C onnor pulled up into the drive, and Levi’s gut sank, its contents very nearly coming back up when he saw the car sitting there. He’d been riding a high after Jonathan left the party, everyone’s unflinching support and acceptance freed him from the weight of Jonathan’s words, his hatred. But that four-by-four parked there, and its occupants who were waiting for them, undid it all. He could see Katy’s father sitting on the front step—his dark brown but greying hair was neat as usual. He was dressed casually but sat ramrod straight, his jaw clenched tight and his mouth drawn into a thin line. Levi looked around for Katy’s mother and, sure enough, she was there too, inspecting the grevillea that Katy’s parents had gifted to them for their housewarming.
He took a deep breath and wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his shorts, a fine tremor in his hands. He’d been through the ringer that night, and he was tired, emotionally spent. Levi didn’t have it in him to do anything more than curl up in bed with his lovers and hold them tight, but Rich clearly had something on his mind. It didn’t take a genius to guess that Jonathan had called them.
He remembered back to “the talk” that Katy’s father had given him years ago—the one that went “if you fuck my daughter over, I’ll cut your balls off with a rusty knife and watch you bleed out with a smile on my dial.” God only knew what Jonathan had said, but even a toned down version would easily count as one of those “I’m gonna cut your balls off” scenarios.
None of them spoke as Connor turned off the engine. With a final glance at each other, he and Katy opened their doors. Connor was right behind them. As soon as Katy stepped out from the passenger side, Rick had his hand on her arm, dragging her across to his car. “Dad, what the hell?” Katy fought him, pulling her arm away, but his grip visibly tightened. She winced, and it kicked both he and Connor into gear, both of them racing to her side. “Dammit, Dad, that hurts. Let go.”
“I spoke to your brother tonight. You’re coming home with us.” He tugged on her arm again with a sense of urgency and Katy stumbled, Rich catching her before she fell. In his peripheral vision, Levi saw the front lights of their neighbour’s house turning on, the screen door opening and their neighbour Ying walking outside in her PJs and holding a cricket bat. But she was the least of his worries. Connor’s expression was murderous, rage boiling in his dark eyes, every muscle in his body vibrating as he clenched his fists ready to attack, and Levi was right there too. Rich putting his hands on his daughter and hurting her? Not in this lifetime.
“Dad,” Katy ground out, fighting to pull free of his embrace. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Kaitlin, now isn’t the time to do this. You’re coming home.”
Levi saw red, blinding rage filling his every pore. Her father was as delusional as his son, judging them for something he knew nothing about. “Let her go, Rich.” Levi’s words were deceptively quiet and calm, but anger bubbled just below the surface, like a volcano about to erupt. He and Connor were a united front, standing shoulder to shoulder, working together as a team. Levi took Katy into his arms and Connor reached out, pressing down on a pressure point on Rick’s wrist until the other man dropped his hand. Rubbing it, Rich looked at Connor horrified, but Connor’s attention had already turned to Katy, gently caressing the red mark her father had left on her arm.
“You bruised her,” Connor gritted out, clenching his fist again and stepping closer to Rich. Panic filled Katy’s mother’s face, and she stepped between them, placing her hands up to stop Connor, halting his progress on a dime.
“Katy, honey, are you okay?” Andrea, her mum, asked.
“I’d be better if we weren’t arguing about bullshit after my bedtime on my damn front lawn. I’m drunk and I’m tired. Jonathan almost ruined our night and he’s an arsehole, so if you’re here because of him—and of course you are, because why else would you be here at nine at night—you can just leave.” Katy was ranting, and Levi couldn’t help his smile. God, he loved this woman. She was feisty and fiery and called it exactly as she saw it. “Can we at least go inside?”
“I think that’s a good idea,” her mum replied. When Levi looked to Connor and nodded, his lover strode over and opened the door, ushering everyone through. Katy’s parents went on ahead, walking into the living room while Levi hesitated, putting some distance between them.
“Cupcake, you okay?” Connor asked, his voice filled with concern as he lightly fingered the quickly fading mark.
“Yeah, boo. I am now.” She reached for him and hugged him hard without letting go of Levi’s waist. The three of them stood there wrapped around each other just inside the front door, the cool night air wafting in on the breeze. Something in Levi relaxed, clicked into place, let him breathe again. He was home—and it wasn’t being inside the walls of that house that did it. No, it was being with the two people who meant everything to him. His heart was full, his soul complete because of the man and woman in his arms. One of the songs Connor had sung earlier flashed back into his mind—Armageddon could happen around them, but no matter what happened from there on out, Levi knew down to his bones that they’d be okay.
