Page 119 of Love on the Byline

DID VAL SAUNDERS PLAY MATCHMAKER AT A RECENT EVENT AT THEBEVERLY WILSHIRE? ACCORDING TO REPORTS, SHE WAS SEEN INTRODUCING HIM TO A YOUNGACTOR WHO LEFT THE PARTY DRAPED ALL OVER HIM. IS IT LOVE OR JUST ANOTHER HOOKUP?

The photos were unmistakable—Blake with her arm around Bran’sshoulders as he helped her to the car. Bran, Val, and Blake chatting at theirtable. Ollie was conspicuously cut out of both pics. He did recognize himselfwith Blake on the dance floor, though the shot had been cropped to cut outeverything but his back and shoulder, with her hand there. Another dancerobscured any view of Ollie’s hair or skin, which would have been a deadgiveaway. This was deliberate.

“It’s only a matter of time before other members of thepress figure out who she is,” Rory said, his phone to his ear.

“They know who she is,” he replied, his stomach sinking witha sickening feeling. “They’re just waiting for the right time to release theinformation.”

Bran narrowed his eyes. “The interview?”

“The interview.”

“What the fuck?” Bran said, knitting his fingers atop his head.“What did I do to Sonja that she would go to such lengths to discredit me?Blake is completely innocent in all of this.”

“Bran, you’re only crime was refusing to fuck someone whohadn’t heard the word no in years.”

Rory ran a hand across his mouth. “Okay, let me see if I’veunderstood everything so far. The editor of the Gazette has a personal grudgeagainst you, Bran, and she’s using Blake and the interview as an excuse to digup dirt?”

“She might be hoping Blake will find something juicy to usein the write-up, but there’s no way Blake would do Sonja’s dirty work.”

“Agreed,” Rory said, surprising him. Bran too, apparently.“What? I’m a decent judge of people, and she’s a good sort.”

“She is,” Bran agreed.

“How do we stop her identity from being released? Her colleagueswill drag her through the mud.”

Bran looked down at his phone, buzzing in his hand. “It’sClark.” Rather than put it on speaker, Bran walked to the edge of the pool andtook the call privately.

“He alright?” Rory asked.

“None of us are at the moment.” Ollie looked back towardsthe pool house. There wasn’t any movement inside, and he wondered if Blake hadseen the photos yet. Given how little time she spent on social media, it wasunlikely.

Every cell in his body told him he needed to protect her andkeep her out of harm’s way. The problem was, she was in the thick of it. Therewas no keeping her away, and he knew she’d resent being kept out of the loop.

“I’m going to get Blake,” he said.

“You think that’s wise?”

“If we want to keep breathing,” Ollie replied on his wayover to the pool house.

He found Blake sitting on the floor in her bedroom, her backagainst the bed. Her laptop was open to TinselTalk news where the picture ofher, Bran, and Val was on the front page.

“I thought I was going to get fired,” she said withoutlooking up.

“Would that be a blessing or a curse?” Ollie asked, easingdown to sit by her side. The way her head automatically rested on his shouldershouldn’t have felt as natural as it did.

She gave a soft laugh. “That’s the million-dollar question,isn’t it?”

“What happened?”

She lifted her head and Ollie felt the loss of her heat likea blow.

“My editor, Gideon, is as confused as I am. He saw thephotos and was about to tear me a new one but was instructed to tell meto, and I quote, keep up the good work.” This time her laugh was brittle. “Fuckthis job. Fuck that paper. Fuck it.”

He was glad to see the fight in her. Blake had never beenone to give in easily. “I have some other news that might cheer you up.”

She turned to look at him. “Sonja’s been arrested for havingbad hair?”

He chuckled. “No, but Rory thinks there’s a definiteconnection between that case he worked on in Philly a couple of years back andDiamond Moon.”

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