Chapter 13

Kevin was just getting out of the shower after his workout. He was not feeling any better about what had happened earlier. He had never been hurt so badly by someone before. Kevin had lost all respect for the media in general. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He opened the door to find Brian standing there.

"Can I come in?" Brian asked.

Kevin simply walked away and left the door open. Brian walked in and closed the door behind him. "How ya doing Kevin?" Brian asked.

"How in the hell do you think I'm doing?" Kevin replied.

"Come on Kevin. Calm down. Getting angry at me is not going to help the situation." Brian said, trying to reason with Kevin.

"I'm sorry Brian. I don't mean to take it out on you. But I don't know what to do." Kevin said as he slumped down onto the bed.

"Why don't you talk about it?" Brian suggested.

"What is there to talk about Kevin. She betrayed me, plain and simple." Kevin said.

"Are you sure she did?" Brian presented.

"Brian, I have never told anyone else about this before. It had to be her." Kevin said.

"Kevin, we know how manipulative the media is. Did you ever consider that Claire didn't leak the story?" Brian said.

"What are you suggesting Brian? That Claire's apartment was bugged or something. I can't believe you're taking her side." Kevin said.

"I won't lie to you Kevin. I was just with Claire downstairs. She is just as outraged about this as you are. Kevin I honestly believe she has been a victim of the media as well. You can't tell me that it's impossible. She was dating a Backstreet Boy afterall." Brian said.

"And what are you getting at Brian?" Kevin asked.

"I say you launch a lawsuit and an investigation into this story." Brian suggested.

"Oh I definitely plan on suing the paper." Kevin replied.

"Will you consider an investigation as well Kevin? Claire almost quit her job at the paper today because of this story. But I have convinced her to stay on until this has been straightened out. It is better to have her on the inside." Brian said.

"I can't believe you are saying this." Kevin said.

"Kevin, I'm just capable of being a little more open-minded about this I suppose. Please just go along with this. You don't have to deal with Claire at all if you don't want to." Brian said.

"Fine, I'll go along with it." Kevin said.

"I'm sure Claire will thank-you." Brian said.

"I'm certainly not doing this for Claire." Kevin said.

"Whatever your reason is Kevin, I think it's a good idea." Brian said as he walked towards the door.

Kevin locked the door behind Brian and turned on the TV. Could Brian be right? What if Claire was innocent and she was a victim in this as well. Kevin usually was the type of person to give someone a chance to explain their side of the story, but he certainly did not give Claire that chance. Kevin decided to let things go for a couple days and wait to hear back from Brian. He certainly was not ready to face Claire already.

*****

Claire went into work for the remainder of the afternoon. She was in no shape to stay at home and think about Kevin. She had too much work to do and figured she was better off emotionally at work.

Claire was getting a lot accomplished until she overheard a few women in the office talking about the story that they ran on Kevin. Claire tuned into the conversation to hear what people were saying. The consensus between the two women was they felt sympathy for Kevin for having this kind of personal information revealed. Claire really paid attention when she heard the women talk about the source of the story.

"Do you have any idea how they got the story?" one woman inquired.

"I know Tom was behind it, but I know nothing more than that." Claire heard the other woman say before they walked away.

The ringing of the telephone interrupted Claire's thoughts. Claire answered the phone, "The New York Times, Claire Woodrich speaking." Claire said.

"Finally found you Claire. It's Brian calling. I talked to Kevin earlier this afternoon." Brian said.

"And?" Claire asked.

"He is still pretty upset about the whole thing, but he has agreed to launch an investigation." Brian said.

"Do you think he would talk to me Brian? This is killing me." Claire inquired.

"I think it's best if you just let him be for a few days. Denise spoke to someone named Bill at the paper just a few minutes ago and he has agreed to launch an investigation. He told Denise that you had approached him about the story earlier in the day. Bill has ensured Denise that he will get down to the bottom of this." Brian said.

"Well I guess I just sit around and wait." Claire said.

"If I hear anything Claire. I'll be in touch." Brian said before he hung up the phone.