Chapter 360 - Sensitive Issue

Chapter 360: Chapter 360 - Sensitive Issue

Roxie already hated the phrase damage control.

It wasn’t something she usually heard, yet somehow she had heard it three times that morning, and she hated it with a vengeance.

The first came from a teacher who thought she was whispering quietly enough outside the faculty room. The second came from two students talking about the Reeves Grand video near the lockers. Then Karen used it again during first period after spending most of the morning reading posts about how the Reeves family was supposedly preparing some kind of public statement.

Roxie didn’t care about statements. Angela’s picture was still everywhere, and now that the Reeves name had been dragged into the mess, Angela’s situation had become even harder to control. Everything kept getting bigger while nothing actually seemed to happen.

She and Karen were walking toward the cafeteria when Caleb appeared at the other end of the hall with several of his friends.

Roxie almost didn’t recognize him at first.

He looked exhausted. His shirt was slightly wrinkled, his hair looked like he had run his hands through it too many times, and dark circles sat beneath his eyes. His phone was already in his hand, lighting up again before he even reached them.

Karen glanced at the screen. "Your phone has been ringing since you got here."

Caleb silenced it without looking. "I know."

Roxie crossed her arms. "Where’s Angela?"

"With Mrs. Hart. She had an appointment this morning."

Roxie immediately frowned. "What appointment?"

"Just with the counselor."

Karen studied him. "She okay?"

Caleb exhaled and leaned against the lockers. "She says she is."

Roxie and Karen looked at each other.

His phone lit up again, and this time Caleb looked at it before declining the call.

Roxie watched him carefully. His expression and the way he kept rejecting the calls told her enough. Something was happening with his family.

"You planning to keep doing that all day?"

"As long as my mom keeps calling."

Karen folded her arms. "That seems healthy."

Caleb looked tired enough that even he couldn’t find the energy to argue. "You have no idea."

Roxie nodded because, honestly, she didn’t.

Karen had explained more than once that families like the Reeves operated differently, but Roxie still couldn’t understand it. When Angela’s parents first informed them about Bianca, they tried to contain everything. Now that the scandal had become public and the Reeves Grand was in every video, suddenly everyone in the family seemed very involved.

Was reputation really the only thing they cared about?

Students were already slowing whenever they passed Caleb. Nobody stopped, but enough people looked toward him that Roxie knew the videos had pulled him into the story too.

She lowered her voice. "So is your family actually doing anything to help Angela?"

Caleb looked between them before pushing himself away from the lockers. "Come on."

They followed him toward one of the quieter stairwells near the old science wing. By the time they reached the landing between floors, Caleb’s phone had buzzed twice more.

He shoved it into his pocket.

"The family found out about Steve before breakfast."

Roxie gave him a flat look. "The entire internet found out about Steve before breakfast."

"I mean everything."

Karen leaned against the railing. "Bianca paying him?"

Caleb nodded. "The hotel checked his employee records, security access and payroll. He’s been working maintenance at the Grand for almost a year."

Roxie felt something tighten in her stomach. "So Bianca knew him because he worked there."

"Probably."

Caleb rubbed a hand over his face. "Nobody knows exactly when she started talking to him, but security found enough footage of them around the employee areas that her mother finally stopped pretending Bianca had never met him."

Roxie let out a bitter laugh. "How generous of her."

Caleb looked at her. "She’s who she is. The family is working on getting Angela’s picture removed wherever they can."

Roxie breathed a little easier at that.

It wasn’t enough, and she knew the picture could probably never disappear completely, but the Reeves had money, lawyers and connections Roxie couldn’t even begin to understand. If anyone could make the picture harder to find, maybe it was them.

Karen looked at Caleb. "What happens to Steve?"

"He’s suspended from the hotel while they investigate."

Roxie stared at him. "That’s it?"

Caleb’s expression tightened. "Don’t ask. Just know Steve isn’t going to show his face around you again."

Roxie studied him.

That answer could mean a million things.

Had they paid Steve again? Threatened him? Fired him quietly and made sure he left town?

The look on Caleb’s face made her wish money was all it was.

Another rich family thing she didn’t understand.

Karen asked, "Did your family report him?"

"The hotel lawyers are talking to the police. The Harts already gave them Lily’s name, and Lily is giving another statement today."

Roxie stared at him. "So now they care."

