“He didn’t tell me. He was freaking out and Caroline let it slip. She said it wasbad.”
“I emailed Dorrit,” Isigh.
“What the fuck did yousay?”
“Basically? Come at me,bro.”
Scott bursts out laughing. “That’s fucking amazing. Oh, man. Yeah. He’s definitely behind this. Threatening a client is a great way to end yourcareer.”
“Yeah.” I’m gonna vomit. “Pullover.”
“What?”
“Pull over. I’m gonnapuke.”
“Shit. Okay.” He throws on his hazards and makes his way over to the shoulder. As soon as he stops, I throw up my door and Ivomit.
* * *
Scott offers to come up,but I won’t let him. It’s barely five a.m. and I have hours still until I’m due at the office. He checks in with me almost every ten minutes the whole way back to the city. He cracks jokes. He’s trying to show me he still cares. He also called me easy. He also accused me of intentionally trying to make the shit between him and Silas even worse. He says he’ll see me at the office when I get there. I thank him for the ride. I go inside and he doesn’t come withme.
My building is quiet. My apartment is clean and still. It’s weird to be back, but it strangely feels mine again. I look around in the near dark. No one’s there. No one’s lurking in my pantry or under my bed. I climb in the shower and stay under the spray for a long time. When I get out, I climb in my bed and let myself cry until I fallasleep.
Two hours later, my alarm goes off. I get up and I get ready forwork.
* * *
Mr. Walmax,Ms. Dunne one of our human resources ladies, Joy Boyle, and a member of the building’s security team are waiting for me when I get to the office. I haven’t seen Walmax in months. I know this is going to be fun. We go to a conference room. We sit. Dunne explains that they are letting me go. There was an anonymous email sent. There was a video attached. A video of an explicit nature. This is not what I’m expecting. I’m expecting this to be about Dorrit, explicitly about Dorrit. No explicit video of me should exist so I ask to see the video. There’s some hesitation, but Walmax allows it. I’m glad there’s nothing in my stomach when Joy turns her laptop toward me. She doesn’t press play, just shows me a stillimage.
Dorrit must have someone better than Tillery on the payroll. It’s me on the tape alright and it’s explicit. I remember this night. I remember this client. I saw him steadily for a year before he moved on to a more sadistic Mistress. I was twenty-two and I’d just started law school. I’d stepped up my game. Branched out a bit. I was doing riskier things. He asked me if we could record our sessions. I agreed and then he’d delete the tapes in front of me after we watched him together. But I remember this night clearly. The camera was on his desk. This was shot from the nightstand. Joy explains that there’s clear evidence on the tape that I took cash in exchange for these explicitacts.
They’re letting mego.
I don’t try to tell them that I know Dorrit is behind this. I pissed him off. I survived, I clapped back. He’s not stupid enough to try for my life again, but in his own way, he can end me. I don’t even try to tell them it’s not me, but I do tell them the footage is from a long time ago as if that is going to help me keep my job. I tell them I don’t do sex work anymore. Joy asks me if I have any questions. Walmax is looking at me strange, but he doesn’t say anything. I’m handed a final check. My laptop is mine so I don’t have to hand it over, but I do have to remove my personal items from my office. Maybe I always knew this wasn’t going to last forever because I don’t have enough personal items to fill the box they’ve provided for me. I put it all in my bag. The office is surprisingly quiet as I’m escorted out. I don’t see Scott once. Murrell is out of the office today.Surprise.
I almost make it all the way to the train before I realize a car is following me down the street. I don’t even see it until it stops and I hear a man say myname.
“MissLewis.”
I turn as a tall, balding White man in a black suit steps out of the town car. I just stare at him as he sticks his hand in his pocket. It’s a bold move, but maybe the D.A. will take me seriously about someone purposefully trying to kill me when they find me dead in the middle of Sixth Avenue. Instead of shooting me though, he hands me adrive.
“Mr. Dorrit got your message. Your business with him is done.” He turns and heads back to thecar.
“What’s on the drive?” I call afterhim.
He doesn’t answer. He just leaves me hanging there on the sidewalk as he drives away. I watch the car until a woman power walking, talking on her cell, bumps into me. I need to move. I’ll go to Brooklyn’s, I’m too fucked up to keep running. I’m too raw to hide. I know she’ll be in court for a while, but she lives in our old apartment, our family place. Goinghomemight be what I need right now. I call her. I leave her a message. I go into the chat app. I leave her another note just in case she doesn’t check her voicemail. I will be in her apartment when she getsthere.
When I come out of the station in my old neighborhood, something in my heart drops. I don’t think. Something about being on the same familiar streets with no one to talk to makes me feel more empty. More alone. I callSilas.
“Hey, I was waiting for you to call,” hesays.
“Hi. They definitely firedme.”
“Forwhat?”
“A sex tape. An old sex tape. It was Dorrit. Not on the tape, but he sent it to the partners. I know he did,” I say and then I tell him about the man and the drive and the message he had for me from Dorrit himself. “I don’t know what’s on it, but I’m sure it’s a finalthreat.”
“What are you going todo?”