His Absolute Insistence: A Scandalous Billionaire Love Story (Jessika, #2) Read Online Free Page B

inside the building," I said.
    Asher shrugged.  "I don't care.  No one lied, did they?  I'll arrive out front shortly.  That's the truth.  I wouldn't be doing this if they stayed in the halls, so it's a better offer than they would have received."
    "And what are you going to say?" I asked.
    He shrugged again.  "I don't know.  Something vague."
    "That's not reassuring, Asher.  They have pictures of me.  You're in the pictures, too.  They've got videos.  They..."
    Asher glared at the nurse, ignoring my concerns.
    "They," he said to her, his voice harsh and unforgiving, "have nothing.  You understand this, don't you?"
    He directed his question to the nurse, not me.  The poor woman gulped hard and nodded.
    "Nothing is confirmed yet," he said, more agreeably.  "While the likeness is there, we'll have to talk about this more later.  There are repercussions either way, and we need to figure out which ones we'd rather deal with."
    "Um... I really have no idea what you mean," I said.  "Can you explain that in plain English?"
    "This goes for everything, not just what's going on now," he said, specifying more for the nurse than for me.  "If we deny that the images and video clips are us, then it's likely someone will post them all over the internet and sell them as one of those fake celebrity sex tapes.  We can deny it, and with some legal proceedings technically no one could say it's us after that, but there will always be a little wink wink nudge nudge going on behind the scenes, as if to say that they can't say it's us, but it definitely looks like it, doesn't it?"
    "Well we can stop them if we don't deny it, can't we?  It's private and personal.  They can't do that."
    "Yes," he said.  "Theoretically we could do that."
    Right then, after Asher kept glaring at her and practically sneering and baring his teeth, the nurse decided to take him up on his previous offer and went to wait in the room's bathroom.  Asher really wasn't that mean, I didn't think, but he did look more than a little off putting when it came to her.
    "We can get them to remove everything and claim privacy, copyright infringement, or whatever else," he said.  "I took the pictures and I shot the video, plus neither of us signed model release forms, so everything they're doing is illegal, but that's the point of it.  If we deny it's us, then it suddenly becomes vaguely legal because no one's going to press charges against them.  If we press charges against them, suddenly the world knows there's a sex tape and pictures of us out there.  As hard as we try, they're going to get leaked to the public, too.  And almost without a doubt it'll be intentional, but it'll be extremely difficult to prove that and possibly impossible to prove who did it.  Then, not only will everyone know it's a real sex tape and naked pictures because we're filing suit against these places, but if people really want to they'll probably be able to find everything online."
    "So we can't win?" I said.  I hurt and I wanted to punch something because of it.  I wanted to pick up one of the pillows next to me and squeeze it hard in my hands, then throw it at the wall, grab another one, and cry into it.  "We just can't?  Whatever happens we... I'll be there, always.  I... I don't know how to do this, Asher.  I don't think I can.  First it's one thing, and that was so hard for me.  I tried.  I did.  Asher, I know that this is easier for you, but it's not for me and I tried to..."
    I tried to deal with the media calling me a whore and a homewrecker.  I wanted to get past it, and I thought it would all blow over.  It wasn't as prominent in the public eye now, but I didn't know if it'd ever go away.  Then, once it started to fade, this happened?  People knew me.  My parents would find out about this.  All of my friends, my relatives, everyone I ever knew or would know in the future.
    I could deny I was a whore.  I could say I wasn't a homewrecker, that I loved Asher