Suddenly, all three sets of eyes are on me again. Still disappointed. A new reason.
I scramble to find some lie to tell them. The thought of revealing who I am makes my palms sweat. I might not be able to stop my flush from giving me away. “I’m an actress.”
All three sets of eyes narrow.
“Bologna,” Mrs. J. says.
“I could be an actress.”
She looks to the men. “She doesn’t even know who James Roe is.”
“There’s no way. You can’t lie.” Russell shakes his head in agreement. “Look, she’s getting all red.”
“Oh my gosh yes. Just like that time she stole our newspaper and wouldn’t admit it.”
Pepper barks as if to throw in his own admonishment. The traitor.
“I was going to give it back,” I mumble but nobody listens.
“Maybe we should call her Red instead. Look the red is spreading.”
“Stop talking about it!” I press my fingertips to my cheeks.
“So who am I paying?” Mrs. J. shakes her head.
“Give it up.” Russell crosses his arms. “What’s your deal? Some sort of kinky sex worker?”
“Why would you go there?” I ask.
Danny says, “He watches a lot of HBO.”
I take a deep, calming breath. These people can know. It’s not exactly a secret, it’s just not something I share. Because I don’t have people to share it with.
“I’m a reporter,” I blurt.
All three seem to digest the information at the same time and sort of nod and frown at the same time.
“Okay, that I could see.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
“I need to call my accountant.”
Russell asks, “Have I read anything by you?” He’s already got his phone out. “Maggie…” he blinks up at me. “I don’t even know your last name. You are very sneaky aren’t you?”
“I’m Maggie May.” I clear my throat. “Uh, also known as Miss Mayday.”
“Shut the front door!”
“And back!” Mrs. J adds.
“You’re Miss Mayday!”
“The Miss Mayday?”
I chew my cheek and nod.
“You wrote the piece about the real ‘Hollywood Heroes; wives of the most powerful men.’”
