|
|
Chapter 12
Kevin finally made it back to the hotel and fortunately the word had not gotten out to the fans yet, because none of them were asking questions about the story. Kevin had the driver stop to pick up a copy of the paper on their way back and he read the whole article. Every detail that he told Claire was in the article. He knew he would have Sam on his back now about this story leaking out.
Kevin walked off the elevator on the 14th floor and all the guys were waiting for him in the hall. Kevin didn’t feel like dealing with anyone, he just wanted to lock himself in his room and be left alone. But he knew he owed the fellas an explanation.
"Kevin, why didn’t you ever tell us about this?" AJ asked.
"Look guys. I made a mistake 5 years ago and there was no need for anyone to ever know about it. I’ve never even seen my son. I pay child support every month and that kept Sam from going to the media." Kevin said as all the guys stood and watched him.
"Now Kevin you seem adamant that Claire was the one that leaked this story. Was there anyone else that you told? Brian asked.
"She is the only person I have ever told about it Brian. I knew her boss was pressuring her from dirt on us, but I never thought she would do this. Look guys. I don’t really feel like talking. I think I’m just going to go workout or something" Kevin said.
"Ok Kevin. You know where we are if you need us." Howie said.
Claire walked off the elevator and stormed into Tom’s office and slammed the door. She threw the entertainment section down on his desk and said, "You care to tell me where in the hell you got this story?" Claire demanded.
"Why you of course." Tom said as he sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.
"Don’t fuck with me Tom. You and I both know that I did not give you this story. Where in the hell did you get it from?" Claire demanded again, her voice rising.
"I can’t tell you how I got the story. Why does your little boyfriend not like the story?" Tom asked.
"Fuck you Tom. Kevin thinks I am the one that leaked the story. Damnit Tom, I love that man and I would never betray him like this." Claire said.
"Well, it’s too late now, the story is out there." Tom said.
"It may be too late to stop the story Tom, but I am not going to let my name go down. I may never get Kevin back after this, but I want to at least clear my name with him." Claire said as she left Tom’s office.
Claire made her way to the elevator and had every intention of speaking to Tom’s boss about what happened. She checked with Bill’s secretary and had to wait a few minutes, but she got in to see Bill.
"Hi Claire, how are things going?" Bill asked, obviously unaware of what was going on.
"This is what is going on Bill. Are we turning into a scandalous tabloid now?" Claire asked.
"I read that story this morning. It’s about time someone dug up some dirt on these guys. There goes their squeaky clean image." Bill said.
"Bill, I was dating Kevin Richardson up until a short while ago. I was the only person that Kevin had told about this and it never went any further than me. Now you tell me how in the hell we got this story if I didn’t leak it?" Claire demanded an answer.
"What do you mean you were dating him?" Bill asked.
"What don’t you understand about it? I was dating him, having sex with him, damnit Bill, I love him." Claire said.
"I had no idea Claire." Bill said, a little stunned.
"Yes well, Tom had an idea and I think he is behind this somehow. What I don’t understand is I am the ONLY person Kevin told about this and now it is showing up in the same paper that I work for. How do you think that looks to Kevin?" Claire asked.
"Well it sure looks like you leaked the story." Bill admitted.
"Yeah, it looks like I did, but I didn’t. I want to know how Tom got this story Bill." Claire said.
"What do you want me to do Claire?" Bill asked.
"Take some action for once in your life time." Claire said as she stormed out of Tom’s office.
Claire decided to head over to the hotel. Kevin probably would not speak to her, but she hoped one of the other guys would talk to her. Half an hour later she walked into the hotel and was relieved to see Brian in the lobby signing autographs. She approached Brian and waited until he looked up. "Just give me a second here Claire." Brian said.
A few minutes later, Brian motioned for Claire to follow him. Claire followed him into the restaurant and sat down across from him at the table. "Brian, I really need to talk to you about what happened with Kevin." Claire said.
"Kevin obviously isn’t listening to your side of the story, so I guess I will give you the benefit of the doubt." Brian said.
"I’m afraid I don’t have much of a story Brian. But I swear on my life that I did not leak the story. I don’t know how they got it Brian." Claire said.
"For some reason I believe you Claire." Brian said.
"Brian, I know everything has happened quickly, but I love Kevin and he means the world to me. Even if I never get him back, I at least want to prove to him that I did not betray him." Claire said.
"How do you plan on doing that?" Brian asked.
"I don’t know. My boss is going to keep claiming that I leaked the story and I am not sure how much support I am going to get from the more senior people." Claire said.
"Well we could certainly get some legal action happening from our end. Kevin hasn’t mentioned anything about a lawsuit, but I am sure it will come up. I will encourage it in fact." Brian said.
"I think I’m going to quit Brian. I don’t want to have anything to do with a paper that is going to print scandalous stories like this and use the methods they do to get stories. I have some ideas about the methods they use, I just have to prove it." Claire said.
"Can I suggest something Claire?" Brian asked.
"Of course. I’m open to any suggestions." Claire replied.
"Don’t quit just yet. Ride it out for a while. It will make it easier to find out the truth that way." Brian suggested.
"You’re right Brian." Claire agreed.
"Look, let’s just keep this between the two of us okay. I don’t want Kevin to know about this." Brian said.
"Sure thing Brian. How is he though?" Claire asked.
"He’s pretty upset Claire. He admitted to us that the story was true, but he doesn’t want to talk about it any further." Brian said.
"You know, I don’t want to have anything to do with the media anymore. I never realized how much they could turn lives upside down." Claire said.
"Well it is a part of our daily lives, just this is the worst story printed yet." Brian said.
"Well I should let you go Brian. I really appreciate your support. This is killing me. We were having a great day until this happened." Claire said sadly.
"It doesn’t look good for you Claire I will admit that, but I'll help you out because I sincerely think you care for Kevin and would never hurt him like this." Brian said as he stood up.
"Thank-you Brian. I appreciate your support. I just hope we can convince Kevin." Claire said.
"Well I think I'm going to go check on Kevin. I'll be in touch Claire." Brian said.
