Page 78 of Who's Saving You
She smiles, like she knows exactly what she’s doing. “Is it true you two were questioned separately about the game in your sophomore year? Why wouldn't you have the same story?”
I don’t answer. I just keep walking away from her as fast as I can without looking guilty.
Behind me, I hear her call out, “So that’s a no comment?”
I duck into the gym, my pulse slamming behind my ears. Am I a complete idiot? Is Noelle letting someone in on these secrets? Nothing is happening by coincidence—none of it. I just don’t understand why.
As I put my stuff away, my phone goes off.
Eva: Why is the name Trevor Raines coming up?
Me: What? Where?
Eva: Ask your reporter friend
I grip my phone tight. The timing of this is so strange.
Me: She didn’t say anything
Eva: You sure about that?
No, but I can’t tell Eva that. Noelle said she was going to speak with her editor, she had to show face at the office, but she promised she wasn’t writing anything.
Me: A different reporter was just waiting for me outside the stadium, and threw his name at me
A minute ticks by. Then two.
Finally, the screen lights up.
Eva: I can bury it
My stomach doesn’t settle, even after themessage. I tell myself she’s protecting me. She always has, she’s always been ready with a perfectly worded quote. But there's something off. I felt it after she lied about that text being from mom last week. I know she wasn’t on the phone with her. But whatever she was doing, it was business, and I’m not privy to it.
I pocket the phone and head for the locker room, but Raines’ name and EP INC bounce around in my head.
~~
I stop by Eva’s office after practice. I don’t plan to. I tell myself I just want to check in, but the closer I get to her building, the clearer the truth becomes. I want to catch her in something. In what? I have no idea. But since Noelle told me about EP INC, I’ve realized something’s been off since the night of the league dinner. And after running into that reporter and Eva's quick dismissal of it, something isn’t adding up. I want to ask about her company, but I don't have enough to go on yet. And for the first time in my life, I'm leery of her. I know my sister, and she's smart as fuck. She’s good at covering and manipulating facts when needed. I saw it as a smart businesswoman technique, but I know if I came to her with something half-assed, she'd turn it around, and I'd never get the truth.
And I hate that I know that.
Eva’s assistant waves me in without looking up. She always does. The entire floor is silent; it’s late, so most have gone home.
But not Eva. She lives and breathes this shit. I take the hallway to her corner office and hear her on the phone. I pause in the doorway, waiting for her to end the call.
“It wasn’t supposed to be traceable,” she says. “I handled the file. If it’s able to be found, then someone got sloppy.”
I frown. Her back is to me, fingers drumming lightly on the edge of her desk. Whoever she’s talking to, she’s not rattled. She’s managing.
“It’s going according to plan. You know it’s always answered.” She shifts tone suddenly. “Then try harder. You know the players involved. Leak something to flush it out, place doubt. Fuck, send another message to make itstop.This isn’t your first time. Don’t act brand new.”
My chest tightens. I knock lightly, just enough for her to turn.
Her expression flips like a switch, cool and confident. “Nik! Perfect timing.”
She ends the call without missing a beat. “PR firm out of Dallas. They’re running damage control on a different client. It’s no big deal, but they just won’t do what they’re told. So many questions instead of just listening and doing.”
I nod slowly, pretending to buy it.