Caleb frowned slightly.

"They care because Steve worked at the Reeves Grand," Roxie continued. "That’s the problem now, right? Bianca humiliating Angela wasn’t enough. Bianca humiliating me wasn’t enough. But the second the family business gets dragged into it, suddenly everybody has lawyers."

Caleb’s jaw tightened, although Roxie could tell the anger wasn’t directed at her.

"You’re not wrong."

That stopped her.

He looked down at the floor for a moment before continuing. "My mother spent half the night screaming about the hotel name being in every video. She kept talking about liability, reputation and what people were going to think about Bianca using an employee."

Karen looked at him. "And Bianca?"

"She’s suspended," Caleb muttered.

"Wow." Roxie couldn’t stop the laugh that came out.

"Stop."

Roxie threw one hand up. "Why? Because she’s a Reeves?"

Caleb sighed and shoved both hands into his pockets.

"No, seriously. Bianca gets a week at home while Angela gets to walk through school knowing everybody saw her naked, and somehow Bianca gets a fucking vacation."

Karen touched Roxie’s arm.

Roxie looked at her. "What?"

"Let him talk."

Caleb glanced toward the stairwell door as though checking that nobody was standing on the other side. When he looked back at them, he seemed to be deciding how much he was willing to say.

"The elders think the whole thing should have stayed inside the school."

Roxie stared at him.

Karen’s expression hardened.

Caleb continued before either of them could interrupt. "They think Angela’s parents pushed too hard. The police report made it bigger. The meeting with Gonzalez made it bigger. Then yesterday made it worse."

Roxie felt anger rush through her again. "Yesterday happened because Bianca bought pictures of my dead mother from a fucking creep."

"I know."

"Does your family?"

"Yes."

"Then why are they still blaming Angela?"

"They say they aren’t blaming her."

Karen laughed. "That usually means they are."

Caleb rubbed his eyes. "They think every time my name gets attached to Angela, it affects the family."

Roxie went quiet.

That sounded different.

That sounded like they wanted Angela away from Caleb.

The thought made her nervous, and when she looked at Karen, her expression had changed too.

Caleb reached into his pocket when his phone started vibrating again and stared at the screen longer this time.

Karen sighed. "You might as well answer."

Caleb hesitated before swiping across the screen and bringing the phone to his ear. "What?"

His expression changed almost immediately.

Roxie couldn’t hear what his mother was saying, but judging by the way his shoulders tightened, she wasn’t speaking calmly.

"No. I’m still at school."

He listened.

"I already told you I’m going to Angela’s after."

Another pause.

Caleb’s jaw clenched.

Roxie and Karen looked at each other.

Caleb turned slightly away from them and lowered his voice. "I told you already."

Whatever came through the phone made him close his eyes.

He listened for several more seconds before giving a cold laugh. "Yeah. No. I’m not doing that."

Another long pause followed, and this time his face hardened.

"You can tell Dad whatever you want."

He ended the call.

For a moment Caleb simply stared at the screen before shoving the phone back into his pocket.

"It’s a sensitive issue for the family," he said. "But we’ll handle it."

Roxie shook her head. "No. This is a sensitive issue for Angela."

Caleb looked at her.

"Yes. I know." He dragged both hands over his face before letting them fall. "I’m doing the best I can for her."

He walked away before Roxie could answer.

She watched him disappear through the stairwell door, then reached for Karen’s arm.

"If they really wanted to, could they break them up?"

Karen kept looking toward the door Caleb had gone through. "It depends."

"On what?"

Karen finally looked at her.

"If he loves her enough."

Roxie bit the inside of her lip.

Her mind immediately went to Zac.

Zac had severed ties with his family to stay with her. Everything they feared would happen once the Prescotts learned about them eventually happened, and Zac had still chosen her. He had been kicked out and walked away from the life his parents had planned because he had already been preparing himself to stand on his own.

Zac had ways to support himself.

He knew how to survive without his parents.

Roxie looked toward the stairwell again.

Caleb had grown up with a golden spoon in his mouth. His money, his home, his future and probably half the choices he had ever made were tied to the Reeves family.

Could he walk away from all of that for Angela?

"He looks like he loves her enough," Roxie said quietly.

Karen watched the closed stairwell door for another moment.

"Yeah," she murmured. "He does."