It surprised Calem to hear a knock on his apartment door. No one ever visited him here. He unlocked his door to find Fennick standing on the other side. Calem opened it wider for him to enter.

"Nice apartment. It's obvious I've been overpaying you."

Calem laughed. "True, but I thought it be impolite to tell you that."

"Says the woman who only deals in truths."

"Ah, it's the man you have to worry about. You know we're all notorious liars."

"So, I've heard. A rather bold move setting up that account for Evelyn Quinn."

"Don't worry, there is nothing going on between us. I just think she deserves a shot at that restaurant."

"She's made quite the impression on you. Guess it wouldn't hurt if she broke up with that big bicep'd boyfriend of hers too, right?"

"That's not why I'm doing this."

"Really? Because that is what Kaylee Bardot is saying."

"What?!"

Alfred Fennick handed over the copy of Know Now that he had in his hand.

What Calem read made him sick...

Once again Sasha Miller would like us to believe that Calem Decker is some innocent bystander in some game Evelyn Quinn is playing to get more attention from her fiancé who isn't even in town to defend himself.

Decker and Quinn were seen together holding hands in the park after obviously enjoying a run together. So, I guess while the fiancé's away Ms. Quinn is free to play.

Or perhaps this was some sort of scheme set up by Decker and Quinn to get her the much-needed funds for her restaurant after she's been turned down six times for a loan from several banks.

And who can blame them? Would you want to back such a naïve woman? Good thing she's got Decker, the obvious brains behind the operation. Who, thanks to Sasha Miller, has managed to pull on the heartstrings of millions of women, asking them to pony up the dough to get his lady love a brand-new restaurant.

An amazing con, by a very clever con artist. I wish Calem Decker would have fallen in love with me. I would love to remodel my kitchen and I wouldn't mind using him to model for me in the bedroom either.

But hey, all you supposedly used woman out there, by all means, give him a dollar, or ten, but remember ladies he's only going to be dropping his drawers for Evelyn Quinn. So those dollars may be better spent at your local strip club. At least then you're getting something for your money.

Calem was livid. "How the hell?!"

"Has to be someone on the inside. Someone who knows what we're printing and giving Kaylee access to it, so she can write her response."

"Do you have any idea who?" Calem asked.

"No, and I can't go around accusing people either. I'm sorry to have to say this, Calem but I'm letting Sasha go."

"Wait? What? You can't. It's not fair."

"Life's not fair, but it's either I drop Sasha or I lose the entire magazine. She's become a liability and I'm months from retirement. I can't afford to screw up now."

"Neither can I. I've given up everything to come work for you. My life back in Missouri, my friends, my family. I lived at your office both day and night to build that magazine into something people could believe, could respect."

"I know, son and I'm grateful but I have hundreds of people working for me. I'm not going to lose them all over one. Many of them have families of their own."

Calem sat on his sofa. The fight was taken out of him.

Fennick nodded. "Look, Calem, I don't like this any more than you do but you have a target on your back. Someone is gunning for you and until I can figure out who it is it's best that you just lay low for a while."

"So, you're not firing me?"

"No, I said I'm letting Sasha go, not you, but until I can figure out what is going on, I need you to promise me to stay away from Evelyn Quinn."

"That shouldn't be a problem. She doesn't want anything to do with me."

"And the fund?"

Calem shrugged. "I've set it up so she can withdraw the money and transfer it to her personal account when it's over. I've already texted her how to do it."

"You have her phone number?"

Calem nodded. "She gave it to me when she said she wanted to pay if I had any medical bills."

"Have you called her?"

"No."

"Don't. I understand the attraction, Calem. You're a good-hearted guy and see her as someone in trouble. You want to help but Evelyn Quinn didn't get where she is by being someone else's stooge. She's a smart woman and can take care of herself. You have to start thinking about yourself and what you want your future to hold."

"I know what my future holds or well I did before that kiss." Calem rested his head in his hands. He wondered if Fennick was right. Maybe it would be best if he just disappeared for a while.

"I won't call. I won't go anywhere near her. I promise."

Fennick patted Calem on the shoulder. "We'll figure this out. I'll get you back to work as soon as I can."

"Yeah." However, he was not convinced.

____

Out to lunch with Dina, Evelyn looked at her phone again. The fund kept climbing. "I can't believe he'd do this for me."

Dina was pushing her salad around her plate. "Yeah, it seems almost unreal."

Evelyn frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"No seriously. You're acting like you have something to say and it's not like you to hold back."

Dina sighed. She reached over and out of her bag she pulled a copy of Know Now sliding it across the table towards her friend.

Evelyn read the cover. "Calem Decker #1 Con-Artist in New York City"

"No, no, no!" She flipped to the article and couldn't believe the rubbish written there.

"You don't believe this do you?"

"No, of course not but that doesn't mean thousands of other people won't. I don't think you're going to get that restaurant."

Evelyn ripped the magazine in half. "You think I care about that now? Calem stuck his neck out for me and his reputation is getting demolished by that woman. That's it, it's over."

Dina's eyes lit up with hope. "What's over?"

"My relationship with Jackson. Calem is right. I deserve better and my first move is to end it here and now."

"Don't toy with me, Evie," Dina warned.

Evelyn stared determinedly at her best friend, pulled out her phone, and called Jackson for the twentieth time. As usual, she went straight to voicemail. She put the phone on speaker when prompted to leave a message she said,

"Hi Jackson, it's obvious you don't want to talk to me and I can honestly say I don't want to talk to you either. In fact, I will be quite happy to never talk to you again. So, in case this message is unclear, let me make it simple for you. It's over, Jackson. You and I are finished. Don't call, don't text. I'll send your things to your place out in LA. Have a nice life, Jackson."

Evelyn hung up the phone and suddenly felt released.

"Oh my God, you did it. You did it!" Dina let out an ear-splitting squeal as she pulled her best friend out of her chair for a hug.

"How do you feel?" Dina asked pulling away.

"Good. Surprisingly, really good. Why did I wait so long to do that?"

"I don't know and I don't care. You did it, girlfriend. You are free."

Evelyn's smile fell. "But what about Calem? How do I fix things for him?"

Dina shrugged. "Not a clue."

Evelyn flopped back in her chair her good mood deflated. "I can't leave things the way that they are? I mean I feel like I owe him. Look," she said showing Dina her account online which was now up to $8,000.00.

"Despite what that evil witch said about us, people are still donating. They can't possibly believe what Kaylee Bardot said is true, right?"

Again, Dina shrugged and went back to pushing her salad around on her plate. "Maybe it's better not to rock the boat."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know you. You want to see him again, but every time you two are together someone comes along and twists it into something ugly. Maybe you need to give the guy some space so he can repair the damage that's been done."

"But that's just it. It's my fault he's even in this position. He didn't cause any of this, I did. If Calem wants me to stay away then let him tell me that himself."

Evelyn picked up her phone. She scrolled through her text messages and found the one from Calem. Now that she had his number, she'd call him and they can straighten everything out without the need to meet in person. Surely, he can handle a phone call.

"You've reached the voice mail of Calem Decker. Please leave a message."

Evelyn hung up.

"You're not going to leave a message?"

"What's the point? I can't resolve anything with a message."

Dina figured that was true but cringed every time Evelyn called and it went straight to voicemail. It happened during lunch, after lunch, while they were out running, and while Dina drove her home.

Evelyn stared at her phone. "Seriously? He's going to ghost me?"

"Maybe you need to take the hint?" Dina offered.

Evelyn growled at her in response and got out of her car. "It is not over," she said shutting the door on whatever it was Dina was about to say next.

"It can't be," Evelyn admitted to herself silently.