Safe Bet (The Rules #4)(15)

“As long as you’re okay.” I want her to know that I care about her, because I do. She’s not only a great boss, but I also really like her and her family. They’ve accepted me so easily since I’ve started, and those first few days, I was a bit of a wreck.

“I’m definitely okay.” Fable smiles then glances in the direction of her children, making sure they’re all right before she returns her attention to me. “So look. I don’t want to freak you out,” she starts, promptly freaking me out. “But the media got a hold of some photos of you and Drew from last night and now they’re…everywhere.”

I frown. This is not the direction I expected her to take this conversation. “Everywhere?”

She nods. “Drew told me about the paparazzi hanging out in front of the restaurant last night, but he blew it off. Said it was no big deal.”

“I guess so. I’ve never dealt with something like that before. I mean, they were asking all kinds of intrusive questions, but I would think that’s their normal behavior, right?”

“Yes, that’s pretty normal. But they’re jumping all over this one particular photo.” Fable whips her phone out of her robe pocket and taps on the screen before holding it out for me to see. “Look at this.”

The headline above the photo captures me first. It screams in bold type, Niner QB Drew Callahan Cradles the Naughty Nanny Close!

Naughty Nanny? Talk about ridiculous.

My gaze drops to the photo just below the sensationalized headline. It’s of Drew, and he’s holding me in his arms, my cheek pressed against his chest. He’s glaring at the cameras, his expression full of angry irritation and I’m oblivious.

“I fell, when we were trying to get into the SUV,” I tell Fable, unable to tear my gaze away from that stupid photo. I guess it does look incriminating, Drew holding me close and the angry expression on his face—we look like we have something to hide. But nothing happened. He just wanted to get to the car so we could pick up Fable and take her to the hospital. “What exactly does the article say?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to read the article. You don’t want to read any of them. They all say the same thing.” Fable shoves her phone back into her pocket. “The media will make up anything to sell a magazine, a photo, a story. It doesn’t matter what really happened.”

Alarm makes my spine stiffen. Wait a minute. There are multiple articles about Drew and me? Talk about surreal. And the tiniest bit frightening. “What are they saying?”

“That you and Drew are involved in a mad, passionate affair and I’m nowhere to be found. I’m a horrible wife and mother who’s neglecting my husband’s needs, as well as the children’s. So that leads him to seek out a much younger woman—the newly hired nanny.” Fable rolls her eyes. “So ridiculous.”

“Right,” I say slowly, studying her. She doesn’t look mad, but sometimes you can never tell. My mom is good at that. She can pretend everything’s fine, but really she’s furious. “You don’t believe what they’re saying, do you?”

“No, of course not!” She sounds offended by my question. “I know my husband. He would never cheat on me.”

Whew. Glad she’s so firm on that subject. “Well, I have absolutely no interest in your husband whatsoever.”

“Oh, I know, Sydney. And I appreciate you saying so.” She smiles, but it’s strained. “We’re hoping we can ignore this and the rumors and speculation will eventually die down. That’s what’s happened before.”

Yikes. This is something they’ve had to deal with before? How awful. “But what if it doesn’t quiet down? What if they keep talking about it? About…Drew and me? What then?”

“Well, Drew has a publicist, and he’s pretty savvy. I’m sure he’ll help us figure out what to do next.” Fable smiles brightly and it almost feels—false. As if she’s trying to convince herself everything’s going to be just fine. “I’m not too worried, so you shouldn’t be either!”

Her casual enthusiasm is almost reassuring, but it feels a little off. What if this bogus story really does become a big deal? When it’s a slow news day or week the media tends to grab hold of something and never let it go. They can turn a false rumor into a bigger deal than it was ever supposed to be. I don’t want my face splashed all over tabloids and gossip websites.

Talk about embarrassing.

What if my parents find out? I’m almost certain they will. Mom loves to read those gossip sites. And once they find out, they’re going to be furious. They don’t even know I’m working this nanny job. They’ll jump to conclusions first and ask questions later. They’ve always thought the worst of me, especially my mother. It’s their automatic response, when I’ve never given them reason to doubt me or think I’m some sort of pathetic loser.

But that’s how they make me feel—like a loser. The moment they hear about this, they’ll probably demand I come home so they can take care of me.

Heaven forbid I learn how to take care of myself. This so-called punishment they’re putting me through is supposed to be some sort of test. They want me to cave and come running back to them.

I won’t do it. No matter how much bullshit is thrown at me, I won’t give in.