Follow Your Heart (Catalina Cove #4) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,88
he was surrounded by reporters with microphones and flashing cameras.
“Senator, what do you have to say about the article appearing in this morning’s paper?” Several microphones were shoved in his face.
“What the hell? I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.
“Are you saying that for the past month you have not been having an illicit affair with a woman engaged to marry someone else?” one reporter asked loudly.
“Or that you’re not involved in a lover’s triangle with Victoria Madaris, niece of wealthy rancher Jake Madaris, and a man by the name of Tanner Jamison?” another reporter asked.
Hearing Victoria’s name from a reporter’s mouth made Roman go still. Before he could say anything, Mint suddenly appeared at his side with an angry look on his face. “The senator is not answering any questions,” he barked. “He will have a press conference later and you can ask your questions then.”
Mint turned to Roman and said in a low voice, “Get back in the car and I’ll follow you back to your place. It’s secure and they can’t get through the gates.”
For several seconds Roman just stood there, his gaze locked with Mint’s as he tried to get an understanding of what the hell was happening and how Victoria was involved and why.
“Roman, get back in the car and let’s go,” Mint said.
Roman blinked, opened the door and climbed back into his car, then drove off, knowing Mint was not far behind. He wasn’t surprised when he got to his condo to find even more reporters waiting outside the gate. He was glad they were unable to get in. When they saw his car, several ran toward him, but he kept driving through the entrance, pausing only to enter his security code. He glanced in his rearview mirror to see Mint was directly behind him.
Once inside his home, he waited for Mint to enter.
“What the hell is going on, Mint?” he demanded.
“I tried to reach you the moment I saw this,” Mint said, tossing a tabloid on the table in front of him.
Roman picked it up. On the cover was a photo of him and Victoria standing on the deck of the yacht kissing. The headline read, “Senator Roman Malone Involved in Love Triangle.”
“There are more photographs inside,” Mint said.
Roman turned the page and then cursed when he saw the spread. There were pages and pages of photos of him and Victoria in each other’s arms, kissing, holding hands, her sitting in his lap. Even one of the night he’d swept her off her feet to carry her below. She was wearing that red pantsuit, which meant the photo had been taken as recent as last Wednesday night. The photographs clearly showed a couple into each other.
He tossed aside the tabloid and looked up at Mint. “I want to know who took those photos. I’m a single man and Victoria is a single woman. What we do is nobody’s business.”
“That’s not what the article is saying, Roman. It said the two of you were overheard discussing the man she is engaged to marry, a guy named Tanner Jamison, and how you and Ms. Madaris were carrying on an affair behind his back.”
“That’s not true,” Roman snapped, pulling his phone out his jacket. “I need to call Victoria.”
He paced the floor as her phone continued to ring. Then he recalled that she mentioned when they talked last night that she had an early morning meeting at the station and probably had her phone off. “Damn!”
“So, Ms. Madaris is not engaged to marry someone else?” Mint asked.
Roman glared at him. “No, and I want to know who put that lie out there.”
Mint rubbed the top of his head. “Right now, we need to deny those allegations, Roman. Is there any way we can fly Ms. Madaris here to—”
“No! I will not ask Victoria to come to Washington for this BS. She didn’t want to get involved with a politician because of shit like this.”
“But you know for a fact she is not involved with Tanner Jamison?”
“I’m positive. You and I know The Tattler doesn’t care about the truth. All they do is spread lies to sell papers. In the meantime, both Victoria’s and my reputations are taking a beating. I don’t give a damn about mine, but I won’t let anyone slander hers.”
Mint didn’t say anything for a moment, clearly deciding to let Roman calm down before asking another question. He watched as Roman tried calling Victoria’s phone number again with no luck.