AllFreeNovel
Share Us
By: Jessica Stanton, Senior Correspondent
For The Delaplane Gazette
Claire covered her face with her hands, the heels of her palms pressing into her eyes. This was a disaster. This was what she was afraid of when she allowed herself to get involved with Alexander. The fact that her integrity was being questioned didn’t sit right with her. She had done nothing wrong. There was nothing in her very plain background that would come back to haunt her, at least nothing that she could think of. She took a deep breath and pushed away from her desk, leaving the paper sitting there. She walked into the barn, grabbed her helmet, gloves, and goggles, and made her way to the practice ring.
Standing at the edge of the property, their cameras aimed at the practice ring was a slew of paparazzi. She ignored them. Let them take their damn pictures, she thought to herself. I’ve got a job to do. She took the reins from Tony as she slid into the sulky seat, settling her feet into the stirrups. She slapped the reins lightly across the horse's back and started around the track. She saw Tony pull out his stopwatch when she made the last turn, and she set Fortune Favors into his trot as they went past. Her mind was in turmoil. She and Alexander had tried very hard to keep their relationship a secret, but who would’ve gotten a hold of their phones and their text messages? That had to have been someone in Alexander’s firm because no one knew who she was. She was a nobody, a horse trainer, not some gold-digging starlet looking for a leg up with bad publicity.
She could see the camera flashes as she went around the track, and she started to get pissed. She slowed the racing rig to a stop in front of Tony. “Do me a favor. Call Mike and tell him to open the indoor ring. I can’t focus with these guys snapping pictures.” They had built the indoor ring so she could keep training in the winter. Now, it was getting another use: privacy. She turned Fortune Favors from the race ring and let him run a bit down the road toward the indoor track. She was going to be damned if she let a bunch of paparazzi ruin her training sessions.
By the time she was done working with the two horses she was going to race, the other drivers had shown up. She saw them milling about as she slipped off the sulky. Before she could address the elephant in the room, Alexander and the rest of the hands walked into the ring. He saw her standing there and walked over to her. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“About as alright as I’m going to be. I didn’t appreciate what they said in the article. And I’m concerned about these allegations against you and how you’re fairing,” she replied, keeping her voice down.
“Yes, well, we’re going to nip this in the bud quickly.”
“Alex, how did they get our text messages?” she bluntly asked.
His lips pursed in irritation. “It seems I have a very nosy personal assistant at the office who took it upon himself to hack my phone. He’s already been fired, and I’ve ordered new phones for us.” He kissed her forehead. “Com with me.” He led her over to the people he employed on his estate, from the maids that came every other day to clean down to the lowest hand. He wrapped his arm unapologetically around Claire’s waist. He whistled to get their attention. “I’m sure by now you’ve all seen the newspaper article that announced to the world that Claire and I are having an affair. We’re not having an affair. We are dating. All of you know me and have worked with Claire long enough now to make decisions for yourself, but I am asking you to help us maintain our privacy here on this estate. If you cannot or do not wish to help, you may walk now with no questions asked and your last check on the way.
No one moved.
Alexander nodded. “You all know that the fallout of this article is going to threaten everything I have built here and everything Claire has built as a trainer. We both have dedicated ourselves to our endeavors, and I’m not going to have some reporter make either one of us feel vulnerable. Already, the whispers of clandestine alliances, bribery, and corruption in my business dealings are raring their ugly heads.”
“This is not the first time, Mr. Blackwood. We all know you’re not the under-the-table deal-making type even though your competitors want to paint you that way,” Tony stated. “We know you don’t buy people’s loyalty like it’s some stock commodity.”
“Thank you, Tony.” He looked at the others and then back to Claire. “The rumors of my having connections to organized crime syndicates and illicit dealings that “lurk in the darkest corners of the underworld” are swirling again. These are untrue and unsubstantiated, but you all know how these have already cast a long shadow over my business reputation, leaving a lingering sense of unease in their wake. Those are the rumors I will be squashing personally. I don’t want Claire drug into any of this and that is where I need your help.”
Claire listened quietly as he outlined what he needed their hands to do. She wanted to question him, to question his character, to get him to admit to her the secrets he held so close to the chest. She needed to be prepared to handle the backlash if she was going to stay with him. Right now, he was concerned for her safety and privacy. It warmed her heart and assuaged some of the concerns she had.
