Page 37 of Head Over Wheels

“After I saw the story that TMZ leaked, I felt it was important to share with you what really happened so you could make your own decisions. I discussed it with the Elevate management team, and they agreed that this was the best way to reach all of you quickly.”

Good sign, that means he probably hasn’t been fired—right?

“Last night I found out that an Elevate member had been stalking another member for the last six months. When I learned about this, I was shocked and upset and urged her to report it to the management team here. She felt like the worst was behind her and was worried that reporting it now would only cause the stalker to become more aggressive. Then this morning, the situation took a turn for the worse.”

You can say that again. A cold sweat breaks out across my forehead. Jeff is totally going to release those pictures now, and everyone is going to hate Jace and know who I am. Why is he doing this?

“When my friend went to meet another friend for coffee this morning, she realized that he was actually the man that had been stalking her. He had spent the weekend befriending her and winning her trust, which is why she was meeting with him. Thankfully they were in a public place, but it was still a very scary situation for her. Once he found out that she knew who he was, he showed her a series of photographs he had taken over the weekend, making it look like we had been up to no good. He told her his plans to blackmail her and myself with these pictures.”

Now Lisa and Tara have both grabbed onto me, even though they’re still riveted by Jace’s video. He pauses now, letting his words sink in for everyone.

“Thankfully she was able to extricate herself from a dangerous situation and immediately came to tell me. I rushed into the cafe, hoping to reason with him, when he got aggressive. I knew that my friend was still in the room and in danger, so I acted to incapacitate him so that we could call in the authorities to detain him.”

There are a lot of oohs around me now. It sounds like everyone loves the idea of a hero coming in to save the day, even though it’s such an antiquated notion.

“I want you to know that I never condone violence of any kind, and I regret that my actions this morning took such a turn. In the end, it was important for me to guarantee my friend’s safety and make sure that we could detain the stalker.

“That’s all I have to say on this topic for now, and I would appreciate privacy for my friend to recover from such a stressful event. I promise you’ll be the first to know when she’s ready to share her identity with all of you. Thanks everyone, and don’t forget to sweat together, bond forever.”

The Instagram Live ends, and the comments start pouring in.

We love you Jace, no matter what!

All Love ??

Jace, we’re behind you!

We support you, Jace!

I close the window and look up to find several sets of eyes staring at me. With a shrug, I try to brush the whole thing off. My friends aren’t having any of it.

“It’s out there now, but I don’t think anyone knows who you are, other than us.” Lisa looks to Tara to confirm.

“I agree, there’s no way anyone would suspect he’s talking about you. You’re good for now. Do you want to stay anonymous?” Tara leans in.

“Um, I’m not really sure yet. I don’t think I need the whole world to know that I had a stalker who came after me this weekend. But I’m okay with people knowing I’m with Jace. If that’s what he wants.” I lift both hands up, unsure.

“Ella, you and Jace will have time to talk it through and figure out how to move on. Right now, he’s given you some time to work it out without everyone else watching your every move,” Alex chimes in and gives me a big smile.

Glancing at her phone, Lisa jumps in. “It looks like everyone is Team Jace too. All the comments on the IG Live are very positive.”

A whoosh of breath that I didn’t know I was holding comes out. “That means that even if Jeff releases the pictures, hopefully no one will care anymore. That’s great news. I didn’t want everyone to hate Jace or think we were cheating.”

“Totally understandable. No one who knew Jace would ever think that though, he’s a stand-up guy.” Alex makes a heart with this hands and winks.

“Speaking of, take a look at who just arrived.” Lisa points across the room.

CHAPTER 28

My eyes are immediately drawn to the entrance, and a smile steals over my face. Jace is walking in, looking relaxed and smiling. He’s wearing dark jeans and a white Henley, and it is sculpted to his chest. My breathing increases at the sight of him. I can’t believe he just did all that for me. He put his whole job and reputation at risk. I’ll have to make sure I tell him how much I appreciate him later.

He heads over to a different table, and I realize it’s the one where Deb is sitting. My smile falters. I assumed he would come over here right away.

Alex leans across Lisa to whisper in my ear. “If he walked over here right away, everyone would know who you were. He’s protecting you.”

I nod my understanding and flash him a grateful look. He’s right, he couldn’t come over here and throw his arms around me, or everyone would know who I was. And it makes sense that he went to see Deb right away. They’re showing everyone that everything is good between them, they’re still friends. Just more debunking of jealous rumours.

My eyes stay glued to their table, but I’m not worried that people will wonder why I’m so interested in his movements because everyone in the entire room is watching him. He’s sitting a couple seats away from Deb, but they’re all talking and laughing. He’s brilliant, really. No one would suspect that last night she was telling me to back off in a bathroom.

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