Leah's Seduction: 8 (Gianni and Leah - Leah's Seduction) by Emily Jane Trent Page A

small loft with mismatched couches and chairs, it offered a respite from the Midtown noise.
    Roston waited in the limo, while another bodyguard was posted at the bottom of the stairs. She spotted Cody and lifted her hand in greeting. He looked calmer than Leah felt. His dark hair was nicely groomed, and he was dressed for business.
    He stood and gave her a quick hug. The friendliness in his blue eyes was welcome. Leah had faced too much hostility in the last few hours. She had purchased a double espresso downstairs, and sat the tiny cup on the table.
    “It’s good to see you Cody,” she said.
    “Are you holding up okay?” Cody said.
    She shook her head. “I thought I would handle this better. But I didn’t know it would be this bad. The media is ruthless. And everywhere I go, they follow me, trying to get me to talk to them.”
    “That’s bad.”
    “Gianni will be home later. He is flying back from Chicago.” She sighed. “It had to happen while he was away. It’s almost like it was planned that way.”
    Cody frowned. “Knowing Ava, it probably was.”
    Leah took a sip of her coffee. “How well do you know her?”
    “I don’t know her personally, thank God. I’ll pass on that honor,” he said. “But I’ve seen her. Quite a few of the models I photograph are referred by her agency.”
    “But you sound like you know about her.”
    Cody held his coffee cup on one hand. “Word gets around. Lately, she is difficult to deal with. Some of the models have dumped her.”
    Leah asked a question she probably already knew the answer to. “How is she difficult?”
    Cody’s one short laugh told Leah she was correct. “The woman is nuts. She gets emotional over nothing, and has quite a temper.”
    “I think I’m feeling the effects of that temper,” Leah said.
    They sipped their coffee for a moment. Leah was still rattled, but the safety of the small loft combined with the boost of caffeine had helped. “So tell me,” she said, “what did you mean when you said there might be more?”
    Cody swigged his coffee, then put the cup on the table. “There are pictures.”
    A wave of nausea hit her. “What pictures?”
    He leaned forward and spoke quietly. “Pictures of Ava with Gianni. And the impression I get is that they are damning.”
    Leah felt dizzy. It couldn’t be. Gianni would have told her if Ava had anything like that. “Have you seen them?”
    He shook his head. “No, I haven’t. They haven’t been released yet.”
    “What do you mean yet ? Do you know that they will be?” Shock hit her like a tidal wave. “Will Ava publish them?”
    “The word is that she has incriminating photos of Gianni with her.”
    “But she can’t.” Desperation washed over her. “Gianni would not have allowed that. She can’t have any photos like that.”
    Cody didn’t reply.
    “Oh, God.” Leah felt suffocated. He would have told her. Gianni wouldn’t have kept something this important from her. “How do you know about this?”
    “From my media connections,” Cody said. “A couple of journalists who buy my photographs told me about it.”
    Her voice was shrill. “They already know about it?”
    Cody nodded. “All I know is what they said. Ava has spread the word about the photographs, and I thought you should know. I’ll see what else I can find out.”
    Leah put her hands over her face and leaned on the table. The lawsuit could rip them apart. And the media might do so first. If there were pictures to support Ava’s allegations, it would be hard to fight.
    She couldn’t imagine what the pictures were. Gianni had not described what they did together in much detail. Not that Leah had wanted to hear it. But he had said Ava gravitated toward the harsher scenes. That she had a preference for pain.
    Gianni was on his private jet. It wouldn’t be long until he was back. Leah didn’t want to discuss this over the phone. She had to see him in person. She needed to look into his eyes, and see his expression.