Illicit Affairs

Chapter 27

"What do you mean it's all over the news Chase? What's going on?" I demanded, feeling my chest begin to tighten as a surge of panic coursed through me. I now remembered my phone blowing up earlier and wondered if that was the reason.

Picking up my phone, I saw dozens of alerts from social media linked to an article posted by TMZ. This was very bad. Among the notifications were several text messages from Ryan and a few others.

Ryan:
It's out Mia. I don't know how. Call me and let me know you are okay.

I just talked to Chase. He's on his way to the office. It's gonna be okay baby. Call me.

There were dozens of others just taunting me, and more coming through as the phone vibrated in my hand. A wave of red flashed over my eyes and I could hear the rush of blood through my ears. In a fit of rage, I hurled my phone across the room. Hearing it shatter gave me no satisfaction. The question of whether or not to tell Jimmie no longer mattered. It was out now. I was wrong yesterday when I thought my life had imploded. That was just the tip of the iceberg. This was the full fledged implosion or maybe even explosion. Who the fuck knows anymore? And how the hell had the news gotten out?

"There was some kind of journal...it was your mothers. Someone found it and leaked it to TMZ." Chase answered the question I hadn't even asked out loud. But who leaked it? The only ones who had seen it were me, Ryan and my grandfather. Why the hell would my grandfather leak something he had spent twenty seven years trying to cover up? It made absolutely no sense. Someone had to have found it between yesterday and this morning but who?

I saw Chase typing on his phone. He looked up at me with a grim expression. "We need to get you out of here, but the media is surrounding the exit by the parking lot. I'm going to call Ryan and have him meet us here and we will sneak you out through the front somehow. Alan is watching the front right now.

I heard him talking to someone that I assumed was Ryan but too many thoughts were running through my head to even pay attention to what was being said. It wasn't until Chase pulled off the NAPA hoodie he was wearing over his T-shirt and handed it to me that I snapped somewhat back to reality.

"Put this on, tuck in your hair and pull the hood up. Ryan is on his way. Alan said there's only one or two media members by the front so he's going to try and distract them while I sneak you out." Chase said to me and I barely registered his words. All I knew was that a shitstorm had formed outside and I was right in the eye of it.

"Mia, it's Alex. Let me in." I heard the pounding on my office door. What the hell does he want? Is he here to rub it all in my face and let me know that karma has arrived to kick me while I'm down?

Seeing red, I threw open the office door. I jabbed him in the chest with my finger. "Are you the one responsible for this Alex? Was our truce just a way of getting me to let my guard down while you plotted a way to take me down?" I accused, not even thinking rationally.

His face looked crestfallen and I felt it in my gut that he was not responsible for this.

"God no Mia. I may have done some shitty things to you in the past, but I have honored our truce. I would never do this to you and certainly not to Jimmie." He replied, aghast over the thought that I would even accuse him of something so underhanded.

"Come in Alex." Chase said, inviting him in and closing the door behind him. "We need your help."

"What can I do?" He asked. His eagerness to be of assistance made my apprehension melt away.

"A friend is coming to the front to pick Mia up. Alan is gonna help distract any media out there while I sneak her out. I need you to go around to the back by the parking lot and distract anyone there. Maybe tell them Mia isn't in the office." Chase said to Alex. I noticed he said "friend", as if he didn't even want Alex to know who was picking me up.