Page 87 of Is It Casual Now?

“I can call her boss again and make another complaint, but if he hasn’t fired her already, I’m not sure that he will.”

Siena’s stomach twisted hard. The last thing she wanted was to be the direct cause of Jamie’s termination. Especially when it was because she was technically only doing her job. “No, don’t call.”

That also answered the question about who kept calling and threatening Jamie’s job. But Siena wasn’t ready to start that conversation with Ingrid, not right now anyway. She had bigger fish to fry at the moment, starting with protecting her client’s privacy.

She called Piper, trying to give her a heads up about the leak, and so that she could get an opinion on which direction Piper wanted her to take it. Because like Jamie had said, the two of them certainly didn’t seem like they were in a fake relationship. It had felt so real. Even Harley had commented on it.

“Ms. Frazee, there’s a call for you on line one.”

“Who is it?”

“Jamie Kettlehouse.” Paula gave Siena a serious look.

Siena’s lips parted in surprise, and she looked to Ingrid who had now been there for several hours helping sort things. “Is she…” Siena trailed off. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d wanted to ask. “Did she say anything relevant?”

“No,” Paula said, shaking her head.

“Ingrid, give me the room, will you?”

“Oh, but I want the juicy drama.” Ingrid frowned, lines forming right around her mouth and by the corners of her eyes.

“Not this time.” Siena was going to stay firm on this. What she had to say to Jamie couldn’t leave these walls. Except the fact that Jamie, for some god-awful reason, had called on the office number instead of Siena’s cell. So she’d have a recording to listen to for the rest of her life if she wanted to. She’d label itSiena’s Downfall.

Jamie would get a kick out of that, wouldn’t she?

“Just give me a few minutes.”

Paula held the door open for Ingrid, who finally decided to follow without throwing around more of an argument. Once the door was closed, Siena slowed her breathing and centered herself. She had no clue what she was planning on saying to Jamie, but she did know that she wasn’t happy with the situation.

Picking up the phone, she put the receiver to her ear and clenched her jaw. “Jamie.”

“You called?” Jamie sounded so fucking cocky, and Siena wished they were in the same room so that she could wipe the look off her face.

Perhaps the switch to the office number had been intentional on Jamie’s part. This would just be the picture-perfect moment to break everything off completely, wouldn’t it? Siena tried to find that calm center again.

“You leaked it.”

“If you’re referring to the fake-engagement photo shoot and exclusive interview that you took me on for Piper and Jo, I did see that it has hit the world wide web and that there are two media outlets that have picked it up.”

“Including yours?” Siena wanted to know. Would she be staring at those grainy images on the front page of the newspaper and plastered all over their website in the next day or two? Or would she be spared that added embarrassment?

“Yes, including mine.”

Siena’s heart clenched hard. All along she had hoped that Jamie wasn’t going to do this, that she wouldn’t betray Siena like this. She fought the tears as they rushed to her eyes. Because she honestly didn’t even have time for that. “This wasn’t supposed to get out into the world.”

“Then you shouldn’t have picked such a public place.”

“You’re blaming this on location?” Siena’s voice rose, anger pulsing through her words. “Like if we’d done it at my house with just the five of us there, you never would have posted it? Where do you get off thinking that you have the right to their personal lives? They’re human.”

“I’m human!” Jamie shouted back.

Siena pulled the phone away from her ear slightly at just how loud Jamie had gotten. “You’re not famous.”

“Famous people are famous for a reason. They wouldn’t be there without people like me.”

Siena couldn’t refute that. She’d had the thought so many times and it was such a part of her job. But that didn’t mean that she liked it. Bunny and Piper and Jo and Bea, hell, every single person on the planet deserved to keep some of themselves just for them. And that was a truth Siena refused to compromise on. Ever.

“Stop trying to ruin my career,” Siena muttered.

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