Aspen enters the special elevator for the penthouse and I take the stairs to the second floor. I exit the stairwell on my floor, but it’s easy to see Trey isn’t waiting outside in the hallway. I decide to take the extra minute to check inside even though he doesn't have a key. He isn’t here. As I relock the door, my phone chimes with a message from Aspen that they’re not upstairs. I take the stairs back down and meet her in the stairwell.
“Any sign at all?” Aspen asks as I open the stairwell door.
“Nope.” We both turn toward the inner door that leads to the large open workspace to search Trey’s office.
Aspen gets there first and she holds the large metal door open for me. We can hear the yelling before I’m past the threshold. The door to Trey’s office is open, but I still stop to knock twice.
“What?” An irritated Trey yells from his spot behind his desk without looking up.
“Um, Trey…” my sentence tails off as I realize I have no idea what to say in this situation.
His head pops up at the sound of my voice, and he’s out of his chair before Aspen makes it in the room. “Simone, you read the article?”
“Yeah, we were at Cosmo’s,” I answer and finch as his face hardens.
He walks the few feet to me with hurried steps. “I hoped you wouldn’t see it.” His hands go to the tops of my arms. “None of it’s true. I swear to God, Simone. Finn paid for the vacation, but I didn’t cheat on Mari and I haven’t done a single drug since this one night in college. It was……”
“It’s okay, Trey. I believe you.” I cut off his words, not needing any more explanation from him. Who didn’t do something they regret in college?
His shoulders slump at my words, in relief or defeat I don’t know. He pulls me back to his desk, and with a light touch pushes me into his chair while he sits on the thick wooden desk. Our positions remind me of all the times he’s stopped at my place in the lobby except those were happy occasions. This one is fraught with despair.
“I’m glad you believe me, but no one else will. If it’s in the paper, it has to be true. Right?” Trey asks from his spot looking at the wall. “She mixed in just enough truth with all her lies that there’s no way to discredit the article.”
Aspen takes a spot in the large leather chair next to Finn, and they’re both silent until Finn’s fist lands on the arm of the chair. It’s soft and doesn't create much sound, but it’s more than I’ve ever seen Finn lose his temper. It must be the same for Aspen and Trey because both of them raise their eyes to him in shock.
“Trey’s given me his resignation.” Finn spits the words in our direction and I stop breathing waiting for Trey’s response.
“Trey?”
“It’s done, Simone. People will believe the hype from this article. It doesn’t matter what the truth is.”
“And if you leave the company it’s basically admitting her stories are true. I know the truth.” Finn looks to me. “Simone knows the truth and Aspen knows the truth. We’ll stand behind you.”
“It’s not enough,” Trey counters.
“Well I’m not taking your resignation, so find a way to deal with it.” Finn stands ready to go head to head with Trey. His strong presence only tampered by the Batman pajama pants he’s wearing.
“Finn, I’ve put the whole company in the spotlight. It’s a PR nightmare.” My head snaps back to Trey like I’m watching a tennis match between them.
Finn laughs at Trey’s forlorn words. “So, no one knows who we are. As much as you might think otherwise, no one knows who you are. No one cares about what we do. It’s gossip and it’ll pass.”
“He’s right, Trey. It will blow over when Mari can’t do anything else with it.” Aspen shares her agreement with Finn and I want to hug her for it.
Trey’s face is still edged with worry, but his body’s lost more of the tension from when we first entered the room. “Mari won't stop, though. She’ll keep going until she thinks she’s gotten her revenge.”
“Screw Mari.” Aspen pounds her own hand on an arm of the chair. “I say we send a copy of the article to her boss and see exactly what he thinks of her causing such a public scandal."
Trey sighs in defeat. “It just doesn’t seem right, Finn. I can’t come out and deny her claims and I can’t make my own because I won’t sink to her level. How are we supposed to battle this?”
Finn paces in the small area between Trey’s desk and the chairs. “We don’t. Seriously, Trey. Go home, come to work, but pretend like you haven't seen the article. She wants to engage you. She’s looking for a fight and for you to respond. Don’t give her the pleasure.”
The room is silent as we all keep Trey in our sight while he works through what’s been said. “I’m just so fucking pissed. How dare she?" He grips the edge of his desk until his knuckles turn white.
“Papers suck. Nothing good ever comes from them. I’m never subscribing to one again,” Aspen says to the room at large.
Her outburst sends her and Finn into a chorus of laughter at whatever she said that was funny. It takes a few seconds, but then Trey joins them with a short chuckle of his own. I’m the only one who doesn’t see the humor in her words, and as my eyes float from each of them, Trey pats me on the shoulder.
“I’ll explain it later,” he promises.
