Chapter 130

Diana and I went for a run that evening before I could sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about Amy and Justin.

Would Justin tell her about our conversation? And will Amy be mad at me because I knew for weeks that Justin is an Alpha, and I didn’t tell her?

I woke up that morning with it still on my mind.

After getting ready for school, I checked on Alex and grabbed a bagel before going outside to see if Joe was ready to take me to school yet.

Joe had the car ready, so I ate my bagel on the way. I was still chewing on half of it when I got out of the car and spotted Amy near the tree where we always met in the morning.

Her eyes were on her phone screen, and she didn’t see me walking toward her.

Did she know about Justin yet?

That question was answered when I got to her side, and she looked up at me with a brilliant smile.

“Good morning, Daisy,” she said. “Eew, are you eating that bagel plain and untoasted? That’s like eating cardboard.”

“I was, um …in …in a hurry,” I stammered. “I overslept.”

“You should’ve stayed in bed,” she said. “You still look exhausted. You’re not coming down with something, are you?”

“No. I’m not sick,” I said. “I just had a rough time getting to sleep last night.” I watched her type a message into her phone. “Are you talking to Justin?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “He texted me first thing this morning and said he wants to talk to me after school today. But he won’t give me any clues about what he wants to talk about.”

All I could say was, “Oh.”

“And he acted really weird last night when he stopped in at my dad’s restaurant while I was working,” she said. “He had something on his mind but wouldn’t talk about it.”

I was saved by the bell again when it was time to go inside to our homerooms.

But Amy was still in a good mood at lunchtime. When I sat across from her and told her William was going to join us again, she gave me a sly smile.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with him,” she hinted. “Is there anything going on?”

“We’re just friends,” I replied. “You know I wouldn’t do anything like that while I’m still engaged to Victor.”

“Yeah, but….”

She went silent when William slid into the seat next to me.

“Hey there, girls,” he said. “How’s your day going so far, Amy.”

“It’s going,” she replied. “What are you teaching Daisy today?”

“Commercial banking regulations,” he told her.

“Yawn.” Amy giggled. “I think I’ll watch that new reality show on my phone while you teach Daisy all about that boring stuff.”

William began going over the information with me while Amy watched her show. The regulations were a jumble of unfamiliar terms and legal jargon, but William explained them in a way I could understand.

I was leaning close to him to see a graph in the book better when I noticed the room was buzzing even more than usual.

What was everybody talking about?

I started to look around in case I was missing something, but William called my attention to the next page in the book.

By the time lunch was over, I had a basic idea of the information William was trying to teach me.

Amy and I went to werewolf training class after lunch. It was my last class of the day. Afterward, while we were in the locker room, I told her to call me later if she wanted to talk.

I crossed my fingers and hoped she was still speaking to me after talking to Justin.

Then I went to the office to sign out before going outside to meet Victor.

But as I approached the gate, I was ambushed by reporters.

“Miss Wilson, is it true that you are breaking your engagement to Victor Klein?” one reporter shouted.

“Miss Wilson, how long have you been cheating with William James, the school’s star football player?” another asked.

Oh, my Goddess! What was going on? My mind spun as I stood frozen, not knowing what to do.

Why were they asking me these questions? I had done nothing wrong!

I tried to keep walking, but several of them blocked my way.

One of them held a microphone in my face. “Miss Wilson, do you want to make a statement about your romantic relationship with William James?”

“I … I don’t know wh …what you’re talking about,” I stammered as I tried to back away from the microphone. “William and I …I are just friends.”

By answering one question, I had set off a feeding frenzy. The gaggle of reporters began shouting more questions and pressing closer to me.

I began to shake, and my heart pounded in my chest. I thought I had mastered my fear of the press. But this group was the worst of the tabloid reporters.

They were determined to get a story that would shock and enthrall their readers. Today, I was that story.

But I had forgotten about Victor, who was waiting for me at the gate.

“Excuse me,” Victor said as he pushed through the crowd. He put his arms around me and pulled me close. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

I nodded and buried my face in his shoulder.

“Mr. Klein, did you know your fiancée has a close relationship with William James?” a reporter shouted.

Victor kissed the top of my head before answering. “Daisy and I are both good friends with William James.”

“Did you know William and Daisy were seen huddled together in the school cafeteria today,” a reporter asked Victor.

“I asked William to help Daisy study for an important test she must take before she can become the CEO of her father's company.” Victor rolled his eyes. “So, I suppose they could have been huddled together over a book.”

Some of the reporters laughed.

“If you’ll excuse us, please, we must be going,” Victor said. “Thank you for your time, but there is nothing here except rumors.”

With his arm around my shoulders, Victor led me to the Lamborghini and opened the passenger door for me.

“Look at me and smile,” he whispered.

I did as he said as the reporters took photos of us.

Who started the rumors? There had to be a spy in the school.

Victor closed the car door and made his way to the driver’s seat. He started the car’s engine and threw a wave at the reporters as we pulled from the curb.

We drove in silence to Alex‘s office building.

“Thank you for getting me out of there,” I said as Victor pulled the car into a parking spot.

“We’ll talk about it upstairs,” he said.

We took the elevator still without speaking. He led the way into my office and closed the door.

“I’m sorry if you were embarrassed,” I said. “I don’t know why they came after me like that today.”

Victor stood in front of me and put a hand on each of my shoulders.

“This is what I have been warning you and William about,” Victor said as he looked into my eyes. “And not just for my sake.”

“Do you think John Cameron was behind it?”

“Absolutely,” he replied. “Daisy, he will pull any dirty trick he can think of to take over Wilson, Inc. Public opinion is a strong weapon. You have to keep it on your side.”

“But you were right about what you said to the reporters,” I said. “All William and I were doing was studying in the cafeteria.”

“I know that,” he said. “But you have to be more careful. Keep some distance between you in public. You are being closely watched. Please don’t give the tabloids anything to feed on, especially when the company's fate is in the balance.”

“I’ll be more careful from now on,” I promised. “I’m sorry if you were embarrassed at the school.”

“I’m more worried about how it could harm you while you’re trying to become CEO,” he said. “As unfair as it is in our society, cheating affects a female’s reputation much worse than it does a male’s.”

“Well, thank you for helping me with the reporters,” I said. Victor was always there for me.

“You are welcome, as always.”

We sat down at my desk and went over the banking regulations that William and I were working on at lunch.

An hour later, both our phones vibrated almost simultaneously. We checked our text messages and were surprised at what we found.

Alex wanted to speak with Victor as soon as possible, and Lana wanted a meeting with me tonight.

What was going on now?

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