He could have stood there for hours, just holding Connor and Katy, but his girl was wavering on her feet. He knew they needed to get this conversation with her parents over with and right on cue, Katy broke away and stomped into the living room. Levi followed, Connor right beside him, and he bit back a smile upon seeing Katy’s stance. Arms crossed, legs apart and chin up, she didn’t beat around the bush. “What exactly did Jonathan say?”
Looking Levi in the eye, Rich voiced his worst fear. “He believes Levi forced you into something you aren’t comfortable with and he’s worried about your safety.” Turning his attention to Katy, he added, “Jonathan said that he tried to talk to you this afternoon but Connor—and I’m assuming this is him—” Rich motioned to the man standing rigidly next to Levi, “physically threatened him. He felt like he had no choice but to leave to protect Elsie.”
Katy’s laugh held no humour. Levi wanted to punch something—Jonathan preferably. It was so typical of Katy’s brother to twist the truth of what happened to suit his own agenda. “Jesus, I need another drink,” she huffed out and shook her head. “Mum, can you please help me make some tea.”
Katy’s dad sat in the middle of their three-seater couch, leaving only the recliner for him, Connor, and Katy to sit in. Levi hesitated, but Connor directed him into the seat. Levi perched on the edge, unable to relax into the chair, and Connor sat down behind him on the armrest, absently massaging Levi’s shoulders, keeping a constant connection between them. Levi needed it, needed him in the moment. He leaned into Connor’s touch, reaching out to squeeze his knee, to try and say with that simple touch, thank you—for knowing him, for falling in love with him, for being his best mate.
Carrying a tray of mugs filled with steaming tea, Katy set them on the coffee table, her mum following with sugar and milk. Katy stood beside Connor, the other man instantly wrapping his arm around her, his other one not leaving Levi. All the mugs were left untouched while Rich stared at them, his gaze hard, cold. Levi tried to ignore Rich’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t. They’d been solid. Actual mates. But apparently, a rumour was enough to destroy any friendship that’d grown over the years. Levi knew he wasn’t worthy of Katy—his girl was a shining light in a sky full of dull grey—but he’d tried his damnedest to be the best person he could be for her. He thought her father had seen that; it killed him knowing Rich’s opinion was so easily swayed.
“Katy, tell me what’s going on—” her father growled.
“Rich.” Andrea chastised her husband’s harsh tone. In a much softer one, she asked, “What’s going on, Katy? We’re worried about you. We’ve been waiting out here for hours with the worst thoughts possible going through our heads. Your brother scared us.”
Katy groaned. “He crossed a line today, Mum, and he can’t come back from it. I don’t wanna have anything to do with him again.”
“So tell us your side of the story,” Andrea pleaded. “It took us a good hour to calm your brother and Elsie down after they left Nick’s to get the story out of them. We tried calling you over and over. Then when you didn’t answer, we came over to see you for ourselves. We were just about to come to Nick’s. Your brother is convinced that you’re in danger.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, I’m not in danger.” Katy tossed her hands up in the air. “Come on, you two know Levi; he’d never hurt me.” She ran her fingers through Connor’s hair and smiled down at him. “And Connor wouldn’t either. I’m happy, we all are, and I’m not in any danger despite what Jonathan said.”
“That’s what victims of domestic violence say. You know that, don’t you?” Rich challenged.
“Watch your fucking mouth,” Connor snarled as both of he and Connor jumped up off the armchair. White-hot fury raged through Levi. Rich’s accusation was a strike below the belt. Levi had never laid a finger on Katy. He never would. Why would Rich say something like that now? Why, when Connor was sitting there, did he have to act like a dick when in truth, the man was good people?
“This is exactly what I mean.” Rich pointed at them, making Levi’s heart sink. Jonathan had poisoned Rich’s opinion of both of them. Levi could handle his own reputation being slandered, but not that of the beautiful man in front of him. Especially not before Rich and Andrea had even met Connor. “I say something you don’t like, and you both jump up, beat your chests and measure your dicks. What if it’s Katy who says something that makes you angry? You gonna threaten her like you’re threatening me?” Levi looked down, shame dousing the anger flooding through his veins. Sure, Rich was acting like a dick, but Levi was reacting in exactly the same way. And there was no denying that he was doing exactly what Rich had pointed out. When neither he nor Connor answered, Rich continued. “Are you a violent man, Connor? Are you someone who I can trust living in the same house as my daughter?”
