Page 11 of The Tomorrows After You
I scanned the article. Nicolette had barely turned eighteen when she met Bentley Upton, the VP of the floundering network. He was more than twice her age and the article credited her with the resurgence of ratings the network experienced after giving her feature opportunities.
“I was weak and fell victim to the young woman’s advances,”Upton was quoted admitting. The article tore him apart for the sexist douche he sounded like. My gut wrenched at the last line.
Nicolette Parker was not at fault but paid the price with her career and future.
I groaned internally and the girls’ chattering suddenly took on a different meaning.
Don’t put your guard down now,I reminded myself.
Pulling a hand over my face, I returned to the second page of the search results.
Nicolette Parker Nude Photos Leaked!!
My tempted finger hovered over the link.
“Whatcha doing?”Katie’s voice snapped me out of my vortex. I swiped the browser away.
I leaned back in my chair and tossed my phone down on the desk, raking my hands through my hair.“Finishing up the quotes.”I shook my head and stifled a yawn, noticing her inquisitive expression.“It was an early morning. They have me on groundskeeping at the library for community service.”
Katie put a hand on my shoulder.
“Ry, that’s great.”I winced at the nickname that I’d never cared for. She frowned.“Although I wish it was something a little more public. It’d be good to have people see you out volunteering.”
Volunteering. She had an amazing way of spinning things to make it sound like I wasn’t a convict.
“Maybe I cantalk to Jeremy and see if you can switch to helping the church with the annual Field Days coming up—”
“No!”I said, a little too harsh. Guilt struck me for the startled look on her face.“No,”I said, softer.“I like the groundskeeping. I can do a good job with it.”
The idea of being paraded around like some zoo animal on display was bad enough. The thought of it being in front of my mother’s parish was mortifying.
Katie’s gaze was laced with sympathy I found too condescending to appreciate. She ran a hand over my cheek. The physical contact was comforting but my mind flashed to that brief brush of Nicolette’s elbow. The jolt of electricity it sent through my body.
“Riot, you’re going to have to face the church sooner or later. I mean, you see these people every day.”She gestured out the window where the town was bustling.“What’s the difference if you see them all at once under the roof of Redeemer’s?”
I gave her a dark look.“You know it’s not the same.”
She pressed her lips together.“I know it feels that way now. But we’ll give it more time. They need to see you as one ofthem. And you’ll never be one of them again if you keep avoiding the church.”
Shame and something like irritation ripped through me. I hated this conversation, and it was happening more frequently.
She spun the chair to face me head-on, putting her hands on either side of my face. I closed my eyes at the tender warmth even if it didn’t feel genuine.
“The town needs to stop seeing you for what you did and start seeing the person you could be.”She took her hands back and turned her head.“I know you think your presence at the church feels...wrong. But eventually, it’s going to be noticed. People want to believe in you, Riot. I’m doing everything I can, but you’ll need to meet me halfway.”
My knotted stomach turned to stone. None of that sat well with me but as I looked up into her wide, well-meaning eyes, I reminded myself she was trying to help.
I nodded, which seemed to satisfyher.
“We’ll get there, together. I promise.”She patted my hand and kissed me cordially on the cheek before walking out the front door.
Each minute dragged on for hours the rest of the afternoon. I put a hand over my abs where the knot was growing. I picked my phone up to check the time, and it opened the search results page I had been on.
Nicolette Parker Nude Photos Leaked!!
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious, recalling that light sheen of sweat on her neck that had made her skin glisten. But for some reason, particularly after Katie’s conversation, it seemed perverse to open Nicolette up to that kind of scrutiny, even if it was just in my head. I closed out the browser.
Besides, the URL was skinflix.me. It would probably give my phone a virus.
