bottle-blonde in a power suit approaches me with a saccharine sweet smile on her face.
“You’re her, aren’t you? The girl. Raphael’s girl.”
I don’t know how to respond to that. I shrink away from her, hiking my bag strap higher onto my shoulder.
“You’re a disgrace, you know that? It’s seriously pathetic, what you’re doing.”
“I’m sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else.”
“I’m not stupid,” the blonde continues. “I don’t know how you did it. You must have worked really hard to get a meeting with him in the first place. God knows what you did to get your hooks into him after that, but Raphael North is a smart guy. He’ll see right through your games. He’ll realize you’re just after him for his money now. He’ll kick you to the curb so fast, you’ll be seeing stars.”
Fire floods my veins. Why are people so set on accusing me of going after the Raphael’s bank account? Because I’m working class? Because I’m a student? I’ve been cowering since the video of Raph and me hit the news, but it suddenly hits me that I have no reason to feel that way. I’ve done nothing wrong. I turn on the woman, meeting her disdainful gaze, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, ma’am . Raphael approached me . He orchestrated our meeting. He’s the one who’s done all the pursuing. And it’s none of your damn business, but I haven’t accepted a single dollar from him. I don’t expect anything from him, nor will I accept anything from him. I’ve managed to pay my own damn way for the past twenty-eight years and I intend on doing so for the rest of my life, too. So back the fuck off.”
I wait for the woman in the suit to look appropriately chastised, but she simply sneers at me. Taking the newspaper out from underneath her arm, she slaps it against my chest. “Bullshit,” she snaps. “Your family’s in ruins. Don’t try and tell me you’re not chasing after North because he can bail you out of the shit.”
Without thinking, I take the newspaper she hit me with. The carriage doors open and the woman struts past me without looking back, her thick hair swaying from side to side as she disappears amongst the crowd of people all streaming out into the subway station.
