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Everyone in her condo gasped audibly. John was running toward her, but it was too late. She’d said it.
Oh God, what have I done?
“You’re still victimizing me,” Jen said though fake tears. “You will never leave me alone and now everyone will know about it.”
And that was when Reese realized she’d been had. That she’d walked right into Jen’s trap. Reese didn’t have a chance to respond because John had grabbed the phone from her. Reese looked up into Cam’s eyes and realized then that she’d lost everything.
ChapterSeven
As the assembled faces stared at her with disbelief, she wanted to run to her bedroom and hide forever. John’s expression was a mix of anger and frustration, Marnie looked horrified, and Cam showed some sympathy and disappointment. He’d been the only one to come over to her and put an arm around her shoulder. The others were too stunned to move.
“I’ll get our PR firm on this. The fallout will be catastrophic,” John said. He looked at Reese and couldn’t stop himself from shaking his head. “You are not to talk to anyone. I don’t want you going anywhere. Stay off social media. Don’t answer phone calls. Consider it solitary confinement, until we can figure out what to do next. I expect Jennifer is uploading this call to social media as we speak.” He turned to Marnie. “We have to go now. We have a lot of work to do.”
Without a goodbye, they were gone. Reese crumpled to the sofa, wanting to scream at the top of her lungs in anger that she’d been stupid enough to fall for this.
“Why does she hate me so much?” she asked Cam. “What did I do to her? To be this angry ten years later?”
“You have everything she’s ever wanted. The gold medals, the praise, the love from fans, a successful business, and what does she have? A kid with some guy who took off on her when the kid was still a baby, and a failing skating academy. Maybe it all came to a head. Who knows?”
“I screwed up, Cam. Really bad this time.”
“John and Marnie will figure it out.”
“And if they don’t? I’ll be canceled. Permanently. And I’ll deserve it.”
“There is nothing we can do right now. But I know what might make you feel better. Burgers from Sam’s? Fries and gravy?”
He tried to smile, but it was falling flat.
“I’m not hungry.”
“But you’ve got to eat. And it’s the perfect comfort food. How about I go and pick up a burger with blue cheese. We can share the fries.”
“Okay.” She loved that he knew her favorite burger.
He headed out the door and Reese sat alone for a few minutes. Sam’s was across town and Cam wouldn’t be back for at least an hour. She didn’t know if she could stand being alone that long and not look on social media. Instead, she called Jordy. Of course the call went to voicemail.
“Can you call me right away? This is an emergency.”
She was grateful when he called back less than ten minutes later. She was about to tell him about the call with Jen, but he started speaking first.
“I’m assuming you called to tell me that you’ve thought better of it and will be coming to the party on Friday?”
Her brows knit. “What? No! Jordy, something awful has happened.”
He sighed. “I guess you’re going to tell me about it?”
She paused for a moment and tried to grasp his reaction. Why was he making her feel like she was putting him out when it was her life was falling apart? “Yes, I’d like to. It was awful. John had me call Jen, to mitigate all that’s going on. I was supposed to apologize—and I did—but she kept goading me. Next thing I knew, I said some stupid things and…it all went south. I’m sure she’s recorded the call and is uploading it everywhere as we speak. I’m so stupid.”
“Oh, that’s not good. Hey, I’m sorry this happened. I’d love to have a chat with this Jen broad. Give her a piece of my mind.”
Reese smiled through her tears. This was the Jordy she remembered. The one who would walk through fire for her when they’d first met. Sure, that was the honeymoon period, and it had been good between them that first year. She was still competing, and they didn’t have a lot of time for each other, but he understood. It was only after she and Cam retired from competitive skating and after she’d finished doing all those ice shows that nothing had changed when it should have. They still rarely saw each other, and she couldn’t remember the last time they’d spent a full night together. She’d tried a few times to arrange a getaway together, but he’d always found an excuse to say no.
“I don’t know what to do. John wants me on lockdown. I guess so that I can’t screw up anything else. But I can’t stay in my condo forever.”
“I’m sure it’s only temporary. He’ll figure something out.”
She pulled at a thread on her sofa. “I know you’re busy, but I’m wondering if you could come over tonight? Maybe stay for a while?”
