Page 92 of Nathan
“Oh my lord.” Denise’s hand lifted to her chest. “You realize that if Kevin’s article is the masterpiece I know it will be, I can start pushing it withSixty Minutes. Serious journalists love stories of injustice. I could totally see them take on this case, illustrating how easy it is to be crushed by the enormous power of social media and the press. Of course, it would make for a better story if you or Nathan had tried to commit suicide from the pressure of the mass hysteria.”
“Denise!” I gasped.
“I’m not saying that you should, but…” She touched the top of her head. “What about pulling a Britney? A public emotional breakdown shows people that you’re deeply affected. It might shift their attitude and make them feel bad for you.”
“I’m not shaving my head!”
“All right. Then let’s hope that the information the detectives dug up about Joe Gomez will change people’s minds. It’s gonna be hard for him to find talk shows who want to hear him cry when they find out about his past.”
“Aren’t you going to answer Kevin?”
“Yes, let me just email Kevin back and congratulate him.”
As Denise picked up her phone and started typing, I checked my own phone and found a message from Nathan. As always, my lips lifted in a smile just from seeing Nathan’s name on my screen.
Nathan: Hi, beautiful. Call me. I just learned something interesting about Storm.
“Denise, I’m just going to make a quick call, okay?”
Denise didn’t look up from her phone, but gave a distracted “Sure.”
Walking into my bedroom, I closed the door and FaceTimed Nathan.
“I’ve been waiting for you to call me.” Nathan was in bed with a pillow tucked under his bare chest and his hand holding his phone in front of him. It instantly made me wish I was with him.
“Why are you still awake?” My voice was soft and loving.
“I’m at River’s place in London. She’s had a complete breakdown, so I flew in to try and comfort her.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I don’t even know where to start.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Remember that article you sent me last week where Storm was calling off your fictional wedding?”
“Mhmm.”
“River shared that article with Maximum, who opened it on his phone down in Bangladesh… you know how I told you that he’s helping out in an orphanage…”
“Yes, I know.”
“Okay, so from what I understand, Maximum was sitting with two of the volunteers, and one of them pointed to the picture and claimed that she knew Storm. Maximum thought she knew Storm from movies, but his colleague insisted that she knew him personally.”
“Well, Storm is in Bangladesh, so maybe they met.”
“Are you sitting down?”
I took two steps and lowered myself to the green upholstered bench at the end of my bed. “I am now.”
“Turns out that Maximum’s colleague knew Storm because she has picked up her brother from Storm’s apartment hotel several times.” Nathan stopped talking and waited for my reaction.
“I’m not following.”
“Her brother is a personal trainer and works with several of the actors while they’re on location. But according to her, he and Storm are physical in other ways than what he’s hired for.”
I tilted my head. “Wait, are you saying that Storm is having sex with a dude?”
“Yes, and before you say that it’s just rumors let me share some proof.” Nathan looked down at the phone, and then a picture came through.
I stared at the selfie of a good-looking man in a bed with a white sheet covering only the midsection of his fit body. He had one eyebrow arched up and wasn’t smiling, but the most interesting part about the picture was Storm fast asleep with his arm and leg across the man’s body.
