Page 120 of Movers and Shakers

And I needed some answers.

“Hey, honey,” Mom said, her voice wavering. “How are you? We’ve seen . . . a lot going on.”

“A lothasgone on,” I said. “Including my bodyguard being threatened.”

The line was silent.

But then Dad spoke up first. “By who?”

“Probably some deranged fan,” Mom rushed to say.

“No. By you, Mom. You told her you’d get her fired if she didn’t keep my secret from Barry.”

“What?”Dad asked, an edge to his voice I’d never heard before. I’d never heard him get angry. In fact, I didn’t even think it was possible.

“Wh—well, can you blame me? You’re slipping.”

“Linda, you overstepped.”

“If she let her bodyguard know, then imagine who else she could tell! When Juno mentioned that man she kept working on the album with—‍”

“Barry,” I said. “His name is Barry.”

“I knew she would tell him eventually.”

She wasn’twrong.I did tell him.

“He’s not going to let it slip.”

“He knows?” Mom gasped. “No. He can’t.”

“Why?” Dad asked. “Nothing traces back to you.”

“Have youseenwhat people are saying? They’re hungry for anything, and he could sell it—‍”

“He won’t sell it,” I snapped. “And what are people saying? I’ve only been told they’re saying good things.”

“You don’t know?” Dad asked. “You usually keep up on that social media stuff.”

“Malia banned me from it.”

“Oh. That’s definitely a good thing.”

Or maybe it wasn’t. In just one day,threepeople had mentioned my fans. Something was off.

“We need to talk about this random man knowing about Rose’s secret identity.” And just like that, Mom reminded me of the problem at hand.

“Rosie, did he say he would keep it a secret?”

“Yes.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yes!” Mom hissed. “There is!”

“It’s all worked out. What else could there be?”

“How about howIfeel about it?”

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