“I don’t consider myself violent, Mr Daniels, but it depends what your definition is. Will I hurt someone for the sake of it or in anger? No, never. Have I killed before? Yes.” He nodded. “Under orders in the line of duty. Will I kill any bastard that hurt Levi or Katy, or tried to, even if it meant giving up my own life? Without hesitation. So I dunno, Mr Daniels. Am I a violent man? As for whether I can be trusted with your daughter, I’d say that’s a decision she needs to make.”
“I agree, Connor, and for the record, I don’t think that you’re a violent man.” Andrea answered for him, and Levi blew out a breath. “Nor you, Levi. Young and impulsive, yes, and protective too, but not violent. Question is then, why did Jonathan say Katy’s in danger?”
Levi scrubbed a hand over his face. He had to man up. He had to do a solid by Katy’s parents and let them hear the news from him, because Jonathan wouldn’t give him a second chance to fess up. He sat back down and clasped Katy’s hand, drawing strength from her rock-solid grip, her unwavering support. “I love Katy more than I can put into words. That hasn’t changed and it won’t. My life is pretty damn perfect with her, but there’s always been something missing. Until Connor came home, I didn’t realize it wasn’t something, but someone. Him. We’re together—”
“Lee, no. This isn’t only on you.” Katy turned to her parents and without a shred of hesitation, blurted out, “We’re all together. The three of us. I’m with Connor too. Jonathan walked in on Con and Lee and assumed they were cheating on me. Then when he found out I knew, he figured they were forcing me into it.” Katy shook her head. “But he was wrong. I love both of them.”
Shock rendered Rich speechless; Levi didn’t expect it to last long. He was waiting for the explosion, Vesuvius’s second coming—the eruption to end all others. But like a guppy, Rich opened his mouth and closed it again, then repeated the action. He ran his fingers through his hair and sat back on the couch, then after a moment, asked, his tone disbelieving, “You’re serious?” Levi nodded and winced when the other man shook his head. “How do you expect me to accept this? It isn’t right.”
“We’re not doing anything wrong, Dad.” Still holding his hand, Katy reached out for Connor’s and held tightly. Levi looked across at both of them, the three of them sharing a glance. It was one tiny moment in time, but Levi’s breath caught in his throat. He could see the love written on each of Connor and Katy’s faces and he reached out, touching Connor’s face before bringing Katy’s hand to his mouth and kissing her fingers. Her parents had to see that this was no whim—it was written all over their faces. All they had to do was look. “I love them and they love me.”
“Do you hear how naïve you sound, Katy? I love them and they love me.” Her father uttered sarcastically. He grimaced and stood, pacing the length of the couch. Tossing his hands up in the air, he shook his head and huffed out an exasperated breath. “There are so many things you haven’t considered. What are people going to think of you walking down the street with two men on your arm? Have you thought about how your business—everything you’ve worked for—could be destroyed? And what about you, Levi?” Rich motioned to him. “You might as well say goodbye to your job if this gets back to them. How will you explain to some kid why you’re with the two of them? What sort of role model will you be?” Rich was being realistic, stating things how he saw them. Levi had done the same thing, had thought through every one of the issues the other man had raised, but he couldn’t fight it anymore. He couldn’t hurt either of Katy or Connor by ignoring what was there between them. He wouldn’t.
“So what, Dad?” Katy huffed out a breath and pursed her lips. She was trying hard to keep a lid on her temper, but she was failing. Levi squeezed her hand in support. “We live our lives in misery because we’re denying a fundamental part of ourselves so we can fit into the little box society has made for us? No thanks. I’d rather be labelled a slut.” She raised her chin in the air defiantly. Pride at her defiance, and horror at the possibility of her being branded a slut by more than her brother and his wife warred within him.
“We were gonna keep it quiet,” Connor added softly. “We didn’t want to risk any blowback. So in public, I’m just their friend. It was stupid of us letting things get as far as they did at Nick’s.” He shook his head. “I screwed up.”
