Noreen reached up and touched her face.
It was burning hot.
ire immediately saw that something was wrong.
After years of being best friends, if she couldn''t spot something like this, their friendship would be pretty superficial.
She crossed her arms. "Fess up. What happenedst night?"
Noreen didn''t know how to begin.
It was too humiliating.
She couldn''t even face herself.
The crucial part was that just a couple of days ago, she had drawn a firm line in the sand with him, and then...
Fate had a twisted sense of humor.
"Was it Mr. Joyner...?" ire asked.
"No," Noreen denied instantly.
Now ire was confused.
If it had been any other man, Noreen would never have reacted this way.
Only one possibility shed through her mind.
Her expression changed drastically. "Was it that jerk Seth?"
Noreen covered her face.
The answer was obvious.
ire felt her blood boil. "Damn it! Raiding my pantry again!"
She wanted to curse a few more times, but seeing Noreen''s tightly knitted brow, she
knew what her friend was worried about. She offered a breezy reassurance. "It''s
fine. Just think of it as a free one-night stand with a gigolo. Not a big deal."
"The key is, I didn''t have to pay."
ire''s lips twitched. "Then think of it as a free night with a hot guy."
ire''s words made something in Noreen''s mind click unexpectedly.
Seth had said something simrst night.
He had said, "Looks like you got me for free again."
Again... what did he mean by that?
Was he holding a grudge?
She had once boasted in front of Jude and Bianca Lowell that she had slept with him for free.
She never thought he''d remember it until now.
Before Noreen could dwell on it, Sandra called.
ire answered, and after listening for just a moment, she exploded. "What the hell? I''m a kept woman? Are they insane? Who''s spreading this crap? Do they have any evidence, or are they just making things up?"
Sandra said, "It''s a top trending topic. It''s obvious someone paid to get it there. A ton
of gossip blogs are all pushing it at the same time, so the impact is huge."
ire had been in the industry for years and had always been kind and professional. Her reputation was impable.
There was only one person who would be willing to spend so much money to smear
her.
Sandra continued, "The articles were publishedtest night and started trending in the early morning, which is why we didn''t catch it right away. Based on our analysis, Madeline posted this smear campaign against you to cover up the fact that she was cut from the charity g''s red carpet. Yesterday, she celebrated too early and sent out press releases about walking the red carpet. She''s afraid of the humiliation of being found out, so she''s using you as a scapegoat."
"That bitch!" ire swore, her usualposure gone.
While ire was on the phone with Sandra, Noreen opened up the trending topic and quickly found the crux of the issue.
Someone had deliberately screenshotted a post of ire''s, then hired people to spin a story around the image and spread it online.
She immediately notified Winrich''s legal and public rtions departments to handle the matter.
Take down the trending topic, issue a statement. First things first.
ire hung up with Sandra, fuming. She unblocked Felix''s number and dialed it directly.
The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.
Just as ire was about to speak, an intensely annoying voice came through the
line.
It was Madeline who had answered the phone.
"Cousin, did you need Felix for something? It''s not a convenient time for him to take your call."
Her sickeningly sweet tone was nauseating.
But this wasn''t the time to be nauseated.
She''d been worried about how to find the culprit, and now the culprit had walked right into the line of fire.
No need to pass along a message.
ire let loose. "You''re the one who posted that smear campaign, aren''t you? Madeline, how much of a bitch can you be?"
Being cursed at, Madeline didn''t seem the least bit angry. She even feigned innocence. "I don''t know what you''re talking about. We''re very busy. Way dont you call backter?"