*Shelby*As soon as I got to Michael's office, I could tell that something was going on. I made my way to the receptionist's desk, hoping that maybe she had some answers for me. I was glad to see the middle-aged woman sitting behind the desk. I liked her a lot more than Michael's previous receptionist, who had purposely embarrassed me in front of a room full of people.“Good afternoon Miss Hatton,” she said to me with a smile.“Is Michael here?” I asked.She lifted her hand, pointing to the conference room. I could see exactly what was going on inside because of the glass walls. Michael was standing there in front of three large cameras. I immediately recognized Bruce on his left, but there was another man with graying hair standing on his right. Both men looked extremely serious as Michael talked to the cameras.“What’s going on?” I asked his secretary.“Mr. Astor is pressing charges against the news source that leaked the fake story. He’s also goin

*Shelby*The next day at my internship went so slowly as I waited for the clock to strike 5:00. As I sorted through countless files, all I could think about was the story the blackmailer was threatening to leak. It was a lie about how Todd and I had stolen the answers to multiple tests back when we were at NYU. The blackmailer claimed that Todd had approached him with the story explaining that I made him break into the professors’ offices to steal the test answers to make sure I passed all my classes. He did it because we were dating, and I threatened to leave him if he didn't help me.A story like this would not only ruin my reputation, it would get me kicked out of school. All day I felt like I was watching over my shoulder, waiting for someone to tell me to go pack my bags. When Michael first told me about the threat, I immediately thought Todd was behind it as some sort of revenge for breaking up his engagement with Lauren. However, as the day went on and I th

*Shelby*I closed my eyes in the back of the car as the driver made his way through the New York traffic. I was exhausted from the fight I’d had with Lauren the night before. I’d finally gotten everything off of my chest, and put Lauren in her place. She knew if she continued to help Blaine blackmail her father or me, I’d make sure she wouldn’t receive her trust fund.Lin and I had left the party before Lauren returned back inside. Jerrick seemed confused about everything that happened but didn’t ask questions when Lin asked him to come to a diner with us instead of staying at the party. We all sat in a booth, drinking decaf coffee and eating pancakes until the early morning hours. It turned out to be a lot more enjoyable evening than I’d expected.A text came through, and my eyes fluttered back open. I couldn’t help but smile seeing Michael’s name glowing on my screen.Michael: I can’t wait to see you later tonight. I’m sorry I won’t be there when you get home. I h

*Shelby*I dropped my suitcase in the hallway, exhausted from the eventful weekend. I was so ready for a quiet Sunday at home, catching up on some studying with Lin. I casually ran my hand across the back of my head and winced slightly. It was still sore from my fall.“Lin? I’m back,” I called down the foyer off our front door.“I’m in the living room,” she called back to me.I found her cuddled up on our new sofa, a blanket enveloping her, and a textbook spread open on her lap. I fell onto the other side of the couch, closing my eyes as I slowly sank into the material. “Long weekend?” Lin asked. I’d begged Aubrey not to tell Lin about what had happened at the art gallery. I didn’t want her worrying the entire time I was gone, and I didn’t want her to know that Blaine was still following me. I’d put her through enough already.“Yeah, it was. I spent most of the day in bed yesterday, but I’m still exhausted,” I admitted.“I thought you went to a

*Shelby*“Oh my god, I didn’t think that lecture was ever going to end,” Lin said as we walked out of the lecture hall.I laughed at her dramatics before responding, “It was important stuff, Lin, but yeah, it did get a bit dry. The last twenty minutes were excruciating. I’m so hungry I think my stomach was louder than the professor's.”“So that’s what that was,” Lin laughed and bumped my shoulder with hers.“Want to grab something on our way back? I don’t really feel like cooking dinner tonight. I just want to crash on the couch,” I said.“Oh yes, please. There’s this Thai place that I’ve had mad cravings for,” Lin said, suddenly switching directions.“I’m down,” I said, pivoting to catch up with her.We laughed and talked about the recent lectures we'd had to sit through and how nice it was since Lauren left campus. After waiting in a long line for our food, we walked home swinging our plastic bags full of take-out containers.“Do you want a pla