“We were both in that room, Con. This isn’t your fault.” Levi reached out and took his hand, squeezing it. Connor’s callused fingers, rough from playing his guitar, closed around Levi’s and he held onto him, that small connection between them enough to ground Levi.
“Mr Daniels,” Connor added. “I agree it’s unconventional, but it’s real. Whatever you think about Levi and I being together, we both love Katy. She’ll always be the most important person in the world to us.”
“I’m sorry you found out like this. I wish it’d happened differently.” Levi gave him a sympathetic smile. “It’s taken us months to come to terms with what’s happening between us, and it’s been thrust on you in one night after you’d already had a rough one.”
The room was quiet, Rich watching their interactions like a hawk and Andrea absently stirring her tea.
“Mum, you haven’t said anything.” Katy prompted quietly, her voice breaking on the last word.
Andrea put her mug on the coffee table carefully and took a moment before speaking. “I’m not particularly happy, but it’s not because the three of you are seeing each other. Well, it is, but you’re old enough to make your own choices. I am upset because you didn’t trust me enough to tell me.” Andrea stood and waited for her husband to get up too. They were part way to the front door when Andrea added, “We deserved to know, even if you were keeping your relationship a secret from the rest of the world.” That parting shot was like a stab to his heart. Disappointing her parents wasn’t an option for Katy. She loved them dearly. Knowing she’d let them down, hurt them, would break Katy’s heart, and Levi ached for her.
She was in his arms the second they’d turned their backs again, curling into him and crying silently. Her body shook and her tears quickly dampened his shirt. He wanted to protect her, to save her heartbreak, but it was his stupid actions that had put Katy in that position in the first place. He should have locked the door. Why didn’t I? Was there some sick part of him that wanted to be caught?
Levi hadn’t realized he’d closed his eyes until Connor held them both close. He leaned into him, breathing him in. “Come to bed,” Connor murmured.
They stumbled into bed like that, wrapped around each other, holding tightly, moving together until they each came hard. Katy fell asleep quickly after that, but Levi lay awake in the darkness. He wasn’t sure whether Connor was staring into the night like him, or whether he’d found enough peace that he could rest, but the other man was quiet. He stayed like that, thinking about their future together and what it would mean for them if they did come out to the world. There’d been a lot of fanfare and speculation, and just as much criticism of Reef and Ford, but the dude was an international star. Levi wasn’t anywhere near as famous. But still….
*****
Levi wiped the sweat from his brow. It was hot standing in the afternoon sun, watching while the handlers entered the crocodile enclosure and laid out their gear within easy reach. Ropes and blankets, a roll of thick tape and what looked like a spinal board. The next day, Levi would be one of them. He swallowed hard. Yeah, he was a little nervous—the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end and gut churning even thinking about getting up close and personal with an animal as deadly as a saltie.
He watched the test run—the final practical lesson on how to go about roping and restraining one of the crocodiles. Jack, the head trainer, called out, “Levi, you’ll be right next to me tomorrow. You need to be aware of your surroundings, like I’ve said. Saltwater crocs are fast bastards. They can run at nearly thirty clicks in short bursts—that’s a lot faster than you.” Jack’s gaze never strayed from the reptile sunning itself on the edge of the pond. Jaws open, the white on the inside of its mouth was visible. Its powerful legs tipped with claws sharp enough to gut a man if he got too close made Levi swallow. His mouth was dry as a desert. The croc was about the same size as the one they’d be moving the next day, and it was freaking huge. What am I doing? Am I insane?
They worked efficiently—short, sharp moves and clear directions spoken calmly, but loud enough that there was no mistaking them. He watched as the handlers spread out, moving down the length of the rope that Belinda, another trainer, would lasso him with. Levi was awed, watching as she got close enough to the croc to use a rod with a hook on the end to manoeuvre the heavy rope noose over his top jaw.
Where the reptile had been still as a statute a moment before, suddenly it was thrashing. Belinda had yanked on the lasso, tightening it around the croc’s snout and within a millisecond, it was doing a deathroll into the water, splashing and fighting to drag her in.
“Levi, we grab the rope and haul him up now. You’ll be behind me.” Speaking more to the other trainers in with him, Jack said, “Remember, don’t loop it round your hand.” They worked seamlessly, each of the five men and women pulling until their muscles strained. Cedric, the crocodile, fought hard but the handlers were experienced and knew how to get him up to the clearing with the minimum of fuss.
