Page 102 of Breaking News

I nodded.

“Hold up.” Richie held up one hand. “You’re talking about Olivia’s mentor, the pretty blonde chick on the billboard by the Dairy Queen?”

I didn’t like his disbelieving tone. “Yes, that’s the one.” My eyes flitted over to Olivia, whose face had twisted into visiblefrustration. “I’m sorry. I wanted you to hear that from me before you heard it from one of the other interns.”

Her brows furrowed even more. “Why would they be talking about it?”

I glanced down at the floor. “Isaiah caught us yesterday morning.”

“Caught you doing what?” Caleb blurted. Andrea nudged him.

I glanced down at my twiddling thumbs on my knee and inhaled. “He just caught us… well, in an embrace in the parking lot. And he’s already telling others about it. We’re going to be forced to go public with this, even though we weren’t ready.”

Olivia was quiet. Too quiet. And then, rolling her eyes, she sprang to her feet and started toward the front door. “Olivia!” Andrea called after her.

She turned on her heel before her hand reached the doorknob. “I’m already the knocked-up intern. I hear people talking.” She shook her head, the disdain in her eyes shooting out at me like daggers. “And now I’m the one whose dad is sleeping with Jillian Taylor. This is great. Real great. Thanks, Dad.”

“Livvy—”

“Don’t call me that. Ihatethat.”

Since when did she hate being called Livvy? I stood up, but the second I started to approach her, she held up both hands as if to threaten me not to come any closer.

“Is this why I got the internship, Dad?” she spit out.

“What? No,” I said quickly. “That was decided before anything started between us.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she snapped. Richie stood up and approached her slowly like she was a wild animal, resting his hand on her back in an attempt to calm her. She didn’t even look at him. “Everyone will say that’s why I got that spot. They’ll all assume that.”

“Olivia—”

“You could’ve dated literally anyone else. This is so effing humiliating.” And with that, she pushed through the storm door, leaving Richie wincing in her wake.

“Goddammit,” I muttered, collapsing back into my seat.

Richie leaned over, stretching one hand out to squeeze my shoulder. “Don’t worry. I know how to calm her down. I got this, Dad.” And then he was out the front door, too.

I turned to Andrea and blinked. “That went well. Also—what did that kid just call me?”

“Pretty sure he said ‘Dad.’” Caleb answered in a helpful tone.

Andrea crossed her arms. “She’s upset now, but she’ll get over it soon enough,” she assured me. “She’s under a lot of stress. Especially with everything going on with Richie.”

I looked up at her, confused. “What’s going on with Richie?”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“Evidently not.”

Andrea glanced at Caleb and pressed a hand against his knee. “Honey, why don’t you go play your game?”

Caleb nodded before disappearing up the stairs, breaking into a run halfway up. He didn’t have to be told twice to go play on his Xbox.

Andrea turned back to me with a heavy sigh. “His mother found out about the pregnancy and proceeded to kick him out of the house.”

I sank back in my chair. “How the hell do you kick a sixteen-year-old kid out of your house?”

“I don’t know, Graham. She said some awful things to him, and to Olivia, too. She looked our daughter in the eye and told her she ruined Richie’s life by getting pregnant. And she told Richie…” She paused to take a deep breath. “She told Richie that Oliviatrappedhim so he wouldn’t break up with her.”

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