I sat beside her, careful not to crowd her but close enough to offer comfort. "Because I've spent years being very private about my personal life. Only being seen with people already in the spotlight. The media lovesa mystery, and you're..." I paused, searching for the right words. "You're different from the women I've been photographed with before."
"Different how?" Vivienne asked, though her tone suggested she already suspected the answer.
"Real," I said simply. "You're not in the industry, you're not using me for publicity or connections. The gossip sites seem to have been scrambling until they could figure out who you are and why you matter to me."
"Do I matter to you?" The question was quiet, vulnerable, and it hit me harder than any accusation could have.
"More than I thought possible," I said, my hand finding hers. "Which is why we're going to figure this out."
My phone rang, and Kane's name appeared on the screen. I answered immediately, putting it on speaker so we could all hear.
"What did you find?" I asked without preamble.
"Someone definitely orchestrated this," Kane's voice was grim. "The photo was initially sold to Celebrity Insider by a freelance photographer, but here's the interesting part—he was paid a bonus for 'exclusive content' separately by someone using a shell company. I'm still tracing the ownership, but this has all the hallmarks of a coordinated attack."
"Scarlett," I said immediately.
"That would be my guess," Kane agreed. "She has the connections and the motivation. Plus, I found evidence that someone's been feeding information to the gossip sites—Vivienne's full name, where she works, background details. This isn't just about a photo anymore."
Vivienne's face went white. "They're investigating me?"
"That's how the gossip sites work," I said, anger making my voice sharp. "They want to build a narrative, and they need details to do it."
"Can you stop it?" Vivienne asked Kane.
"I'm working on it. But Julian, you need to decide how you want to handle this. Going on the offensive could backfire if we're not careful."
I felt the familiar urge to take action, to use my connections and resources to shut down the stories and protect Vivienne. But one look at her face told me she wouldn't appreciate being managed like a business crisis.
"What do you want to do?" I asked her directly.
Vivienne was quiet for a long moment, and I could see her processing the options. When she spoke, her voice was steadier than I'd expected.
"I want to stay together," she said, meeting my eyes directly. "I don't want to let some gossip sites dictate my personal life. But I also really don't want to lose my job."
"Then we'll be discreet," I said immediately. "No public appearances, no more gallery events until this dies down. I'll have my security team make sure you're not being followed or harassed."
"For how long?" Vivienne asked.
"However long it takes," I said firmly.
“Well if this picture is bad news, the one of me and Raphael will be earth shattering.”
“Raphael Blackstone?” Diesel asked.
“Yeah, he was there that night.” I answered before turning to Vivienne, “What’s in the picture of you and Raphael?”
“A photographer came and asked for a photo. Raphael pulled me in as I was backing away, and he caught a photo just as I tripped into Raphael with my hand on his chest.” Her cheeks were fire engine red. It must have been bad if she was reacting that way, and I recalled how Raphael mentioned a photograph with her.
“He was probably barely wearing a shirt,” Diesel commented. “I recall one of the last events I saw him at, he wore a bowtie without a shirt. Like some Magic Mike shit.”
“He at least had an open vest on this time. But pretty much.” I responded.
Vivienne’s face was still flaming at the recollection.
"Kane, keep digging. Find out who's behind this and see if we can shut it down at the source. And see if you can find that photograph of Vivienne and Raphael before it ends up on some front page somewhere."
"Copy that," Kane said. "I'll call you when I have more information."