But could they make it through this? She knew who Alexander Blackwood was before she agreed to work for him. And she knew him even better now. She could only pray they’d make it through the storm that was heading their way. The more she listened to his plan, and the suggestions Tony and the others made, the more she realized that her own challenge was clear: to prove to the world that her affair with Alexander Blackwood did not define her as a professional or diminish her skills as a horse trainer. She would throw herself into her work with renewed fervor, determined to show the world that she was more than just a scandalous headline.
And for Alexander, the task was equally daunting, He had to salvage what remained of his reputation and rebuild the trust of his investors and stakeholders. He already started to reassure them that his personal life had no bearing on his professional capabilities and that he remained as committed as ever to the success of his business ventures. With Claire at his side and standing united, he knew they would emerge from the storm stronger than ever before.
And he didn’t care if the world didn’t like it.
Chapter 8
The paparazzi were relentless. It didn’t matter what Alexander and Claire did; they were like bloodhounds who caught the scent of a fugitive. Claire couldn’t even leave the property without a pack of them following her to the grocery store. The latest article, “What Is Horses Trainer Claire Reynolds Cooking Tonight?” was the most absurd thing she had ever read. They speculated she was making everything from hamburgers on the grill to stear tartar. The funny thing was that the article was released the day after she went shopping for cat food. One of the barn cats has kittens, and she adopted one for company. The little fuzzball had even won Alexander’s heart. The trip to the local Home Depot finally sealed the harsh reality of their situation in her mind.
“Hi there. Can I help you?”
Claire looked at the woman who approached her. She was wearing an employee’s signature orange vest. “No. I’m good, thank you.” She kept looking at the packages of blinds, pushing her cart further up the row.
“Are you looking for a certain type of blind or shade?”
Claire gritted her teeth. “I’m just browsing. Getting ideas.”
“Well, the cottage on the Blackwood Estate has a lot of windows. Are you trying to lessen the sunshine or block out the paparazzi? Or make your trysts with Alexander Blackwood more private? How did the two of you hook up, and don’t you find it questionable to be dating your boss?”
When Claire turned to look at the woman, she noticed the slacks and heels. And the name on the vest: Daniel. The woman was holding a pad and pen. She picked up her purse from the shopping cart and walked past the woman, not saying another word. The reporter followed her, throwing question after question after her, but Claire never said a word. She continued to her car in silence, only to be mobbed by other reporters thrusting microphones in her face and snapping pictures. This was insane. She turned around to get away from them, but they kept pressing in on all sides, throwing question after question at her. She gripped her purse tightly to her chest and kept trying to get to her car. “Please, move,” she finally begged. “Leave me alone!” She had managed to get a video call to Alex started on her phone, and while she didn’t say a word, she could see the anger on his face when he saw what was happening. Her phone got knocked from her hand by some rabid reporter, and she was on the verge of tears.
She was shaking when a few Home Depot employees came to her rescue, pushing through the reporters and photographers to get to her. They made a barrier around her so she could get into her car, and one of them retrieved her phone. They walked around her car, escorting her out of the parking lot and allowing her to make her getaway. She was still shaking thirty minutes later when she got back to the estate.
Alexander was waiting for her, concern etched across his face. He made a beeline to her, walking and then running to get to her side as quickly as possible. He caught her as she got out of the car, tears cascading down her cheeks. “I’ve got you,” he soothed, holding her tightly to him as she cried. He kissed the top of her head and led her back to the main house. Once he got her inside, he sat her down at the kitchen counter, grabbed a bottle of water, and handed it to her. “Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you, did they? Did they touch you?”
“No. I’m…I’m okay,” she managed between sips of water. “They’re horrible, Alex. Horrible! I used to have respect for reporters and photographers, but this? Is this what Princess Diana put up with? Because if so, I don’t know…I don’t know if I can do this.” She set the bottle of water down, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I just want to train and race horses. That’s all I want to do. I can’t even go to the store without getting mobbed.”
He brushed her hair from her face, cupping her cheeks in his hands before kissing her forehead. “I’m getting you security. I don’t want you going out without them if I’m not with you.”
