Page 6 of The Secrets We Treasure
Alyssa turned to the camera. “I wish you folks at home could smell Treasure’s perfume. It’s divine.” Alyssa pursed her lips, her expression turning serious. “You and Neil Jessop. What happened?”
A wave of relief rolled over Treasure. Was this Alyssa’s version of grilling? If so, Treasure was in good shape. “Neil is a fun person to be around,” she began, settling into her seat. “He has a talent for living in the moment.” That was a diplomatic way of saying that Neil was a pompous jerk. He’d gone on the show to launch his music career. He picked Treasure as the winning bachelorette because of her squeaky-clean reputation. And, it didn’t hurt that she was the viewers’ favorite.
“Does Neil live up to his bad-boy rep?” Alyssa asked with a gleam in her eye.
Treasure laughed easily. “Now, Alyssa,” she drawled. “You know I could never tell you that. I suppose Neil’s actions will have to speak for him.”
A mild trace of annoyance flashed over Alyssa’s face, suggesting that she didn’t appreciate Treasure dodging her questions. “Are you referring to his recent DUI or the brawl at the bar that landed him in jail?”
“I wish Neil well, I truly do. The two of us were just going in different directions.” There. She’d neatly sidestepped the question without saying anything damaging. Thankfully, Treasure and Ethan had anticipated this line of questioning and had role-played various scenarios. The faint lines around Alyssa’s mouth tightened. Treasure could almost see the wheels turning in the reporter’s head. She was determined to find a chink in Treasure’s armor. Unease trickled down Treasure’s spine. Maybe she should’ve acted flustered over Neil so Alyssa would feel like she’d uncovered some dirt. Treasure’s initial assumption was that Alyssa would ask easy questions first and save the hard ones for last. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe Alyssa intended to come out swinging.
Alyssa tipped her head thoughtfully, causing her tresses to slide down her arm. Her hair was so silky and shiny, making Treasure want to know what type of hair products she was using. She was working with chemists and a product-development company to produce a hair and skincare line. Treasure wanted to go with the natural and avoid using parabens. Also, she didn’t believe in testing products on animals. Ethan was concerned that the profit margins might not be as good with the natural products as the synthetic. While that was probably true, Treasure wanted to make sure that any products put out under her name were of the highest quality.
Lately, it seemed that Ethan and Treasure spent most of their time arguing. The root of the problem wasn’t their differing opinions about the products but rather that Ethan kept pressing her to be more than friends. Dating him in the past was a mistake. It was over a long time ago—almost as quickly as it had begun, but Ethan couldn’t seem to come to terms with that. Now Treasure found herself in the awkward predicament of working with him on a daily basis while keeping the lines of their relationship clearly drawn. Treasure felt a sense of obligation to Ethan. He was a brilliant manager and had guided her to stardom. Also, she appreciated Ethan taking the helm in working directly with the manager over the product lines and Treasure’s social media team. On a personal level, Treasure was growing increasingly frustrated with Ethan. The more she pulled away from him, the more controlling he became, making her feel stifled.
“You said that you and Neil were going in different directions. How so?”
Treasure blinked, forcing her mind back to the task at hand. She’d let her mind wander. Not good. She scrambled to process the question. Oh, yeah. It was about her and Neil going in different directions. That was a laugh. She and Neil had never been on the same page. He’d seemed like a nice enough guy on the show. After it was over, the mask came off, revealing the self-centered, egotistical playboy underneath.
“Neil and I want different things out of life … have different priorities.”
“Are you referring to your son, Tray?”
Treasure tensed, not wanting to talk about her son on national TV. However, if Alyssa detected her reticence, she’d pepper Treasure with probing questions. It was better to act like it was no big deal so that Alyssa would move on to another topic. “Yes, partly.”
“Tray’s nine years old, is that correct?”
Treasure nodded, biting back her irritation. Did Alyssa have zero scruples? Surely she must realize that Treasure would want to protect Tray, especially considering the break-in. She had to nip this in the bud by steering the conversation in a different direction. “There’s always that make-or-break point in a relationship where you have to ask yourself, Do I see myself with this person for the rest of my life?”
“So you reached that point with Neil, and he didn’t make the cut?” Alyssa’s voice was soft and taunting.
“Our breakup was a mutual decision,” Treasure countered easily. She wrapped a peppy smile over her lips. “The good news is that Neil and I are still friends.”
“I’m sure viewers are relieved to hear that,” Alyssa responded with a note of irony as she looked into the camera like she was best buds with the viewers. “Shifting gears here, you and your son had quite the scare a few months ago when an intruder tried to break into your home. Tell me what happened.”
Ethan had assured Treasure that he’d spoken with Alyssa’s people, and they guaranteed him that Alyssa wouldn’t bring up the break-in. Hot, molten anger bubbled in her chest before expanding to her cheeks. She wanted to jump up and flee the scene, but she couldn’t very well do that. She had to remain poised. She moistened her lips, keeping her voice calm and conversational. “As you mentioned, I was home alone with my son, and an intruder tried to enter my home by breaking a window.” The harrowing events were seared into her mind. She still had nightmares, as did Tray.
Alyssa shuddered. “That’s terrible. What happened?” Her voice held a breathy edge of anticipation.
“I called 911, but thankfully, the house alarm went off and scared the man away.”
“The police apprehended a suspect who was found nearby.”
“Yes.”
Alyssa glanced down at the notebook in her lap before looking back at Treasure. “A man by the name of Leo Clark was questioned and then later released.”
“That’s correct.”
Alyssa pressed her lips together in concern. “So, you still don’t know who broke into your home. Or if the attack was random or specifically targeted to you.”
“No, I don’t.” After the night of the break-in, the stalking texts and emails had stopped. Forty-one-year-old Leo Clark was found a few blocks from Treasure’s home, wearing a black hoodie and jeans. Leo lived in a lower-middle-class section of Philly and claimed that he’d driven the twenty-five minutes to Treasure’s neighborhood for his nightly walk. Leo’s story was flimsy, but the police didn’t have enough to hold him. Leo was a computer tech for a local company. The assumption was that Leo had become infatuated with Treasure and was sending the texts and emails. He certainly had enough tech knowledge to cover his tracks. Because the texts and emails stopped so suddenly after Leo’s arrest, detectives ascertained that Leo had gotten scared and backed off.
Not comfortable with the apathetic stance of the police, Treasure hired a private detective to investigate Leo. The findings were unsettling. Leo was divorced with three kids. He’d gotten fined several times for failure to pay child support. In addition to an ex-wife, he had an ex-girlfriend who’d filed a restraining order against him, claiming that he hit her. The detective and police on the case could find no proof of Leo being the stalker, so Treasure found herself back at square one.
Right after the break-in, Treasure hired bodyguards. However, that grew tedious, and it seemed excessive considering that the threats had stopped. Eventually, Treasure let the bodyguards go. All seemed to be okay now, but the last thing Treasure wanted was to incite the stalker by talking about it on TV. She could slap Ethan for insisting that she do this interview.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that ordeal,” Alyssa purred, giving Treasure a piteous look. “The price of stardom can be high.”
