Natalie smiled sweetly, but didn’t deny the accusation.
“Now you want me to clean up your mess. But I’m not going to do it.”
Natalie laughed. “Oh yes, you are.”
She looked at the screen again, making a show of bringing it close to her eyes. “God, your tits are small.”
“Did you know that Senator Talbot wants to run for President?” Julia blurted.
Natalie tossed her hair behind her shoulder. “Of course I know. I’m going to work for the Senator’s campaign.”
Julia gave Natalie a long look. “Now I understand. Simon’s record will be a problem for the Senator, so you need it to go away. You screwed up.”
“How’s that?”
“If you release those photos, Simon will dump you so fast your head will spin. And you’ll never get out of this town.”
Natalie waved a dismissive hand. “He won’t dump me. And the Senator will never know about the pictures.”
Julia felt her heart beginning to race. “If I’m in those pictures, Simon is too. What will the Senator think of that?”
“Haven’t you heard of a little program called Photoshop? I can edit Simon out and edit someone else back in. But I won’t have to because you’re going to be a good little girl and do the right thing. Aren’t you, Jules?”
Natalie flashed a patronizing smile as she placed her BlackBerry back in her purse and stood to leave, but Julia stopped her.
“He’ll never introduce you to his parents. He told me that. You can do better than being Simon’s dirty secret.”
Natalie’s expression faltered, then hardened. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snapped. “He’s going to give me exactly what I want and so are you. If you don’t fix this problem today, I’m posting the pictures online. Enjoy your Christmas.”
She started to walk away but Julia called after her. “Wait.”
Natalie paused, looking at her former friend with undisguised contempt.
Julia took a deep breath and gestured to Natalie to come closer. “Tell Simon to make sure the Senator renews his subscription to The Washington Post.”
“Why?”
“Because if you release those pictures, I’ll call Andrew Sampson at the Post. You remember him, don’t you? He wrote an article last year about Simon’s DUI arrest and how the Senator intervened.”
Natalie shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
Julia clenched her fists stubbornly. “If you release the pictures, I have nothing to lose. I’ll tell the newspapers that Simon assaulted me, then sent the girl he keeps on the side to blackmail me.”
Natalie’s green eyes grew very wide then narrowed into serpentine slits.
“You wouldn’t,” she breathed.
“Try me.”
Natalie stared in furious surprise before setting her teeth. “People have been walking all over you for years and you’ve done nothing. There’s no way you’re going to call up a reporter and spill your guts.”
Julia lifted her chin, fighting to keep her voice steady. “Maybe I’m tired of being walked over.” She shrugged dramatically. “If you release the pictures, you’ll never work for the Senator’s campaign. You’ll just be part of an embarrassing scandal they’ll sweep under the rug.”
Natalie’s ivory skin flushed a deep, dark red.
Julia took advantage of her silence and continued. “Leave me alone, and I’ll forget about both of you. But I’m never going to lie about what he did to me. I’ve lied to cover for him too many times, and I’m not doing it anymore.”
“You’re just angry that Simon chose me over you,” Natalie spat, her voice becoming louder. “You were this pathetic, weak little girl who didn’t even know how to give a decent blow job!”
In the awkward silence that ensued, Julia realized that the other restaurant patrons had stopped talking. She looked around the room, utterly humiliated, as the townspeople stared. Everyone heard Natalie’s crude revelation, including the Baptist minister’s wife, who sat with her teenaged daughter in a quiet corner drinking tea.
“Not so tough now, are you?” Natalie hissed.
Before Julia could respond, Diane suddenly appeared at the counter. “Natalie, go on home. You can’t come into my restaurant and talk like that.”
Angrily, Natalie withdrew a few steps but not before muttering a few choice curse words. “This isn’t over.”
Julia lifted her chin. “Oh, yes, it is. You’re too smart to jeopardize your future by doing something stupid. Go back to him and leave me alone.”
Natalie stared daggers at her before turning on her heel and storming out.
“What’s going on?” Tom suddenly appeared behind Julia. “Jules? What’s wrong?”
Before she could respond, Diane told him an extremely sanitized account of what happened.
Tom cursed and put his hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Are you all right?”