Page 47 of Girl Going Nowhere

Shakily, I say, “I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t understand.”

It’s better to play dumb instead of giving away any information. The phone calls were from different numbers from New York, California, and a few other states. Nothing from Pennsylvania, where he’s from. Wouldn’t one of his lawyers be from a firm where he lives?

The next thing the woman says makes her sound far less kind. “Ms. Karr, my name is Sophia. I work for Star Magazine. Your name has been brought up by a reputable source of ours regarding a potential affair between you and Mr. Dover that dates back to 2020.”

My eyes widen.What the fuck?The stunned silence doesn’t bode well for me if she’s reading into it, but it’s hard to process. Who would know about me and that asshole? The whole point of him paying me off was so nobody would know a thing.

Clearing my throat, my shoulders tense with alert. “I’m really not sure what you’re talking about. The name sounds vaguely familiar, but—”

“Ms. Karr,” she cuts me off, “You and I both know that we’re talking about the Philadelphia Phillies player. He’s been in the news quite often lately. And one way or another, a story is going to be published about this. I’m giving you the opportunity to tell me what the real Jonathon Dover is like, because I have a feeling it isn’t the one that the media loves to boast about.”

Don’t take the bait,the voice inside my head tells me.

I start walking again, not wanting to miss my train or wait for a new one. “Sophia, I’ve never been a sports fan. The closest I’ve been to a famous person is when I was fifteen and got tickets to a Bon Jovi concert. And, unfortunately, I was in the nosebleeds.”

If she believes it or not doesn’t matter. It’s a white lie. I did go to see Bon Jovi in concert as a teenager, and we had horrible seats. There are bad pictures of me taken by Emily’s mom with the singer in the background. It was her favorite singer, and the three of us had an amazing time.

Every good lie holds a semblance of truth.

I think the tabloid writer sighs, but I’m not entirely sure. “We’ve been told there are pictures that they’re willing to send that could implicate you. I’m not sure what those photos are yet, but if they show you in it, that would be unfortunate for you and this narrative you’re telling.”

Yes, it would be.“Well, I’ve always been told I have one of those recognizable faces. I’d be flattered if somebody thought I could pull somebody who sounds as important asMr. Dover.”

I want to vomit saying that, but I refrain.

Deep down, I’m freaking out. I don’t know what pictures have surfaced or who would have them. He and I have never taken any together because we got right down to business the one time we got together.

She hums. “He’s quite the family man. Rumors like this could change a lot for him and his image if people step forward.”

I’m sure that’s true, but it won’t be me. The last thing I want to do is put Maia on the line just to carry out some vendetta. “Then it sounds like your magazine is about to make quite a bit of money from whatever this is. But I’d like to be left out of the drama. I’m nobody, Sophia. And, frankly, I don’t want to be included in this in any way possible.”

Celebrities get slandered all the time in publications, and some of them have been able to sue. I’m sure if I talked to the right person, I could get this thrown away if that’s what it comes to.

Unless there really are pictures.

But I can’t think about that. Because the possibility of my reality crashing around me is too much to bear. All I want to do is forget about the past and move forward. Save money. Give Maia everything she wants. That’s why I agreed to the arrangement with Dover. I signed on the dotted line and walked away like a good little girl.

“Is that really who you want to be, though? A nobody?” she questions. “A girl going nowhere?”

Those words strike me like an invisible whip.

“If that’s how you see me and my lackluster life, then I suppose it is.” What is my alternative? Selling myself out and being known as the girl who fucked a married man and got pregnant? I’d be dragged through the mud more than he ever would, no matter his part in the messy situation. “I wish you the best of luck with this story, Sophia. But I’ll be of no help to you with it.”

In a sugary sweet tone as fake as mine, she replies, “Thank you for your time, Ms. Karr.”

When the call ends, I stare at my screen and feel my heart drop into the bottom of my stomach. “Fuck,” I whisper aloud, feeling my heart race a little too fast. “Fuck,” I say even louder, clenching my eyes closed.

Anxiety bubbles under my skin for all that could unfold from this. I said nothing. Did everything I was told. Remained silent. But what if Dover and his team don’t believe me if this really makes headlines?

Hands shaking from panic, I put my phone in my pocket and blow out a long breath. “Head in the game,” I tell myself. Maia needs me right now. I can’t break down and risk it all because of one tabloid writer.

Then my phone rings again.

And again.

And again.

And by the time Maia is in bed, sucking her thumb after about three re-reads of her favorite book, I’ve got ten voicemails from different reporters until I break down in the shower where nobody can hear me.

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