The growls the croc let loose when he hit the shore had Levi breaking out in a cold sweat. He’d done some crazy things in this job, but this was madness. Fear prickled through him and his heart raced. White-knuckling the railing, he sucked in a breath and jumped out of his skin when DJ, their location manager, clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Lookin’ forward to this one, mate?”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He was too busy staring in horror at the monster being dragged unceremoniously up the embankment. One of the handlers tossed the small blanket over the croc’s eyes and suddenly they were all launching themselves on top of it while Belinda held the rope as steady as she could.
“Levi, tomorrow if you’re near a leg, you’ll need to grab it and pin it up and back, like this,” Jack called out, showing him the position. “Watch the claws or you’ll cut yourself open.” Jack asked Belinda, “We secure?”
“Yep, jaw is taped.”
“Okay, boys and girls, let’s get Cedrick on the board, then we’ll check him over and release.”
It was only a few minutes later that Jack dusted his hands off on his khaki pants. “How was that to watch, Levi?” he asked with a grin.
“Terrifying.” He shook his head. “You guys were impressive, but I’m not so sure about getting in there.”
“You’ll shit bricks the first time, but we’ll be right there with you. It’s dangerous, but as long as you keep a cool head and follow directions, we’ll keep you safe.” Jack clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder and called out to the group. “Right, let’s take a smoko break. We’re nearly done for the day.”
Sandwich in hand, Levi sat on a large boulder in the shade of one of the many gum trees and cracked open his bottle of water. He took a swig and listened to the sounds around him—birds sang in the branches above, the distant sounds of the show in the Crocoseum entertaining park-goers. The dazzling blue sky stretched out, cloudless, above him. Levi checked his phone for messages. He had a text from head office: Levi, you’re needed for an urgent meeting at the studio. Please telephone immediately upon receiving to advise of your expected arrival time. Eva McLaughlin is travelling from Sydney to meet with you in person.
“What the hell?” Levi mumbled, dialling head office’s line. The receptionist picked up on the first ring, and after the usual, impersonal greeting, he spoke. “Hi, I’m Levi Flaherty. Apparently, Ms McLaughlin is flying up to the Gold Coast studio to meet with me this afternoon. Is that right?”
“Yes, Mr Flaherty. That’s correct. Should I telephone the studio to let them know you’re on your way?”
“We have at least another hour left before we wrap up here, so I won’t be there for at least four. I’ll hit peak hour traffic coming through the city.”
“Mr Flaherty, I have strict instructions to advise you to leave immediately upon getting the message, not to wait for the day to wrap.”
“Oh-kay,” Levi replied slowly. “Any idea why the urgent meeting has been called?”
“Can’t say, sorry,” she answered dismissively.
“I’m sure you can’t,” he mumbled under his breath. Louder, he asked, “Is anyone else required to be at this meeting or is it just me?”
“Everyone on set.”
Levi pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it as if it’d miraculously give him an answer. He shook his head and looked up, searching for the director. Sure enough, she was on the phone too, rushing over to where DJ was sitting. “Yeah. Yeah,” he said, distracted, “Okay, I’ll help get everyone organized, then we’ll leave.”
“Mr Flaherty, I just said that you needed to leave immediately upon getting the message. Never mind the others, they’ve got their own instructions. You need to meet Ms McLaughlin. She’s already on her flight. She won’t appreciate being kept waiting.”
Something wasn’t right. Never in all the years that he’d worked on TV had he been called in the middle of a shoot and ordered to a meeting with top level management. He’d heard that the network had financial problems—everyone had, it was national news—but they’d also been assured by the administrators that no jobs would be lost. He blew out a breath and hung up, then yelled out to DJ, jogging over to him and the director locked in conversation. “Hey,” he called, getting their attention. “I need to go. Apparently we have a meeting back on the Coast, but my instructions are to leave straight away rather than help you guys pack up.”
“Yeah, no worries. We were just told the same thing. Good luck, yeah.”
Levi froze, an anvil settling in his gut. “Do you know something?”
“Nah, mate, I don’t.” DJ shook his head. Levi was clueless, but he nodded in response and bumped fists with his friend and nodded to the director before jogging across to his car. Pulling out to begin the two-hour drive back to the Gold Coast, his mind churning, he dialled Katy. “Hey, sugar,” he greeted her when she picked up and said hello to him. “I won’t keep you. I’m heading back, I’ll be home tonight.”
“How come?”
