It was close to 4:00 am when there was a knock at my door. I quickly checked my phone and there were no messages, so it was unlikely to be security. We had a protocol if they needed to wake me, and that included where possible messaging me first. I wasn't sure why, but suddenly I was apprehensive.
"Who is it?" I hissed through the door after checking Teddy was safely asleep.
"Ana?! It's Mia… Let me in!"
I was torn until I heard Prescott's tired voice.
"Mrs. Grey? It's Prescott. Miss. Grey wants admittance; I will accompany her."
I engaged the safety lock before opening the door a few inches to check it was Mia and Belinda. Assuring myself it was, I shut the door, disengaging the lock before reopening the door to let them in.
"Teddy is asleep," I whispered, pointing over to his crib in the corner. "Keep it down, and this had better be good!"
For the first time I looked at Mia. She had been crying, but she also looked outraged.
"Ethan just called."
I nodded, waiting for my sister-in-law to continue. For him to call this late, and Mia to look so furious, something must have happened.
"He was involved in a disagreement with Elliot and Christian."
"What sort of disagreement?!" I asked, alarmed for the first time.
"Ethan said they were at a pole-dancing club and the other guys were paying the strippers for extras."
"Lap dances?!" I asked, suddenly appreciating why Mia was so upset.
"Oh – if it were only just that!" she hissed.
It felt like my blood had turned to ice in my veins. Christian had never shown any inclination for that sort of thing. If anything, he had expressed disdain for strip clubs and the ilk, explaining it hit too close to home because of the actions of his birth mother.
"Mia? It's late and you're alarming me. Please explain what you mean," I stated, flipping my eyes across to Prescott. Even before Mia had opened her mouth to continue, Belinda was texting on her phone – no doubt to Taylor.
"The guys went whiskey tasting, then played poker. Dad and Gramps went to bed while the others went to a strip club."
I wasn't thrilled, but Christian had told me about that aspect of their plans. Elliot had insisted on it as part of his bachelor weekend.
"There was a lot of drinking, and one by one, the guys went back into the private room with the dancers," Mia explained ominously. "Ethan didn't want to do anything like that, so Elliot told Christian and Taylor to keep him out of the way while he and Eamon went back for a two-on-two session."
I nodded. I had no idea how strip clubs or private rooms worked. I couldn't bring myself to contemplate the prospect Christian had a lap dance, or worse, so for now I was prepared to hear Mia out.
"Eamon and Elliot had been gone ages. Ethan was feeling sick and wanted to go back to the hotel to crash. He suggested they get going, but Christian and Taylor said they should wait and leave as a group. Sick of waiting, Ethan went down to the private room to see what was taking Elliot and Eamon so long. He opened the door and saw his father and Elliot having sex."
Mia was still a little tipsy from our evening out, but there was no doubting she one-hundred percent believed what she was saying.
"Eamon and Elliot were having sex? With each other?!" I gasped, my eyes wide in shock. Nothing, and I mean nothing had prepared me for that idea!
"No!" Mia snapped, rolling her eyes. "They were there in the same room each having sex with one of the dancers!"
Well that made more sense. It was late, and I was tired, but I was having trouble with getting my head around Eamon and Elliot getting it on.
"Elliot asked Christian and Taylor to keep Ethan distracted, so he and Eamon could go back to the private room to have sex," Mia spelled out.
"Are you sure that's what happened?" I gasped, still shocked by Mia's revelation.
"Ethan would not lie!" Mia growled.
"I didn't say he did," I defended. "I'm just trying to get a sense of what's happened," I placated. Mia calmed a little, continuing her story.
"Ethan went nuts. His father cheats on his mom any chance he gets and has done for years, but Kate deserves better than that," she declared, leaving me in no doubt about which side of this debate she fell on. I gestured for her to continue. "He dragged Elliot out of the club, and they fought. The police came, and they arrested and charged Ethan and Elliot with affray."
My head was already hurting. I hoped, no doubt fruitlessly, that none of the paparazzi had caught wind of this.
"And after that?!" I groaned, not sure I wanted to hear any more.
"Christian pulled some strings and they've just been released. I can't believe Christian was ok with all this. My brothers obviously have no respect for women!" Mia declared. "It's bad enough Elliot cheated on Kate, but worse - Christian was willing to help him do it!" she spat out indignantly.
I took a couple of deep breaths. Before I had a chance to form any conclusion, Teddy stirred in his bassinet, and my phone rang. Christian. Too tired to deal with it, right now, I declined the call and passed my phone to Prescott.
"When he rings again, tell him I'm unavailable until 8:00 am," I declared, walking across to Teddy's crib and carefully carrying him across to bed. Unconcerned Mia and Prescott were still in my room, I opened my top, bearing my breasts to my son. He was still half asleep, but latched easily, so I fed him as I considered all I'd heard.
At 7:00 am there was another knock at my door. Gail.
