Page 113 of The Keeper

I was restless, puttering around the house by myself that weekend, so I threw my focus into my tour guide planning instead. I had an interview for a paid volunteer position on Monday, and I spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday prepping.

On Monday, I snuck out the back of the house incognito for the interview. It was at an animal rescue center, which wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do, but it’d provide me with valuable experience that I could later leverage for a more relevant job. It also paid a small stipend, and extra cash was always nice.

I arrived ten minutes early and checked in. The interviewer quickly came out to get me, and if she recognized me from the tabloids, she didn’t mention it.

Our hour together flew by. We vibed extremely well, and honestly, it felt good to finally be out of the house. I was starting to get cabin fever.

When the interview ended, I was almost sure I’d gotten the role.

“You certainly know your stuff,” the older woman said, sounding impressed. “Thank you so much for coming in. We’ll be in touch shortly with next steps.”

Next steps? That had to mean I was in, right?

I rose with a smile and shook her hand. “Thank you. It was a pleasure,” I said politely, but I was cheering on the inside.

I walked back to the reception area, my steps lighter than they’d been in weeks. Finally. Something good⁠—

“Carina!” A man with a shock of spiky, platinum-blond hair barreled into the office. He was trailed by a shorter, stockier guy holding a phone on a gimbal.

My interviewer came out to see what the commotion was about, and the two of us watched, mouths agape, as the blond skidded to a halt in front of me.

“Guys, we found her!” he crowed to his phone—or rather, whoever was watching on the other side. “As you may know, this is Carina Vu, nanny-turned-paramour for none other than Blackcastle’s star keeper, Noah Wilson. Wilson is American, but with heightened football fever sweeping England, all eyes are on one of the Premier League’s top players. Carina, what do you have to say about your relationship with Noah and rumors that you’re pregnant with his twins?” He shoved a fuzzy mini microphone in my face.

I froze, my heart crashing against my ribs. The cheerful front office suddenly felt like a cage.

This couldn’t be happening. Not here. Not now. This had to be a nightmare.

“Excuse me! Who are you and what are you doing here?” the receptionist demanded. She’d returned from the loo, and she stared at the newcomer with outrage written all over her face.

“I’m Jack, lead reporter for the YouTube channel Unfiltered Tea. We cover the hottest celebrity gossip and the details that the mainstream media is too gutless to touch.” He flashed a grin at the camera before shoving the mic closer to my mouth. “Carina, are the rumors true? Are you having twins? If so, how did Noah react when you told him?”

Unfiltered Tea. I’d vaguely heard of it. It was a hugely popular but polarizing channel that specialized in clickbait headlines and questionable methods. It made news a few years ago when a famous comedian filed a restraining order against them for showing up to her prenatal classes and harassing her.

“How did you find me?” I demanded, my shock hardening into anger. I was intensely aware of both the receptionist and interviewer, who were watching the scene unfold with open-mouthed horror. They appeared too stunned to intervene.

Jack tsked. “I can’t give away my secrets, but I have eyes and ears everywhere.” He shook the mic. “Comment on the pregnancy? My viewers tell me that you’ve looked plumper in recent photos. Is that the result of stress eating or baby weight?”

Crimson washed across my vision. “Yes, I have a comment.” I leaned in and looked him dead in the eye. “My comment is that you should get out of my face unless you want me to do humanity a favor and kick you in the balls so hard, you won’t be able to have children in the future.”

Instead of backing off, he looked delighted. “Did you get that?” he asked his cameraman. “Did you hear that, guys? A vicious threat from the nanny of the moment herself. If she’s as spicy in the bedroom as she is out of it, I under—” He broke off with a howl of pain and doubled over as I kneed him in the groin with all the force I could muster.

Instead of helping him, his cameraman kept filming.

I looked at the interviewer and the receptionist. They were still rooted to their spots. “Sorry about all the fuss,” I said weakly. “Thank you again for your time.”

With that, I fled.

I had a feeling I wasn’t getting that volunteer position.

CHAPTER 46

CARINA

I was still shaking when I got home. Thankfully, I didn’t see any paps there, and I was able to slip into the house without incident.

I locked the door and slumped against it, my heart racing. Goddammit. I couldn’t believe I’d let that asshole bait me. The video of me losing it was probably going viral right that minute, breathing new life into a story that had been slowly fading as the media turned their attention to England’s historic World Cup win.

The worst part was where Jack had confronted me. He’d ruined my chances of getting that role, and I couldn’t be sure that he—or other people like him—wouldn’t ruin future opportunities too. What employer would want to hire someone dogged by scandal?