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Jordan took a deep breath and lowered his shoulders, the tension whooshing out of him like air from a punctured balloon. Then he silently cursed.
His life had been a roller coaster recently. On top of everything else, Lauren Zummen had given a salacious interview to Gossipmonger about their meeting and her subsequent pregnancy.
Jordan winced just thinking about Sera reading that piece. Not that he’d seen her. Bernice had reassigned him to another physical therapist, and he didn’t have to ask why.
“Jordan?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Lauren wasn’t pregnant.”
Jordan paced around the gym, wandering aimlessly. “What? How can that be?”
“Her identical twin is the mother of the baby. It took some digging, but the private investigator checked records and talked to people in the small town near Albany that Lauren grew up in.”
“What?” He was outraged. “How did they think they were going to get away with this?”
“They weren’t. But maybe they’d get a lucrative payment or two from the gossip press for their story and some fame.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t go for the old-fashioned blackmail route,” Jordan remarked drily, curbing another surge of anger. “You know, make me pay hush money.”
“Too risky. They’re smart enough to know you could have called their bluff and gotten law enforcement involved. The end result woul
d have been a jail sentence.”
Jordan tightened his hold on the receiver. “We’ve got to get the facts out there. At least the fact that I’m not the father.”
“I know, I know.”
“Wait until Gossipmonger finds out they may have paid for a false story.”
“The women are identical twins. They can easily come up with some explanation for why they told the story that they did. Given the timing, you couldn’t be ruled out as the father. And the women could claim that they swapped identities three years ago for some reason. That the one you met called herself Lauren but was actually her identical twin, and you didn’t know it. The possibilities are endless.” His agent paused. “Anything to keep the payments they might have received.”
“You’ve got some insight into the criminal mind,” Jordan joked.
“Well, I’ve been talking to the private investigator, and I’ve been in the business of representing famous people for a long time.”
Jordan took a moment to compose himself. “Thanks, Marv. For everything.”
The older man gave a dry chuckle. “It’s what I do. A sports agent’s work is never done. But for the record, you’ve been a lot easier to work with than some of my other clients. No secret plastic surgery, no sex tape, no drugs.”
“Great for the endorsement deals and the contract that are coming up for negotiation.”
“Yup.”
“I’m a veritable angel.”
Marv chuckled. “Go enjoy the rest of your life, Jordan. If your physical therapist keeps working wonders, we’ll be in a good bargaining position.”
After he hung up with his agent, Jordan reflected on Marv’s last words.
Go enjoy the rest of your life. Marv’s news today should have lifted the heavy cloud he’d been under, but somehow he still felt dejected and incomplete.
Jordan raked his hand through his hair and cast a glance around the room. He hadn’t bothered mentioning to Marv that Sera was no longer his physical therapist.
She’d worked wonders on him all right, though, and not just with his knee.
He was changed. She’d changed him.
