Scandal

Chapter 12

Peyton was finally back home. She unpacked, did laundry and cleaned her house. Now she sat in her living room missing Tom. She thought back to when she left London just yesterday. He couldn't take her to the airport without both being noticed and they wanted to say their good byes privately. She stood at the door with her luggage.

He pulled her in his arms. "I'll miss you darling."

Peyton tried to be brave and not cry but hearing those words made her lose control. She hugged him tightly. "I love you."

He pulled away from her, cradled her face with his hands and brought her in for a slow, lingering kiss. "I love you too. I'll see you in a few days."

She nodded her head. Before she broke down again, she turned and walked out to meet Luke who was taking her to the airport.

Peyton was brought back from her thoughts by wiping her eyes. Claire had sent her a text when she arrived back to the states. She told her how Felicity not only had Gavin upload the pictures but also had a recording of Zach confessing his affair with Zawe. She could try to explain away the pictures but now with the audio, Zawe and her agent had to do massive damage control. She had texted Tom a vague message to call her when he woke up. She needed to warn him before this all hit the fan.

Peyton finally turned the ringer on her phone. She had so many text messages and emails from multiple people asking for a comment. Peyton went to her computer and just put Zawe's name in the search engine and immediately the scandal popped up. Groaning, she shut down her computer. Her phone was ringing, it was Tom video chatting.

"Hi baby!" she said with a smile.

"Do you need to tell me something?" he asked. His face was stern.

"Are you alone?" she asked.

"Of course I am," he answered, insulted.

"I didn't mean it like that." She rolled her eyes. "I meant can anyone else hear our conversation." He shook his head. "I sent the package to Claire but I had no idea about the recording. It seems Felicity did some of her own detective work."

"Your friends are truly a force to be reckoned with," Tom said.

"We take care of each other. Tom, I'm sorry it went down like this."

He raked his fingers through his hair. "Can it be traced back to anyone?"

Peyton shook her head. "It was handled very thoroughly. Are you upset?"

"I was at first but this will put a stop to her tactics and now we can finally be out in the open. I miss you."

"I miss you too. Do you think she'll reach out to you?"

At that moment, his phone buzzed. He looked down to see a few missed calls from Zawe and two text messages. "She is right now."

"What are you going to do?" she asked while biting her lower lip.

"Deny everything. We all have to. I'll have to act like the duped fiancé." His phone buzzed again. "Would you mind if I took this call?"

Peyton shook her head. "Get it over with. I love you."

He winked at her. "I love you too."

Tom hung up with Peyton and switched over to answer Zawe's call. Time to act. "Zawe?" he answered.

"Oh Tom. I'm so sorry you had to find out this way. I wanted to tell you," she said between sobs.

Tom held his anger in check. He wasn't even sure if she was crying real tears or was it all a ploy. "I'm stunned. I had no idea. And with Zachary of all people. One of my best friends."