“Lady, he’s not dicking Jennifer,” Maddox snapped. “How many ways do you need that?”
“You’re rude,” Valerie snapped.
“Says the woman shoving a microphone in my friend’s face demanding to know about where he’s spending his nights and his sperm.” Maddox folded his arms. “You can quote that.”
“And what about you? There’s a rumor about you and Gilli Podansky, and your hot nights.”
“Gilli? From Bless the Snow? The group that blew us off halfway through our last tour and left us high and dry in Berlin, short an entire hour and a half of set lists and show? Yeah, no. That bitch can lick her own asshole for entertainment for all I care.”
“But you were spotted together—”
“Coming out of the courtroom, last week because we’re suing the shit out of them for abandoning their contract,” Maddox said.
“So, you were together—”
“Wow, you are really twisting this for him,” I said. “We’re out here signing autographs for fans, and he’s telling you that he’s not going anywhere near that woman.” I glanced at Maddox. “I remember that. You are so justified in being pissed about that.”
“Then what about you?” Valerie said, turning on me. “I have it from a good source that you’re gay and have had an NDA handed out about it.”
The whole world spun and tilted on its axis, and if Nelson hadn’t been standing next me, I would have gone down. He never let anyone see that he was the reason I didn’t hit the ground.
“What the actual fuck, lady,” Nelson snapped. “Are you trying to piss us all off?”
“What is wrong with you?” Maddox growled.
In a smooth motion, Danny pulled the three of us back into the entrance hall and slammed the door. He had a cell phone to his ear and ended the call a moment later.
“Sorry. When I heard her go after you, Mister Powers, I called the cops. She’s a nasty piece of work.”
Out of view of Valerie and her camera, Nelson and Maddox slipped me into a chair and blocked my view of the door. Danny walked down the hall and I could hear him rattling around.
Maddox knelt. “Dude, are you okay?”
I shook my head in the negative. “I don’t think so.”
Danny appeared with bottles of water for each of us as the doors to the elevator opened and a bunch of people came spilling out.
Uriah, Bryce, and Taylor were there first.
“Austin…” Taylor said.
I looked at Uriah, then the rest of the group and back to him. “Someone talked. Someone broke the NDA. I think I’ve been outed.”
I suddenly couldn’t breathe, and a moment later, I fainted.
Uriah
We spent the nextfour days combing the papers and the internet for any signs of Valerie Boyd’s story.
There were only a few mentions here and there, and they were just in passing, focusing more on her arrest for harassment.
Nothing seemed to blow up.
In some sick way, I wanted it to. Then I could feel right in supporting Austin. But that was not the way he needed to deal with this. It wasn’t right that this woman talked.
“Who broke the NDA?” Noah whispered, tapping his finger on the water bottle. “Someone who was there broke it.”
“They’ll do it again until someone picks it up and runs with it,” I added.
