Eliza Starts a Rumor(75)

“I know we all just met, but I don’t want to leave. I like it here. Maybe it sounds crazy because my life here has been a lie, but in some ways, I feel like this is where Lily and I belong. I spent so much time thinking about bringing up my family in that house, my house. I don’t want to leave it. I don’t want to give up the entire dream.”

“Then don’t!” Eliza roared. “Why do you need to be the one to leave?”

“For one thing, Spencer’s parents are the ones who bought us that big house.”

“I have no doubt that Spencer’s parents will be receiving the video very shortly. I’m pretty sure you have a window now to get nearly anything you want,” Alison stated reassuringly.

It hadn’t entered Olivia’s mind that she could stay. It was only then, only when she figured out a happy path for her and Lily’s future that the fear that was gripping her throat subsided. She took a deep breath, her body calmed, and she said with confidence, “I’m staying. I want to stay.”



* * *



—

It all worked just as Alison thought it would. Andie sent the video directly to Spencer’s parents and left it to them to show it to Spencer. The scene that followed was even better than they could have imagined.

After both calming down and arousing Ashley, Spencer sauntered back into the York offices feeling all right. He stopped at his assistant’s desk to ask for his messages. He had only one: “Your father wants to see you immediately.”

Her tone set up the mood, and on his way to his dad’s office, Spencer played out all of the different reasons for being summoned. Most involved missed deadlines and poor sales reports. None involved his father turning around his computer screen and presenting Spencer with video footage of the next CEO of York Cosmetics cheating on his wife and baby.

“Where did you get this?” Spencer asked.

“A private eye just sent it to me.”

Spencer was shocked and furious, but not at all remorseful. This infuriated his father even more. When his mother walked into the office, having already had the privilege of viewing the footage, she got right in his face.

“How could you let this happen?”

“Mom, I’m sorry. I can’t believe Olivia did this! I know she was having doubts, but to go behind my back and hire a private eye?”

Evie York wasn’t having it. “No woman wants to buy lipstick from a man who cheats on his pregnant wife, Spencer, not in today’s environment, that’s for sure!”

She was sick and tired of working her ass off to build a cosmetics empire just to have some horny man in her family threaten to take it down. It had almost happened with her brother, and now, it seemed, her son was cut from the same shabby cloth. This time she faulted herself; she had always known he was a liar. He had been since he was a child. She should have known better than to let him have a public position in the company.

“Besides being a liar and a cheat, you are a complete moron. Our sales force is a fleet of women, for God’s sake! I just got off the phone with our attorneys. They are going to offer Olivia whatever she wants to make this all go away.”

Spencer thought it through, picturing Olivia moving back to the city and he and Ashley screwing in every room in his house. And there could be other women, too, he realized. This whole thing really wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t cut out for monogamy. It was forced on him. He shook off the moron comment and smiled.

“That sounds like an excellent plan, Mother. We can put this behind us and go through with the announcement as scheduled.”

“Not quite, son. Your mother and I had our reservations about you before, but as our oldest, we thought it wouldn’t be right to skip over you and make your sister CEO. Now, after this, we have no choice. You have terrible judgment and no self-control.”



* * *



—

    When the York family lawyer called Olivia that day, she referred him to Alison. She knew that matrimonial law was not Alison’s thing, but the faith she had in her outweighed her credentials. Olivia wanted the house, money for its upkeep, and fair child support. All were granted, plus a million dollars in exchange for her signing a nondisclosure agreement.

“Things could be worse,” Alison told her, laughing at the ridiculous simplicity of the transaction.

Olivia took the money and ran, or rather, she took the money and stayed put.

She boxed up Spencer’s stuff and left it in the garage for him to pick up, which was arranged through the lawyers as well. She knew she would have to deal with him eventually—he was the father of her child—but for now it was all through emails, with Alison as the intermediary. Not to say it was easy; it was actually the hardest thing she had ever been through. The healing process was arduous. The grief, combined with the fact that she was caring for an infant on her own, often left her feeling exhausted and drained.

As the sweet smell of apple pie traveled up the stairs and into her bedroom, she thought back to Amanda’s words of wisdom. She had warned her of the difference between anger and bitterness.

“Anger can be expelled, but bitterness is internalized,” she said. “That’s why it leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.”

She promised that she would not become bitter and was committed to keeping that promise. Besides, there was a lot to be said for not having to share a closet.