Page 84 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

I heard her huff as she continued to click away. She’d been like this since I’d gotten home and told her everything that had gone on since I’d abandoned her on the dance floor.

Sam sighed. “It’s not the pictures you have to worry about, Liv. It’s the stories that go along with it. It’s the crap they drag up with their digging.”

Taking a sip, I scoffed. “Good luck to them finding anything about me at all. I look nothing like I do in those pictures, and if they do find out who I am, there’s not much to dig up. Unless they decide to travel to Uganda. They could probably get a few cool stories from the villagers if they wanted to. Nothing too embarrassing, though. Not by Hollywood’s standards, anyway.”

Sam sighed. “I just think it’s important for you be aware of what’s going on out there, Liv. Even if most of it’s crap.”

I tried to hide my smirk as I pushed off the couch to go rinse my mug. Dumping it in the dishwasher, I closed the door and wiped my hands. If we didn’t hurry, we were going to be late for work. As I walked back into the room, ready to give Sam hell for making me late yet again, I froze. She looked like she’d just seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me, her mouth open in a silent O. “What’s wrong?”

She opened and closed her mouth like a fish before she eventually found her voice. “They know who you are, Liv. Someone identified you.”

As much as I’d joked about them not being able to dig up much dirt on me, her words still caused a wave of panic to hit me square in the chest. I’d seen the group of people waiting for Josh when I’d left the Montage yesterday. They were insane. I tried to swallow down the fear. “What does it say?”

Turning back to the computer, she started to read. “Joshua Emerson’s mystery girl has finally been revealed. The sexy, blonde beauty has been identified as nineteen-year-old Olivia Maxwell, a journalist for the humanitarianism magazine, World Aid Matters. Not much else is known about Joshua’s stunning companion, including how the pair came to meet, but we’re eager to find out if we’re going to see her again. Stay tuned, folks.”

Crap.

“Shit, Liv. What are you going to do?” Sam asked, her voice mimicking the way I felt inside.

Lowering myself down to the edge of the couch, I tried to breathe. “I don’t know. How bad do you think it’ll be?”

She turned her palms up in a gesture of helplessness. “It’s hard to say.” Giving me a guilty look, she lifted a shoulder. “Maybe you should call Josh. I’m sure he’d help you if you asked.”

Calling Josh was the last thing I wanted to do. I didn’t want to be a burden to him. He was obviously trying to distance himself from me, so calling him to beg for help like some poor, defenseless damsel in distress wasn’t on the cards for me. “Josh said that if they found out who I was, they would only be interested in me for a little while. I’m guessing they’ll leave me alone once they realize he doesn’t have anything to do with me anymore.”

“You realize there will probably be people waiting for you at WAM. They know where you work, Liv.”

Crap.

Pushing myself up to stand, I straightened my shoulders. “Well, I guess there’s no point putting off the inevitable. I’m sure we can manage. There’s not likely to be that many of them.”

&n

bsp; She gave me a dubious look. “Okay, but promise me, if any of them try to ask you questions, you won’t answer, okay? You can smile, but don’t make eye contact, and don’t talk.”

I frowned. I didn’t realize there were rules to this kind of thing. “Won’t that be kind of rude?”

Her gaze hardened. “No. Just no, Liv. It’s not rude. That’s the way it works, and if you don’t believe me, ask Josh. He’ll tell you.”

I inhaled, trying to make sense of it all. “Let’s just go. We’re already going to be late.”

Collecting our bags, we locked the door and walked down the hall to the elevator. Sam pursed her lips as we descended, trying not to smile. But after a minute, she couldn’t help herself. “I’m sorry. I can’t stop it. I feel like I’m in some fictional story or something. You were pictured with one of the world’s most drooliest men, Liv. I know how you met, but how the hell did that happen?”

I giggled at her delirious expression. “It is a bit bizarre.”

Laughing, we stepped out of the elevator and made our way to the front doors. “You know what? We’re already late,” Sam said, pushing the doors open. “We may as well stop at Starbucks on our way.”

I was all for it. Until shit happened.

It started with one person with a camera in their hand, stepping in front of us. Then, before I could comprehend what was happening, there were three more.

“Olivia! Look here!”

“Olivia! How do you know Joshua Emerson?”

“Olivia, over this way! Where did you and Joshua meet?”

Panic spread through me like wildfire. I didn’t know what to do, where to look, or even how to breathe.

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