"Ana? I'm sorry to be here so early. You know I'm an early riser, I was having my coffee and was going to read the paper when I saw this."
Gail handed me the Seattle Times. There, in technicolor glory on the front page, was a photo of Taylor holding Ethan back from punching Elliot, who was similarly restrained by Christian.
"Billionaire Brother's Bachelor Party Brawl" the headline announced.
I groaned, before skimming the article. It was every bit as bad as what Mia had told me hours ago. Numerous witnesses had filmed Ethan attacking Elliot, screaming about him having sex with a stripper. So far nothing about Eamon seemed to have made it to the paper although Ethan was quoted as telling Elliot he was 'no better than my father.'
Whilst the club had issued a statement insisting they were a 'guided touch only' club, denying that their dancers engaged in sexual activities, witnesses claimed Ethan had repeatedly accused Elliot of being unfaithful to Kate with a stripper.
To add insult to injury, the article also quoted several of Elliot's many ex-lovers who stated he was a complete player, and having sex with a stripper wasn't out of character. One even said she pitied any woman who thought he'd change his stripes. The article finished by showing a picture of Kate's bachelorette party dinner last night at The Herbfarm. As I'd expected, a social reporter had been at the restaurant, and he'd taken several photos of our group, Kate proudly mentioning it was a dinner for her bachelorette weekend. Kate had hoped to make the paper, but I'm sure this wasn't what she had in mind.
The whole thing happened around 2:00 am, yet five hours later and it was already front page news. I hadn't even had a chance to say anything to Gail when there was another knock. This time Grace. She was still in her pajamas and a bath robe, and from her somber expression it was clear she knew what happened.
"Ana, darling," she said noticing the paper in my hand before she stepped forward to embrace me. "Mia told me, and I've just spoken with Carrick – may I come in?"
I nodded, stepping aside so Grace could enter my suite. Gail stood to leave and give us our privacy, but Grace stopped her, inviting her to stay since Taylor was also part of this.
"What happened?" I asked, confident of getting credible answers from Grace.
"Ethan walked in on Eamon and Elliot in a compromising situation with two exotic dancers," Grace said without preamble.
"Compromising how?" I asked. I already had a pretty good idea, but I needed to hear it confirmed.
"My understanding is Eamon had a twenty-one-year-old dancer on his lap…"
"And they were definitely…?"
"Yes," Grace said crisply.
"And Elliot?"
Grace winced. "He was receiving oral sex from the other dancer."
I hadn't wanted to believe it when Mia told me, but hearing it from Grace made it absolute.
"But isn't that illegal? At a strip club, I mean? I thought there were rules about that sort of thing?!"
"There are," Grace replied. "If it's proven, they could charge the young women plus Eamon and Elliot with solicitation, and the establishment could lose its license." Grace had tears welling in her eyes.
"Surely it won't come to that?" I gasped.
Grace wiped her eyes. "Cary and Christian's team are working on it," she replied. "They're sending everyone else home this morning on the GEH jet, but Elliot, Ethan, Eamon, Cary, Dad, Christian, and the security team are staying in Vegas to sort things out."
Grace and I looked at one another, both distressed.
"Does Kate know yet?" I whispered.
"Not so far as I know," Grace replied, sadly.
Christian had been blowing up my phone, calling every fifteen minutes since 8:00. After I repeatedly refused to pick up, he'd called Prescott, the poor women handing me her phone with an apologetic look.
Before he had a chance to say anything I announced, "Christian? I still love you, but I don't like you a lot right now. Kate has no idea about any of this, so I need to go tell her, before she turns on the TV, all right?! I'll call you later!"
And then I hung up on him.
"Why are you getting me up so early?!" Kate moaned as she opened the door to her suite at The Herbfarm. After discussing the issue with Grace, and then Kate's mother who it turned out had already been appraised of the situation, we decided that Mrs. Kavanagh and I should be the ones to tell Kate about what had happened and the consequent media shit storm.
"Katherine? We need to come in," Kate's mother, Melinda, declared imperiously.
"Mom? Ana? What's wrong?" Kate asked, noting the serious looks on our face. We led Kate to the sitting area to one side of the suite. Her mother sat in one of the armchairs, but I grabbed Kate's hand and sat beside her on the small sofa.
"Kate? Something happened in Las Vegas I need to tell you about," I started.
"Oh my God! What happened? Is everyone ok?!"
My heart plummeted as I held my best friend's hand while I outlined what had occurred, dutifully reporting Mia's early morning visit, Grace's subsequent information, before finishing by explaining how Elliot's activities were now broadcast across print, television and online media. Unsurprisingly, Kate was furious.
"We're engaged to be married, and he got head from a Vegas stripper?" she hissed, her eyes flashing with fury.
"According to Ethan," I replied sympathetically. I had yet to explain her father's part to play in the fiasco.
"I want to talk to my brother," Kate said, her voice like ice. Melinda and I sat in silence as Kate took her phone and disappeared into the bathroom.
