"I would like to make it clear that this doesn't leave the room." Luis' voice was cold, hard. Everyone was back in the room, sans Jenny and Kim. Luis had confirmed with another staff member that they were both indisposed at the moment, so it was all Luis.
The staff looked ill still, but Andrew was doing okay. Luis was a damn storm, every inch of her vibrating with threat. The reporter wasn't composed, as if she was still processing the information she had been told.
Andrew, who had the longest time to deal with this information, was rather calm. He actually felt bad that he'd made the others feel this way. He didn't want them to react this way, though it was a bit validating that they were so horrified.
"You have our word. We would never. It would ruin our names in the industry if we had loose lips, Mrs. Beckett." The reporter told Luis, and Luis didn't say anything for a long, painful moment. She was making sure she made eye contact with every last member of the team before she sighed, her shoulders relaxing slightly. Everyone knew they were in the clear now.
She reached for Andrew, touching the back of his hair softly as she stared down at him. Her expression shifted from one of angry protectiveness to a softer kind.
"Do you want to continue?" She asked him. Andrew blinked.
"I'm fine." He told her, and he was. He wasn't forcing himself to say that. He was okay.
"Are you sure?" She asked and Andrew felt himself exhale. She was too sweet. Too kind, and very much like her son. Or, Maxwell was very much like her. He felt his lips curl up in a smile, and he hoped it reached his eyes.
"I am okay, Luis. I feel like I've shocked the crew more than I've shocked myself. I've had the most time to deal with this information." Andrew told her and she nodded slowly. She exhaled, still patting the back of his head before she withdrew her hand.
"Well, as long as you're okay. Should I request for a few drinks to be delivered to give everyone a few minutes to process the information?" Luis asked and received several nods in agreement. Andrew smiled warmly.
"That's very kind of you." Andrew told her and watched as she blinked, before her expression softened further.
"It's not. Part of it is bribery." She told him and Andrew chuckled.
"Still a nice thing to do, Luis." He told her and watched as her ears turned pink. Cute. This time she pinched his cheek in warning.
"You're going to be like this forever, aren't you? How does Max deal with you?" She asked and Andrew grinned. He let her pinch his cheek, a privilege as his mother-in-law.
"Well, he normally just kisses me to shut me up." Andrew told her and she scoffed, but her eyes brightened.
"Smart. I, unfortunately, can't do that, nor do I want to. I'll save that for my son. I'll figure something out. For now, I'll leave you alone for a moment." She gave the crew a pointed look before she left the room. Andrew knew that she was actively threatening the crew that Kim had hired to help him do a press release or something similar.
He wasn't really sure what this would be called. A tell all interview? Something along those lines.
With that being said, Andrew liked how Luis was treating him. It was sweet for him. She was showing that she was accepting of him, and protective. He felt that they had come a long way since he'd first met her.
Luis left the room without asking anyone what they wanted for a drink and Andrew felt his lips twitch. Knowing her, that probably would mean she'd buy one of everything on the menu and have it sent upstairs. Considerate, but in a strange way.
"Um, Dr. Knox, are we able to speak…more about what happened to you off the record? I know that I can't do anything with this information, but I just…I can't not know more information about this right now." The reporter spoke softly, quietly, as if she was afraid that Luis could hear her from wherever she was.
It was a valid fear. Andrew was fairly certain that Kim could probably hear them, if she was close enough. She was probably straining to hear everything. She might even have this room tapped with a mic or something. Andrew would not put it past her.
Or his Mom, honestly. She would have been sneaky like that if it benefitted her. She would probably have used anything she got too if she could prove she found it from a reasonable source.
"I'm fine talking about it, but can the team come out from behind the cameras, or make it obvious that they are turned off? Mainly because I know Luis would be upset even if it was implied, not that I don't trust you after saying you won't." It was an easy thing for her to agree with, and most of the team came out and sat down on the free chairs that were shoved against the walls. The only person who didn't was already sitting down in the back, away from the cameras already. They were who had run out to throw up earlier, so Andrew didn't force the issue.
They had their head between their knees. They were already not doing well.
The reporter sat down again, tucking her file folders against her thigh so that her hands were clear and it was obvious that she had nothing.
"So, to confirm, your ex-girlfriend drugged you and kidnapped you? After she got you fired?" She spoke slowly, as if she was processing the words she was saying. Andrew nodded.
