Page 41 of Fake it With Me

We drove back to the estate in silence. Daisie seemed to sense the tension and didn’t ask any more questions. When we got home, I took her straight upstairs for her bedtime routine, giving Liza space to process.

By the time I got Daisie settled and came back downstairs, I found Liza pacing in the living room.

“How did they know?” she asked as soon as she saw me. “How did they know we’d be there?”

“I don’t know. Could have been a tip from someone at the club or they could have been staking out places they know I go. The custody battle has made me newsworthy, apparently.”

“This is insane.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m not sure I can handle this, Darek. That was a lot. I’m not used to people shouting at me. I’m a book nerd. I spend my time studying. That’s too much.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t think that would happen. It’s never been like that before.”

“Is this going to follow me around for the rest of my life? Am I going to show up in tabloids? Are people going to Google my name and find articles about being your ex-girlfriend?” She looked at me, genuine fear in her eyes. “I’m supposed to be building a career as a scientist. What if this affects that? What if future employers see these photos and make assumptions?”

I hadn’t considered that angle, how being associated with my custody battle might affect her professionally. I’d been so focused on my own problems that I hadn’t thought through all the ways this arrangement might hurt her.

“I’ll fix this,” I said. “I’ll call the club right now, talk to Grant, find out how those photographers got on the property. This shouldn’t have happened.”

“But it did happen. And it could happen again.”

“It won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”

She shook her head, still looking shaken. “I don’t know if I can do this. The yacht club parties are one thing, but being chased by paparazzi? Having strangers shout questions at me? This is way more than I signed up for.”

I could see her pulling away. She was mentally calculating whether the money was worth this level of intrusion into her life. And I couldn’t blame her. It was my mess. She agreed to help me, not to become tabloid fodder.

But I needed her. The evaluation was coming up, and having Liza leave now would look terrible. More than that, I didn’t want her to leave.

“Please,” I said. “Give it a little longer. Just until after the evaluation. I promise I’ll keep you away from situations like tonight. We’ll stay low-key.”

“Darek, I don’t know.”

“I’ll make it worth your while. Tomorrow, I have a surprise for you. Something I think you’ll really like. Just… don’t make any decisions tonight while you’re still upset. Give it until tomorrow, at least.”

She sighed and looked at me. I could see her weighing her options. Leave now and protect herself from further exposure or stay and trust that I could make this better.

“What kind of surprise?” she asked finally.

“You’ll have to wait and see. But I promise it’s good. The kind of thing that will remind you why you came here in the first place.”

“To get paid?”

“To study whales.”

That got a small smile from her. Just a flicker, but it was there.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll give it until tomorrow. But if those photographers show up again, I don’t know if I can deal with it.”

“They won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”

“How?”

“I’ll have a very pointed conversation with Grant Waverly about security at his club. And I’ll hire additional security for the estate if I need to. Whatever it takes to keep you and Daisie safe from this kind of harassment.”

She nodded slowly, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “Okay. Thank you.”

“I’m the one who should be thanking you. For putting up with this.” I took a step closer. “I know this is a lot more than you bargained for.”

“Yeah, it is.” She met my eyes. “But I get why you’re doing it. I want to help, I do. I just… I need to know I’m not going to end up regretting this.”