Page 56 of Game Changer

Chapter22

Zara

The afternoon pole dancing class at Crush is well under way and I’ve retreated to my office for a bit of peace and quiet. I have a lot of work to do on the future of the business. Things have been quiet since Buckie left. I’ve filled my time exactly how I used to before he came back. But the days seem to be dragging by at a snail’s pace. I can’t wait to have him back here permanently. He’s been gone less than a week and I miss him terribly. The gossip over him and Annalise hasn’t died down much. We’ve both decided that it’s for the best that we don’t get involved or encourage it in any way. I’ve tried my best to stay clear of any of the online reports. I already took my Google alerts off the week of the premiere. We’ve talked every day and I trust him.

I had a meeting with the estate agents this morning and put in an offer on the building next door. It was accepted right away because there had been little interest. The estate agents told me none of the offers were as high as mine. After viewing the building, Blair and I took a business plan and forecast of future earnings to the bank. We managed to secure the funding to make it happen. They were more than happy to give us the money given how popular the pole dancing classes have become. Blair has finally decided to become my number two and I couldn’t be happier about it. She still wants to dance though which is fine by me. I know how much she loves it and I’d never want her to give it up completely.

I’m about to pack up my stuff and head out when a tentative knock sounds on my office door.

“Come in.”

“Hey Zara. Sorry to bother you.” Blair sticks her head round the door.

“Don’t be daft you’re not bothering me. What’s up?”

She comes in and closes the door behind her before taking a seat in front of my desk. She looks down at her phone in her hand and I can sense something is wrong.

“Look, I know you’re not concerned with all the shit happening in L.A. right now, but I thought you’d want to see this. One of the girls from the class showed it to me and asked if this was you. I didn’t know what to say, so I shrugged my shoulders at her. Then I looked it up for myself.” She hands me the phone and I feel as though I’ve been throat punched.

“What the actual fuck?” I look between the phone and Blair.

Her face is as white as a sheet. “That is you and Buckie, isn’t it?”

I stare at the photo of us in the hallway at the premiere after party. Buckie has me pinned against the wall and we’re kissing. I don’t have a clue how anyone got a photo of this. I saw no one in that hallway the whole time we were there.

“It is yes, but I’ve no idea how this happened.”

“That’s not all, read the headline.”

I thumb the screen down and read the bold writing below the photo.

Annalise Shears in floods of tears as fiancé Owen Buchanan caught cheating.

I can feel the colour drain from my face and I feel as though I’m going to faint. “Blair. What the hell is going on here? I don’t understand.” My breathing is becoming erratic, and I feel light headed. I try but fail to take deep breaths in.

“Hey, you’re okay.” She stands and comes round to my side of the desk.

I look up at her with wide eyes.

“Shh. Breathe on my count. One, two, three…”

Her voice is soft and soothing, her hands on my shoulders a reassuring weight. She keeps talking as my breathing becomes easier. The light feeling starts to disappear and I can concentrate again.

“You okay,” she asks, her hands still on my shoulders.

“Yes I am. Thanks. I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologising for? This is despicable. You know, I used to love celebrity gossip when I was younger, but now I see it for what it is. Intrusive bullshit.” She takes the phone back off me and scrolls down the page.

“Oh my God Zara, someone’s named you in the comments. Oh no, this is bad. Really bad. They’ve named the club too.”

My whole world feels as though it’s come crashing down around my ears. As much as I love my club, and I have nothing to be ashamed of by owning it, the last thing I need is negative publicity. After everything it took for me to be able to open the place at all, I can’t afford for it all to be called into question.

I look back to the words in the headline.Fiancé.

“Why do the press think they’re engaged?”

“Could be this,” Blair says showing me a photo of Buckie and Annalise on a talk show in the US. I know he has a few to do while he’s there, and he did tell me she would be there too. They have to do them together, it’s in their contracts.

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