“Some sort of meeting at the studio. We’ve all been ordered back. No idea what’s going on. You haven’t heard anything on the news about the network, have you?”
“Nah, babe. But I haven’t really been listening either. Hang on, I’ll ask Ash.” A shuffling noise came through his speaker and muffled words before Katy spoke to him again. “Nope, Ash hasn’t heard anything either.”
He made good time back to the studio, missing the peak-hour rush. He smiled as he stepped away from his car, reading Connor’s message—Glad to have you home tonight. We would have missed you.
Opening the door to the studio, Levi smiled at the receptionist waiting there. She picked up her phone and dialled, speaking in a hushed tone as he made his way through the long and narrow space. They had a simple setup in the onsite offices, a desk, couches, and a large wall-mounted TV. Signage for the station adorned the wall behind the large desk and pictures hung along each of the others, one for every show filmed on the Gold Coast.
“Go straight on through, Levi. They’re waiting for you.”
“Ms McLaughlin here yet?” he asked, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans, his nerves getting the better of him. When Allison nodded, he swallowed, hoping the bad vibes he had were over exaggerated.
Levi entered the meeting room after hearing, “Come in,” when he knocked. Three people sat across the long boardroom desk from where he stood—Eva McLaughlin and two others, a man and a woman, neither of whom he recognized. A thin manila folder was the only thing sitting on the desk.
“Mr Flaherty, thank you. Please, take a seat,” Ms McLaughlin said, pointing to the vacant seat before him. Levi blew out a breath and sat. There were no introductions to the others sitting in the room. He didn’t know whether to be grateful or more nervous. Either way, he just wanted to get things over and done with.
Shuffling into his seat, Levi tried to tamp down his nerves. “So, this is highly unorthodox. Mind telling me what’s going on?”
“We find ourselves in a highly unorthodox situation, Mr Flaherty,” Eva began. “But it’s manageable with some discreet handling, if that becomes necessary.”
Levi stared at her, clueless as to what she could be talking about. She saved him asking, speaking to him in a tone that was completely devoid of emotion. It unnerved him more with every passing second. “Mr Flaherty, can you please explain this photograph to us?” She slid a printout of an image to him. It was pixelated, as if it had been enlarged, but there was no question what it was.
“It’s me kissing my girlfriend goodbye. Looks like it was from this morning. Who took this? Why is it even an issue? We’ve lived together for years.”
“It’s not the issue, Mr Flaherty. This one is.” She slid another sheet of paper to him. This one had two images. In the first, Connor was standing naked inside the doorway from the house into the garage, with Levi walking towards him. The second had had been taken sometime after the first. In it, Levi was lifting Connor up, pinning him against the wall. Wrapped around each other, lips connected and every inch of their bodies pressed together, it was obvious what they were doing. Levi flipped the papers over and closed his eyes. Mortification and cold fury warred for top place within him. No, it wasn’t that. He felt violated, creeped out by someone having captured he and Connor in a moment which was meant just for them.
“These pictures were found online today. Your personal profile was tagged in them. I’m guessing you haven’t seen them?” When Levi shook his head, she continued. “The good news is that they haven’t gone viral yet, but it won’t take long for people to make the link between your personal and professional personas. We’ve petitioned the social media sites to have them taken down pending an order from the federal court. A few of them have been pulled because of the sexual content, but the other is taking longer. It’s only a matter of time before the shit storm hits.”
Levi nodded again, unable to find the words to reply. It was as if his mind and body were disconnected. He couldn’t process what was happening before him. He couldn’t get past the fact that someone had been spying on him. It wasn’t easy to see into their garage from the street. The land sloped down, away from the road. Whoever it was had been close. That and the lack of light left him with only one conclusion—it was an intentional shot. There was someone out there spying on them.
His skin crawled and worry pricked at him. If they were being watched, who knew what that person was capable of? Who the hell was it? Would they try to hurt Katy or Connor? He needed to call them, needed to make sure they were safe. He held up his phone. “I, um, need to call Katy and Con. I….” He trailed off, not even knowing how to begin to explain what he needed to do.
Oblivious to his struggles, the man beside Eva began talking, “You might be best off taking a proactive approach on this—get your friend to find a bloke who’ll stand in as his boyfriend for a while and put up some pictures of them online. You’ll have to make some comments congratulating them, something like that. That way there’ll be an explanation if the images do get circulated more broadly. Worst case, you can do a press release stating that the images were of your friend and his boyfriend.”