"It's a bitter lesson to learn," Kate's Mom voiced.
I looked at her curiously.
"Learning your husband has no intention of being faithful," she explained urbanely; almost as though I should already know that.
Kate was crying. I'd honestly never seen her this broken. After she'd emerged from the bathroom, she and her mother had gotten into it. Eamon Kavanagh had not even tried to hide his numerous infidelities over the years, and Melinda had accepted that early on. She explained to Kate that yes, it was embarrassing, but people understood some men had a wandering eye. Melinda told Kate she just needed to hold her head high and get on with things.
Kate had responded by declaring there was no way she'd allow herself to become the laughingstock her mother was, and if Elliot wanted to shove his cock in a stripper's mouth then the stripper was welcome to it and him.
Suggesting I speak with Kate alone, I ushered Melinda from the room, closing the door behind her.
"Ana? I can't stay in Seattle. Everyone knows. It was on the front page of the newspaper I work for!! Can we go somewhere for a few days? Somewhere I don't have to see anyone?"
I knew Kate needed me, and I understood her desire to get away. If I were her, I'd want to hide, too! I thought about the options.
"I have an idea," I said, hugging my best friend. "Start packing and give me ten minutes. And I'll have security send everyone else home, ok?"
"Thank you," Kate whispered. "Can you tell Grace and Mia I'll speak to them later? I know they probably want to talk and I understand they won't condone what he did, but they're still his family."
Technically, so was I – but this wasn't the time to point that out.
"Of course," I said, suddenly appreciating how difficult it was going to be if Elliot and Kate could not move past this. However, that was a problem for another day. Returning to my room, I told Grace and Mia that Kate wasn't up to seeing anyone. They reluctantly agreed to return to their rooms to pack. Once they were gone, and I'd run my plan past Gail, I left Teddy sleeping in his bassinet and picked up my phone to ring Christian.
"Ana," he all but moaned, sounding relieved that I had called.
"I heard the GEH plane is coming back to Boeing Field with some of the guys," I stated coolly.
"That's right," Christian responded. "The rest of us are staying here to clean up this fucking mess."
"Right. Well once it's here, is the plane available to take us to Aspen?"
"Us?"
"Kate, Gail, security, Teddy and me. Elliot's infidelity is splashed all over the news here. Kate doesn't want to be here when Elliot gets back, and she can't even go into work because her colleagues will hound her for the story. She wants to get away for a few days."
"I don't want you running all over the place, god damn it!" Christian all but shouted. "I want you at home and safe!"
"I will be home and safe," I replied angrily. "I'll be at our Aspen home with two housekeepers, a raft of security and a broken-hearted best friend!" By now I was shouting. "So is the plane available, or do I need to charter a flight to get us there?!"
Christian sighed, and I knew I'd won the argument.
"Leave it with me. I'll have Taylor sort out the details and send them to Prescott."
We were both silent. I wanted to ask Christian whether what Ethan claimed was true – that he knew what Eamon and Elliot were going to do in that room and had tried to hide it from Kate's brother. However, I wasn't sure what I'd do if I didn't like his answer.
"How bad is it there?" I asked instead.
"A complete shit storm," Christian replied. "No one's speaking to anyone, and Dad's just trying to sort it all out. What about there?"
"A complete shit storm, too," I sighed thinking about Kate and how betrayed she felt. Her entire happily ever after had crashed and burned around her in the most humiliating of ways.
"Call me when you get to Colorado?" Christian pleaded. "And kiss Teddy for me?"
"Of course," I breathed, before disconnecting the call.
"Thank you, Ana, Gail," Kate said as we settled in to the GEH plane. McIntyre, Prescott and Ryan were accompanying us, McIntyre dutifully strapping Teddy's car seat onto the seat beside me. "I know this is disrupting your lives."
"It's fine, Kate," I assured her. "The only thing I'd planned for this week were Teddy's vaccinations. He can have them done in Colorado just as easily as in Seattle."
"Still. I'm dragging you away from your homes!"
"Never you mind about us," Gail said in her most motherly voice. "I'm looking forward to a few quiet days away." My eyes met hers, and I silently thanked Gail. She truly was a saint. When I'd asked if she'd come with me to Aspen to help with Teddy and Kate she'd immediately accepted. The flight was only a couple of hours long, but about an hour in Kate fell asleep.
"Have you spoken to Taylor? What's going on there?" I asked Gail, taking the opportunity to have a quiet word while Kate was resting.
"I haven't," Gail said, pursing her lips. "I'm not very happy with him right now."
I lifted my eyebrows enquiringly.
"I don't like him being in a strip club," she explained, "but I know he was there in a professional capacity. However, if he was a party to trying to hide what Elliot and Mr. Kavanagh were up to, then we will have a problem. A man who is prepared to conceal another man's infidelity would have no qualms doing likewise about his own."
I nodded. I completely understood where she was coming from because I felt the same way.