Page 106 of The Encounter
Kayla took a tentative step forward. “Jace, I know it’s not my place to say, so I hope I’m not crossing a line, especially since you’re my boss.”
Haley laughed. “I think we’re past crossing lines in this office. Jace won’t fire you for saying anything about Maddie right now.”
Jace nodded. He desperately wanted to know what Kayla had to say about Maddie, and he’d never hold it against her in the workplace.
Kayla sighed. “Then what the fuck are you doing? Go after her!”
Seth barked out a laugh before quickly stifling it after a glare from Jace.
Haley threw an arm out toward Kayla. “Thank you!”
“My calls all go to voicemail. She won’t answer the door at the house. Kailynn won’t let me see her at work. I can’t get ahold of her.”
“Oh,” Kayla said. “You don’t know.”
His stomach dropped. “Know what?”
The look on Kayla’s face told him it was bad. Something had happened, and if Kayla didn’t tell him quick, he’d shake it out of her.
“Her phone has been off since the day that article came out. People have been blowing her up for interviews. Random people are leaving her death threats. There were also a bunch of vulgar comments. We aren’t answering the door since people started coming to the house.” Kayla tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and crossed her arms, looking vulnerable—something Jace had never seen from her before. Her voice lowered. “It’s actually scaring us. We don’t really feel safe. Robert has been escorting me home at night after my shifts and staying over as often as possible. When Robert and I are both here, Maddie has been staying with Chase and Kailynn, so she isn’t alone.”
The blood drained from Jace’s face. His beautiful girl was terrified all because of something that that snake Samantha had written in an article.
“I’ll hire some security guards to post up around your house, and I’ll send my guy over to install a security system in your house. Top of the line.”
Kayla shook her head. “I appreciate that, but I don’t know that it’s necessary yet. People aren’t coming around as much now that it’s been nearly a week. And with Robert staying the night, we both feel a little safer. I’m more worried about what will happen when people read the next article.”
“Maddie broke up with me. Samantha won’t keep attacking her.”
“You haven’t seen Celebrity Status today, have you?” Kayla asked.
Haley’s and Seth’s eyes swung to Jace. He paled even more. He hadn’t checked it yet that morning and had assumed Samantha already knew about the split. What could she possibly still say?
Kayla opened her purse and pulled out the tabloid. She walked over and handed it to Jace. Now that she was closer, he could see the dark circles under her eyes. There was no doubt in his mind that Kayla was losing sleep over the threats, and he knew Maddie had to have been in worse shape.
Jace flipped it open to the article, and both Haley and Seth scrambled around his desk to read over his shoulder.
Sources have confirmed that Madelyn Carter, girlfriend of our very own Jace Locke, slept her way through college. We confirmed that Carter only received a passing grade in school and could finish college because she slept with most of her teachers. Without the use of her body, she wouldn’t have passed a single class.
What has the world come to that Locke would choose the likes of Carter? We suspect he doesn’t know about Carter’s past and hope that he cuts this rotten apple loose.
Jace saw red. Sharp inhales of breath told him that both Seth and Haley had finished. They took dramatic steps away from him and circled the desk back to where their seats were.
He grabbed his stress ball off the desk and chucked it against the wall, where it made a light thump before springing back toward his desk, falling to the ground, and rolling to a stop a few feet from him. He wanted to throw something that would break, but he had already done that to his phone once. Breaking something else would only cause issues later.
Haley put her hands on the edge of the desk and leaned forward, clearly not intimidated by Jace’s seething anger. “You need to take it to the source.”
“I tried talking to Samantha already. All it did was fuel the fire.”
“I wasn’t talking about Samantha.”
Seth slammed a hand on the desktop, startling the three of them. “You take that bitch down!”
Kayla stepped forward next and leaned on the desk like the other two. “Anything you need, I’m there. Take. That. Bitch. Down.”
He stared at them, and immediately an idea formed. His eyes widened, and he stood up, stepping toward Haley and pulling her into a hug before doing the same with Kayla. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and then slapped a hand on Seth’s back.
“Can you cover tonight?” He looked between Haley and Seth before adding, “Without any bloodshed?”