"Yes, that's correct. She either had someone pretend to be me, or used a situation to her advantage. I didn't really have time to clarify that while I was kidnapped since they were pumping me full of different drug cocktails." She nodded.
"Understood. She's crafty. Was the coffee shop, cafe where she took you from somewhere you were familiar with? Did you suspect anything prior to this?" She asked and Andrew swallowed. That was a hard question.
"I…was very familiar with it. I would go to the coffee shop quite often. I knew the staff. I…I hadn't actually thought too much about how easy it was for her to take me out of there. I also…I think I suggested the location? Somewhere near where we worked since there were a lot of cafes and shops in the area because of the company. The cafeteria food sucked." Andrew told them and she nodded.
"Understood. So it was somewhere that you felt comfortable with. And…she lured you with a laptop?" She confirmed and Andrew felt his face warm.
"I only recently found out that my Mom had given me more money than was sensible. I was working on a researcher's salary, and was saving up to buy my own apartment, house or an engagement ring. It was the next day, and I'd been drinking the night before so I wasn't in the right state of mind. Max felt it was suspicious, so he made me keep my phone on me to track me. I left the phone behind I think." She seemed interested to hear that.
"Were you two sharing your locations before this?" She asked and Andrew shrugged.
"Sometimes. I was helping Max out before this by acting as a bodyguard. He would take me to dates his parents had set up, or to meetings with alphas that might not take no for an answer." Andrew told them, before he blinked. "Wait. We haven't been going on those together. Wait. He hasn't been going to any dinner meetings-" Andrew cut himself off, his hand covering his mouth as he realised something.
Maxwell was a damn schemer. He'd been using those as an excuse to take Andrew out with him, and to dinner too! The reporter's lips twitched.
"Would it be alright if we bring that up again? Obviously, without this context. I think that would be a very cute and humanizing moment for others to see." She asked and Andrew nodded, his face turned down in an upset expression.
"That little schemer." Andrew muttered. "Of course." He agreed readily, and she let out a little laugh.
"You said that with affection, Dr. Knox." She teased and Andrew nodded, leaning back in his chair.
"Of course. He's my little schemer, and I love seeing how his mind works. He told me that as soon as he saw me he was in denial. He tried to avoid me, but then…he just couldn't resist it anymore and wanted me in his life. In whatever capacity he could manage. He would take best friend status. It's…sweet. Could be creepy, but because it's Max? Sweet." Andrew told her and she smiled. She switched what legs she had crossed before speaking again.
"I'll save my Mr. Beckett questions for when we do have the cameras on." She told him warmly, before her face grew serious again. "Do you remember…how she took you?" She asked and Andrew had to turn back to his blurry memories.
"She…slid something into my latte. I went to the bathroom, came back, and then everything started going bad from that point. She was saying some crazy stuff, but I don't remember much else. I think my vision went blurry? Maybe she took my glass or covered my eyes? I can't really remember. What I do remember is that the facilities I was brought to were quite advanced." Andrew told her. Her gaze narrowed.
"How advanced are we talking, Dr. Knox?" She asked and Andrew let out a sigh.
"Advanced enough that they had all the tools to inject me safely, monitor me, and keep me alive if things went poorly. They also had security, mostly alphas. Enough to make it clear that either she had a lot of money, or they had a supporter with deep pockets." Andrew let out a harsh exhale before he gave her a tight smile. "And why wouldn't she? What family in this day and age wouldn't pay a pretty penny if there was some kind of fucked up medication that would turn your kid into an alpha or omega? Especially with late stage manifestations happening now?" She looked ill, but not surprised.
Like she had already come to that conclusion.
It was sick. It was disgusting, but it made a sick kind of sense. Andrew shrugged.
"I get it, but I don't agree with it. It's fucked up. Really fucked up. Apparently, she had been thinking that way about me the whole time. She was an omega. She wanted to create an alpha that she could leash. Sucks for her that I turned out to be a true alpha, so her plan was flawed from the beginning, but yeah." She looked disgusted.
"She was going to force you to bite her? Mark her?" Andrew nodded at her outraged words. "That fucking scum." She hissed, her hands clenched so tightly they were white.
"As I said, Max is working on this, probably with his Father as well. Maxwell needed help to find me, but in the end, I found him." She looked hesitant to even ask the question, but Andrew just smiled tightly.
"What do you mean by that?"