Page 231 of Tormented Billionaire Romance Series

The media had just ran a segment all about me and Carter, showing and discussing things I had thought only the two of us could know. The news hosts had discussed, in no uncertain terms, my financial situation and familial issues, making the whole thing seem like a modern fairytale. If I looked up the show ratings, they would probably be skyrocketing.

But this wasn’t a fairytale.

I was a regular girl who had just had her privacy violated in the exact way I had been terrified would happen.

My ears were ringing.

No. Not my ears. It was my phone, jangling from the living room.

It’s going to be some reporter, some media personality who wants to hear my side of the story, and then turn it into a lie to get more views.

I should ignore it.

I fumbled for the wall and dragged myself up to my feet. Hugging the wall the whole way to keep from falling, I worked my way out of the bathroom and into the living room. By the time I got there, my phone had fallen silent.

I fell onto the couch anyway and picked it up to see who had been calling. I didn’t know whether to be surprised or not that the number was June’s. She hadn’t left a voicemail.

I cleared out the missed call notification and made to turn my phone off. The screen changed right in front of my eyes before I could even touch the power button, flashing with June’s name. Without thinking, purely as a reflex, I answered the call and put the phone to my ear; as soon as I did, I regretted it, because this absolutely wasn’t going to be a call to offer me an extra shift.

“Hello,” I said. “Am I fired?”

June didn’t say anything at first, and all I heard was her breathing. At last, she said, “No. You’re one of my best workers, Megyn. But I think we can both agree that Effervesce doesn’t really need this sort of attention.”

“I had nothing to do with this.” My voice trembled. “Please believe me.”

“Oh, hon.” June gave a soft, sad laugh. “I know thatyouwould never willingly be part of this. That isn’t the reason I’m calling. I don’t want you coming in today.”

“But…” Tears streamed down my face again.

“Hold on, I’m not finished, Megyn. I don’t think it’s safe for you to leave your house is what I’m saying. You’ve probably got people watching you. You could get mobbed or in an accident. It’s for your own safety.”

“But…”

“Still not done. If you absolutely have to come in, I’m going to have you in the back doing inventory. But if you stay home, as I think you should, I’ll still give you your full pay for the day. I know this isn’t your fault.”

“I couldn’t accept that,” I whispered.

“Please do, Megyn. I’m asking you to stay home at least for today. I would hate for anything bad to happen.”

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. “June?”

“Yes?”

“I-I think I’ll stay home, today. But could you make it half-pay? Like I’m taking a sick day?”

“If that’s what you’re comfortable with.” June gave a little sigh. “We’ll see you soon. Maybe stay in today and order pizza or something. Treat yourself.”

“I’ll do that,” I said, having no intention of doing that. I hung up and then, finally, turned my phone off. I rubbed my hands over my face and pulled in a shuddering breath.

I had to face facts.

Carter had done this.

I didn’t think that it was on purpose. He certainly wouldn’t have arranged for this to happen, because he wasn’t that kind of person, but he had done it nonetheless. It was because of him that my private information was out there now for any random person to know. Because of my involvement with him, the entire city now knew Megyn Boulter lived in a poor neighborhood and had a less-than-desirable family situation. The entire city now knew Megyn Boulter was with a rich man.

They would form their own opinions and I couldn’t do a thing about it.

I couldn’t know who was looking at me, recognizing me, thinking of me as a pretty free-loader. No one really believed in fairytales in this day and age, so the people I came across wouldn’t think about what Carter and I shared. They would think about what I didn’t have—and what he did.

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