Page 50 of Girl Going Nowhere

Gripping the back of my neck, I say, “If I didn’t give a shit about anybody else, I’d be just like Dover. It’s bad enough I’ve agreed to go this far.”

“Oh, please. If you were like Dover, you’d be using your position to fuck women and pay them off for their silence. Have you done that?”

Teeth grinding, I grumble, “No.”

“Then you’re nothing like him.”

There’s nothing I can say without her finding an argument, so I clam up. The money will be worth it. It’s more to put toward Mom’s treatment plan once I find a good facility.

Maybe Vanessa is right, though. Dover does whatever he wants because it suits him. I’ve made my choices because it helps my mother.

That has to be good enough.

“Oh, and Rafael?” Vanessa says, pulling me from my head. “When you stop by later, bring the wine I like. We’ll celebrate.”

Nostrils flaring, I sink into my seat. “I had plans tonight with a few of my teammates. The onesyoutold me to befriend.”

A thoughtful noise comes from her. “Cancel them. You’ll be busy.”

Working with her is like signing a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. You have to be careful what you wish for because there will always be consequences.

She’s reminded me of that daily.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Blake

The bottle slipsfrom my hands and gets caught by two quick hands that magically appear out of nowhere. Eyes trailing upward to see who saved what little remains of the wine, I frown when I see how Brodie stares at me.

“Should I ask how much of this you’ve had?” he asks, swirling the cheap liquid I stopped by Liquor Depot to buy after work. He takes a swig of it and makes a face. “This is fucking gross, Blake.”

“It was six dollars,” is my slurred response, reaching out and doing the same grabby hands motion Maia does when she wants something.

Brodie shakes his head, amusement brightening his eyes as he passes it back to me. “Tell me what’s going on. I haven’t seen you drink like this in… ever.”

That’s because I stopped drinking like I used to after having Maia. Minus the first time I ever got drunk on tequila and spilled my biggest secret to my roommates, I rarely drink. When they have beer, I have water.

But my mother has Maia again for the night while I have a mental breakdown here after seeing the magazine rack at the store when I stopped by to pick up something cheap for lunch. The pictures plastered onStar Magazinewere obviously of Jonathon Dover with his hand on the small of a blond girl’s back. Although it’s grainy, the picture of the mystery woman in a familiar green dress is clearly me.

Picking up the stack of magazines I bought off the rack to sell them out, I hold it up for Brodie to read the bold lettering on the front.Mystery Woman Spotted with Jonathon Dover. Read about the affair inside.

Brodie curses, taking the magazines and opening the top one to skim the article.

The next sip of wine I take doesn’t taste nearly as good now that Brodie has pointed out how bad the quality is. “I think something bad is going to happen,” I tell him, wiping my mouth off with the back of my hand as I watch him read. “And my mom is going to tell me ‘I told you so’ and lecture me on every bad decision I’ve ever made.”

I slide off the stool I’ve been occupying and sink onto the kitchen floor, where it’s cool. Pressing the bottle against my overheated skin, I groan when I think about what’s going to unfold in the media.

Brodie’s brows pinch. “They don’t name you or Maia in this,” he tells me, lifting it up as if I haven’t read it a million times. “These pictures could be of anybody. Half the blondes I know look alike.”

A numbness takes over my body. “But I know. You know. Finn. Dante.Him.” If Dover’s team thinks I leaked this information, it could come back on me. I signed an NDA. What if they sue? I have nothing to give them. I’d be screwed.

He tugs up the material of his jeans to squat down so we’re at eye level. “That’s barely anybody in the grand scheme of things, Blake. What’s the worst that can happen? This could have been so much worse for you, but they’re putting the blame on him.”

My jaw quivers, and I say the words I hoped I’d never have to. “But that journalist knew my name, which means theyknowit’s me. Somebody out there outed me. This isn’t over. I can feel it. And if… if Dover thinks I had something to do with it, he could come after me and Maia and make my life hell. I can’t afford that.”

He takes my hand, weaving our fingers together and stroking my skin to calm me down. “I understand why you’re upset, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“I keep getting calls from people that are going to break other stories about him,” I murmur, pulling my hand away and cuddling into the wine bottle. I’m starting to regret drinking as much as I have because I feel nauseous. “I don’t know why they didn’t name me, but somebody still could. I messed up so bad, Brodie.”

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