“No—” She began her protest, only to be interrupted.
“Yes. Come on.” Liam grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the sofa. “Sit down. I’ll bring you a glass of wine and then you can tell me what happened.”
“Fine,” she bit out again, earning her a sideways glance from Liam as he headed for the kitchen counter and the wine bottle there.
He delivered the glass of red wine along with a plate of cheese and crackers, laying it before her on the table like an offering to calm the angry ancient gods.
Sitting sideways on the sofa to face her, Liam said, “Now tell me. Who do I need to beat up?”
That coaxed a smile out of her, in spite of her mood. “No one. I couldn’t let you do that. It wouldn’t be sporting. He’s a weak old man. One punch and you’d probably kill him.”
He returned her smile. “I’m glad to hear at least you’re not so angry that you’re homicidal. So what happened? Tell me.”
She and Harper had talked about it so much already, Natalie wasn’t sure she could cover it one more time. Even for Liam. As she was trying to rally the energy to give the story the enthusiasm it deserved, her cell phone dinged. Then dinged again. And again.
She pulled it out of her pocket and groaned when she saw the notifications.
“What?” Liam asked.
“I, uh…” She glanced at him and then away. “I might have gotten into it on Facebook with the professor who was on the panel with me yesterday.”
His dark brows rose before he drew in a big, chest-expanding breath and let it out on a whoosh along with her name. “Natalie…”
“I know. I shouldn’t have. But Harper offered to drive the last leg home and I had nothing else to do in the car. It’s only in the private group for the event attendees. And besides, he deserved it. He was completely wrong about a bunch of things he said. And things he wrote in his stupid book. And he was mean to me.”
The phone dinged again. She read the new comment alert and let her chin drop to her chest before forcing her gaze up to meet Liam’s.
“The comments are blowing up. People are taking sides and fighting among themselves.”
Another ding revealed a comment by the professor himself.
It’s more than obvious Miss Chase is lying. Brewing controversy for notoriety for herself. Casting shadow on my research for financial gain for her fellow cast member Miss Mudd. The fact Miss Chase appeared on that ‘reality’—and I use that term lightly—show proves she cannot and should not be taken seriously.
Natalie gasped as she read the screen. “Oh my God. How dare he.”
Liam extended one hand. “That’s it. Give me the phone.”
Rather than hand it over, she pulled it closer to her chest. “What are you going to do?”
“Silence the damn notifications, first of all. Then uninstall that app, because I know you. You won’t be able to leave it alone.”
Still holding the cell in a tight grip she asked, “Just that? You’re not going to throw my phone in the river or something, are you?”
“Of course not. How could you send me sexy pictures at the lab when I’m working late if I did that?” His dimple appeared as he smiled.
God, she loved this man. Even in the worst of situations, he was her rock.
“Okay, then.” She handed over the phone willingly. She didn’t, however, tell him she could just as easily get on Facebook via her computer. And she likely would because Liam was correct. The chances that she could leave this alone were slim.
As he tapped the screen, she remembered one more result of the ill-fated panel appearance.
“Oh. I forgot to tell you.”
“What?” he asked flatly, raising his eyes from the phone.
“I’m going to call a meeting.”
“Ghosts, I assume.”
