Page 83 of Am I the Only One

Since the couch cushions are still tossed onto the floor, she pulls out my desk chair and rolls it next to me before taking a seat.

Looking up at my friend through bleary eyes, I cut straight to the point. “I slept with one of my clients, and she must’ve been behind it all because she busted in and took pictures.”

“She what?”

“She walked right in,” I say, motioning toward the door, “and started taking a bunch of pictures.”

“Of you having sex with your client?”

“Yes.”

“Here?” she questions in disbelief. “You mean this just happened?”

“Yes! And now I’m freaking out and don’t know what to do.”

“Why the hell would she do that?”

“Because she’s pissed off at me. I told her to stay away from Tripp, but then she kept seeing him and was demanding that I continue to pay her. I told her no, and now she has photos and I have no clue what to do.”

Margot lays her hand over my knee. “Carly, you have to calm down. You panicking isn’t going to help. Take a deep breath so you can think clearly.”

“I’m ruined. If she takes those photos to the press, I’m ruined; Tripp too.”

“Did she say anything?”

“No! She just stood there, staring at me. Then she just walked out and left.”

“Why didn’t you go after her? Get her phone?”

Sulking back in the chair, I admit with a defeated sigh, “Everything happened so fast and I wasn’t thinking right because I got high during the appointment.”

Her eyes grow wide. “What the hell are you thinking? Are you trying to fuck your life up?”

“No.”

“Why are you getting high with clients?”

“I don’t know,” I practically wail. “Because my life is in shambles.”

“Well, you’re only making it worse,” she scolds. “You havegotto pull yourself together or you’re going to be the front-page headline.”

“I need your help. I don’t know what to do.”

“First off, who is this client?”

“Just a guy I started seeing a couple of weeks ago, but now I’m wondering if it was all a ploy.”

Margot eyes me like I’m an idiot. “What do you meanyou’re wondering? Wake up! Of course, it was a ploy. They set you up, and you fell right into their trap. How could you have been so foolish?”

“This is going to destroy everything,” I mutter. “It’ll all be over.”

“Not if you move fast. Clearly, this girl is out to get you, so you’re going to have to reason with her, negotiate some sort of deal to get the photos and to shut her up.”

“I’ve already given her so much money. If I pull out more, Tripp is going to notice.”

“That’s what you’re worried about? My god, Carly, you’re seriously going to run the risk of having photos of you sleeping with another man, while high, might I add, to avoid Tripp questioning you about a bank withdrawal?”

I stare at her, dumbfounded.