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“Meli, I have to go. My boss is calling me. ” I tossed my phone into a drawer before my nervous legs walked me into Nora’s office. Her walls were covered with various magazine covers from over the years and pictures of Nora with celebrities and local politicians.
“Close the door and come sit,” she said, not looking up as I entered. I did as she requested, shaking as I collapsed into the overstuffed white leather chair. “Talk to me about this article that just came out. ”
“What do you want to know?” I asked, my eyes instantly welling.
She leaned forward onto her elbows and looked directly at me. “How much of it is true?”
“I just found out about it, so I’m not quite sure what it says. ”
“Was Jack married to this person?”
I nodded. “Yes. ”
“And she got pregnant. ” I could tell she assumed those parts of the story were accurate.
“No. She lied to him. She told him she was pregnant, but she never was. The minute Jack found out, he left her. ”
“So he didn’t leave her for you?”
“He was with me first. ” I suddenly wanted to defend what Jack and I had in the past, before Chrystle came along and fucked it all up. “We were together when he met her. ”
“So he cheated on you?” she asked matter-of-factly.
“Yeah. ”
“Did she know about you?” Nora eyed me, and I sensed that an idea was coursing through that brain of hers.
“She knew about me. She didn’t care. She said that she always wanted a baseball-playing husband, so that’s what she got. ” Anger and embarrassment collided within me as I struggled to keep my emotions balanced.
“Do you want to address this article publicly? We could make a statement on your behalf, disputing all of this woman’s claims and accusations. ” Nora folded her hands together and rested her chin on top. “Or we could run a counter article on you and Jack. ”
I hadn’t even thought about defending myself. In the past months, I’d learned to keep quiet when it came to all the things people wrote about me. I was told standing up for myself would end up making me look worse, which I never understood, but I had to agree with because I didn’t know what else to do.
“If you fight back they’ll attack even harder,” Melissa’s mom had advised me at one point. “Don’t give them any more ammunition. People like that love getting a reaction out of you. So when they don’t get what they want, they eventually move on. ” But they hadn’t moved on.
“Is that what you think I should do?” I asked Nora. “Make a statement? Won’t it make it worse?”
Her brow furrowed. “Possibly. Let me think on it for a couple days. ”
“OK. ”
“I worry about you. I don’t know how you put up with all of this crap. Being with this guy sure has its downfalls, doesn’t it? I hope he’s worth it. ”
My lungs constricted as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. I wanted to choke, but couldn’t. I struggled to keep my composure as the tears spilled out. And just like that, I broke down. I couldn’t take it anymore. The bad press, the constant harassment, the online sites judging me every day. It had become too much weight to carry.
“Oh dear. ” Nora pushed back from her desk and walked over to me. “I’m sorry. I just meant that it’s a lot to take. ”
“I know. It’s not what you said; it’s how I feel,” I tried to explain through my sobs.
“Why don’t you take a few days off? Go clear your head. Hell, take a vacation or something. Get out of the city for a while. ”
I wiped at my eyes and sniffled. “Maybe I’ll fly home. Are you sure that’s OK?”
“Absolutely. We’ll come up with a game plan when you get back. ” She squeezed my shoulder before returning to her chair.
“Thank you, Nora. ” I forced a smile before walking out of her office. I gathered my things, typed a quick out-of-office notification for my e-mail, and turned my computer off. I stopped at the lobby store, grabbing a copy of the tabloid as my legs wobbled. The wedding picture of Jack with Chrystle caused me sharp stabs of pain as I stared at it.
Mortified, I tucked the tabloid under my arm and walked outside. I couldn’t take the subway home, I’d never last surrounded by all those people, so I called the only person I could think of while I walked back into the lobby.
