“I have a few minutes.” She unlocked her door and pushed it open, gesturing for him to go in. “About what?”
“You’re in the news.”
She dropped her purse and bag onto the desktop. He was talking about the article that’d run about her. Chase had sent her the link yesterday and she’d read it, both unimpressed by how little the author knew about her and frustrated that their relationship had been scandalized.
Flirting with disaster?the tag line had read.
If Chase could ignore it, so could she.
“It’s not the news, Darren,” she said, but accepted his cell phone anyway. She frowned. The article on the screen wasn’t the one she’d read.
“What is this?” she asked rhetorically. The blogger called herself The Dallas Duchess. It seemed the so-called duchess had been granted access to those sneakily snapped photos in Chase’s driveway. There were three, one of Chase outside on the phone and glaring, and since he was in protective mode over Mimi, she found that glare disturbingly sexy. Another photo showed him pulling her away from the door. The lead photo captured her own wide eyes and slackened jaw—easily misconstrued as guilt—while Chase stood behind her, jaw set and eyes narrowed.
Mayor Chase Ferguson Stokes an Old Flame.
She wedged her teeth together, uncomfortable with the adjective old but she refused to give this the reaction that was warranted. Which, by Miriam’s estimations, involved writing a lengthy letter of response to the so-called duchess with explicitly detailed instructions on how to extract her head from her backside.
Miriam handed back the phone and gave Darren an amiable smile. “Thanks for telling me.”
“Don’t you want to read the article, M-Miss Andrix?”
“No, thank you, Darren. I’m sure it’s packed with lies. You shouldn’t give them the hits on their website.” She winked to let him know she wasn’t upset, even though she was. What an antiquated idea to blame the woman for a man’s demise.
“It says that you and Chase had a wild affair ten years ago and that you’re pulling him into your clutches again.” Darren cleared his throat and read from the article. “‘Her sights set on Chase’s billions to forward her own causes, Miriam—’” he glanced up briefly “—sorry, I mean, M-Miss Andrix ‘plans on keeping our mayor on the hook until she bends him to her will. The duchess has always been a fan of the Fergusons, and in this egregious case I’m firmly Team Chase. Miriam—’” Darren mumbled another apology for using her first name “‘—if you’re reading, leave our beloved mayor alone and find someone in your own hometown to manipulate.’”
“What the hell?” Losing her facade of calm, she snatched Darren’s phone and scanned the article for more damning accusations. She found plenty. It went on about how Chase was “unbribable” when it came to money but Miriam wasn’t above “using sexual favors to ensnare him.” There was even mention of ten years ago and how she’d tried to fit into his life in Dallas but it hadn’t worked out.
So. Not an article pitting Chase and Miriam against the world, but rather one in his defense, against the trollop who had “ensnared” him. This blog wasn’t antiquated. It was prehistoric.
Numb, Miriam returned his phone and mumbled an apology. Darren offered to avenge her honor by leaving a firmly worded comment on the blog, which was sweet, but she declined.
“Thanks for letting me know,” she repeated, this time walking him to her office door. She spared a smile through the crack before shutting him out.
Okay, so Chase hadn’t been overreacting. She palmed her own cell phone and shakily dialed his number.
“Mimi.”
“Our photos are on the Dallas Duchess’s blog.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Yes. Emmett called me this morning. I didn’t think word would reach you so soon.”
“You can thank my secret admirer.”
“Who’s that?” His stiff tone made her smile.
“He’s fifteen. Has asthma. Stutters my name.” She liked that Chase sounded slightly jealous, even though she shouldn’t. “Did you read it?”
“Yes.”
“How does anyone other than our friends and families know we were together that summer?”
“Hard to say. Someone could have called your acquaintances, or your former workplace. It’s not as hard to uncover paychecks and flight records as you’d think.”
Apparently not.