Flipped: Back Again (L.T. Sequel to Flipped)

Chapter 27: Forgive and Forget

"Oh, the Office is on. Let's do that." Eleanor says giddily as I turn the channel.

We decided to have a lazy day together and relax given all the madness around us; but that was quite short-lived. Instead, I received a call to go into the downtown office today. It was odd given that it was a Sunday afternoon and anything official was usually taken care of the following Monday. William stressed the importance of the matter so I had no choice but to leave in a hurry. I quickly changed into more appropriate attire and hopped in the car. The traffic was mild and when paired with the radio seemed to fly by in minutes. Next thing I knew, I was pulling into the parking garage and headed to the elevator. Walking through the hallway, I could feel the buzz of the office. People were on call, temps were making prints and copies or rushing to file more paperwork and run back to their assigned offices, but my team members were no where in sight. Surely I was missing something here.

When I finally reach the meeting room, William is in there along with other members of the assembly. The conversation stops when I open the door and all eyes fall on me. "Please, don't let me ruin the party." I take a seat by a woman named Lynn and give William the O.K. to proceed.

"Okay, so we need to squash these rumors immediately and handle it with caution. We don't need a scandal on our hands or we'll lose credibility of the name we've built." He says sternly, eyeing me. "You." He points in my direction. "What the hell were you thinking."

"I-"

"How could you be so careless. Louis, I've never interfered with your personal life but dammit, I asked if you could at least keep it under wraps and out of sight."

"I'm sorry Will, but I don't have a clue what you're talkin' about, mate." Scanning the room, I notice all the disapproving looks coming my way and I'm left more confused than ever. A scandal? I haven't done anything wrong. I thought this was a matter with the team, not me. If I had known I was going to be scolded for some imaginary crime, I would've kept with my joggers and not my good pants. At least then I'd be more comfortable.

"You recently got engaged, yes?" He begins pacing back and forth.

"Yes.." How'd he know. I didn't get a chance to tell him yet.

"You wanna know how I know?" He asks rhetorically. "I'll tell ya- it's b'cause this future wedding is already being called a sham!"

"But how?" I retort. "N'body knows about it but some family and close friends." I stress to him, seriously needing a beer. This is the last thing I expected to hear today. I would have much rather preferred the possible injury of one of my players, or an investor who's suddenly decided to pull out; but this attack on my personal life couldn't be more random and I don't need the unnecessary drama- I have enough.

"I'd mind who you speak to then. You and the missus." He clips, grabbing a tablet. "Take a look at this. It hasn't been published yet but it will be soon. We need to come up with a rebuttal." William slides it over to my side of the table. I don't need to open the bloody thing to see the main story. I've apparently made the headlines.

'One last stand before he ties the knot.. Louis Tomlinson back to old habits.. A secret mistress'

I roll my eyes. Somebody's obviously bored and the tabloids need to create some buzz in order to increase their sales. This isn't the first time I've been made the star of some ridiculous story they've conjured up and I knew at some point they would come after me again. It doesn't matter how many charity functions I host, or the amount of money I donate; I could feed the whole damn world and still have someone bring up my past and try to discredit the man I am today. I can't imagine who they've probably paired me up with now.