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Then his kisses led behind her ear. Chantelle’s knees wobbled, but he held her up. He only held her tighter.
“I love you, Chantelle.”
Her heart melted. She blocked out the world around them. She held onto Lance.
***
Chantelle fumbled to silence her cell phone, which vibrated on her bedside table. It rattled in her ears, disturbing her dream of her and Lance. Flowering bulbs of tulips surrounded them in the open grassy field where she stood.
She had twirled on her tiptoes in the sun, and he stood off to her side laughing at her antics. Then she reached for him, and he brought her to his chest. Her breath had hitched and her ringing cell disrupted her dream.
Groaning, she silenced the sound, but it only returned. Then she spotted her boss’ name. Brenda? Chantelle answered despite the sleepiness still in her voice.
“Why are you and Lance all over social media?” Her boss asked.
She perked up at the question. “What?”
“I’m looking at it, Chantelle. It’s all over Facebook, Twitter, and don’t get me started on the hashtags on Instagram.”
Chantelle rubbed her head. “Brenda, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then tell me. What’s this I hear of Lance’s engagement being off with Andrea? Her publicist released a statement an hour ago that the wedding’s off. Now they’ve leaked pictures of you and him.”
Chantelle put her on speakerphone and searched Lance’s name. There it was in black-and-white. “Reporter Steals Bachelor from Bride.” Her stomach plummeted. As she scrolled, her eyes widened. “Brenda, I promise I had nothing to do with Lance’s dissolved engagement.” The hashtag that trended was #homewrecker. Chantelle exited the apps since the other names were too offensive, some calling her stupid and desperate.
“So you knew this and didn’t think to report it to me?” Brenda asked.
She pressed a hand to her forehead. Spots in her vision increased along with the nausea. “Everything happened so fast. You know me, Brenda. I’m not a home-wrecker.”
“So explain to me why the press have you kissing Lance Taylor? Looks like a theater?”
Chantelle didn’t notice anybody follow them on their date. Was she that wrapped up in Lance that she didn’t pay attention? “It’s true. We were out together last night.”
“Chantelle.” Brenda released a deep breath. “This is not good. First the wedding is off, and now you’re making out with the former groom.”
“I didn’t tell you all the details but... Lance and I... were married. It was a long time ago, but we... rekindled some things.”
Silence.
“Brenda?” Definitely fired. Might as well accept Mr. Perkins’ offer, if he didn’t care about being caught up in the scandal too, associating himself with her.
“I don’t know what to think. You put the magazine in jeopardy. Your reputation as a writer is at stake here too. They’ll play on your sexual harassment story. They can twist it to fit any narrative they want. This is bad.”
Chantelle’s heartbeat raced. What was she going to do? How would Lance take the news? He already hated being in the public eye. This here would boil his blood. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
Brenda sighed. “If I were you, I would stay off social media until the magazine releases our own statement. Talk to Lance and see what he says. We can try, but I don’t know how we’ll clean up this mess. Social media is not forgiving.”
With that, she hung up and Chantelle scurried to her feet to shower and dress for the day. The chest pains increased as she finished buttoning her shirt. She repeated to herself that everything would be okay. Would it, though? A sudden feeling and overwhelming sensation of dread took over. The press wasn’t forgiving. She knew that too well. A knock on her bedroom door disrupted her thoughts.
“Who is it?” She asked.
“It’s me.” Her mother peeked her head through the door. “Lance is here.”
Chantelle swallowed despite her dry mouth. “I’ll be right there.” She combed her hair and left to meet Lance in the living room. She gave half a smile when they made eye contact, but judging by his flaring nostrils and his cracking knuckles, he wasn’t happy.
“What’s going on?” He asked.
“Who told you?”