“I’m sorry, but who the heck are you?” Levi asked, annoyed that they’d barrelled on, regardless of the turmoil coursing through him.
“Francis Medley, PR for the network.” The other man held out his hand and years of ingrained manners had Levi standing and reaching out.
“I’m Louise Arcadia. I’m in Human Resources.” The lady beside Eva stood and reached over the boardroom table. After shaking her hand, Levi sat down and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“I need to get Connor to pick up Katy from work. If there’s some psycho taking pictures of us, I can’t have her alone. Give me a minute, okay, then we’ll talk about these.” Levi motioned to the two pieces of paper in front of him. He dialled Connor’s number and stood to walk out of the room.
“Levi, stay in here, please. You walk out there and anyone can overhear. This needs to be handled delicately,” Francis chastised when Levi reached for the doorhandle.
Ignoring him, Levi opened the door and walked out into the hall, crossing it to use one of the empty offices. Connor’s phone rang out, clicking over to his message. Frustrated, Levi spoke after his recording finished. “Hey, I need you to do me a favour. I need you to pick up Katy from work. Something’s happened here and I’m…” He paused, blowing out a breath. “I’m freaked out. Please don’t leave her alone. I need to know she’s safe.” Levi’s voice broke on the last words and he breathed deeply, forcing his fear down. “Call me as soon as you get this. I need to know you heard it.” He hung up and walked back inside the meeting room, placing his phone on the desk in front of him.
“Is there any way of finding out who took the photos? Or even who posted them?” Levi asked the three people sitting impatiently across from him.
“We aren’t sure. It’s not really relevant,” Francis replied bluntly.
“Ah, yeah, it is. Some crazy bastard is out there taking pictures of us at four in the morning.” Levi’s voice rose as he grew more angry and frustrated. “Of course it’s relevant. What if Katy was alone out there and that maniac hurt her?”
“I’m sure that’s an issue the police will want to talk to you about,” Louise replied, shooting a look at Francis. “It’s not our focus, but it’s obviously important.”
“Levi, we need to set a plan in motion. If the federal court denies the application—and there’s a distinct chance they might—or the news or current affairs outlets get a hold of the pictures before we can get them pulled off the web, you must have deniability.”
“Deniability?” Levi asked incredulously. “You did look at the pictures, didn’t you? It’s pretty damn obvious it’s me in both of them. For god’s sake, I’m wearing the same clothes here in this office.”
“Mr Flaherty, we’re trying to give you some options. You’re a children’s TV presenter, and not just any presenter, but a Logie winning one. Your private life is private. However, it also needs to be discreet.”
Levi pounded his fists on the table in frustration. “Stop giving me HR speak. Say it straight,” Levi ordered.
Eva nodded and Louise spoke, “Purely off the record? You can’t work as a children’s television host when you’re cheating on your girlfriend. It’s immoral and inappropriate for someone with your role.”
The pieces started to click into place. He was the only host of the show. It would cost them time and money to change, two things the network didn’t have, so they were giving him a way out in the hope it’d all blow over. But he needed to hear it, needed confirmation that’s what they were thinking. “You want me to stick with Katy, to deny being with Connor so we can continue filming. What if I don’t? Or what if I continue seeing him?”
“We have your termination letter here. Effective immediately,” Eva replied, her clipped tone not permitting any discussion on the point.
Levi sighed. He’d worked hard to get this far, proving every day that the network hadn’t made a mistake when they’d chosen his video audition over hundreds of other applicants. And he was happy there; he loved his job, loved the adventure and the challenges. Every day was different and he got to work with great people. It was everything he’d dreamed of in a career and with the success that the show had achieved, he knew he could do it for at least a few more years. The money was good, and there were a few perks that he enjoyed too. But there were downsides with it too. His whole life was wrapped up in his work persona. He’d had to become the part he played, the clean cut role model. It wasn’t just what he did anymore.
“Mr Flaherty, you appreciate that we need to take action on this, don’t you? You’re a valued part of the network’s team. Your show is a centrepiece of our children’s entertainment programming, one of only a few with uniquely Australian content. We want to keep growing it and we firmly believe that you are the right person to do it. But you have to work with us on this. It’s the sort of controversy that could be career ending.”
Levi nodded. He got it, he did. And he wished things were different.