“Jordie, you’ve always been so private, so why are you coming forward with this now?”
I lift my chin and prepare myself to launch into the meat of the matter, or phase two of the press conference, as Kam calls it.
“Because I’m being blackmailed,” I say plainly. Everyone takes a simultaneous inhale. “By the woman who calls herself my mother.”
Pausing, I allow the rumblings from around the room to settle. I just dropped a bombshell on these people, and they’re suitably shocked.
Nodding at Andy, one of the tech guys at the back of the room, I stand because now I’m restless and uncomfortable. Talking about Phoenix was strangely easy because I don’t think I realized exactly how much I don’t give a shit about what anyone else thinks, other than my family and my team. And with their acceptance, showing up for me like they did today, I say fuck anyone else who doesn’t approve of my relationship.
A large photo appears on the screen behind me, and my team spreads out so everyone can see. I don’t have a microphone now, but the room is silent enough that everyone can hear me.
Pointing behind me, I say, “This is Delphine, the woman who birthed me and my siblings. I recently learned she’s been married twelve times, but I’ll call her Delphine Brandt because that’s been her surname for the past fourteen years. She’s married to this man, Willie Brandt.”
Andy puts a picture of slick Willie up beside Delphine’s. “Despite these two being married, Delphine has married three different men in the past seven years.” At everyone’s look of confusion, Andy flashes a mug shot of Delphine.
“You see, Delphine Brandt is wanted in three states for the crimes of bigamy, felony theft, and a whole host of other charges. I’m not sure how she did it, but she convinced three men, all older, wealthy gentlemen, to marry her. They obviously didn’t know she was already marrieduntil she ran off with hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry and cash.”
Mouths gape open as I recite the things Tank uncovered in his deep dive into Delphine and Willie. The man looks like a brute, but he’s actually a bona fide computer genius.
“Delphine has been out of the picture since I was a baby. She contacted me before the WNFL draft and said she wanted to reconnect with me, but what she really wanted was a payday.” My lips tighten, and I take a cleansing breath. “Did I believe her? Yes, I did. Do I feel incredibly stupid now that I know what she’s really like? Also yes.”
I look around the room and see sympathy on the faces of almost everyone but no pity or judgement, and that makes me feel marginally better. So I press on.
“To answer your question,” I say, nodding to the reporter in the brown suit, “Delphine and Willie are blackmailing me for a quarter of a million dollars. If I don’t pay within a week, they told me they would release photos of me and Phoenix together.”
At that exorbitant number, gasps and curses float up around the room. “Don’t pay the bitch!” someone yells out, and I chuckle.
“I have no intention of giving her a penny. Instead, I’m calling her bluff. I’m going to show you the pictures. I warn you though, they are quite scandalous.” A shuffling sound accompanies every reporter in the room shifting in their chairs and leaning forward.
I nod at Andy, who puts up a photo of me and Phoenix kissing, then one of us hugging, followed by several more.
“Probably not as salacious as you expected, right?” I tease, and a few people laugh because, on the surface, the photos are pretty tame. “You see, Delphine was under the impression that she could extort money from me because I was having a secret affair with an older man. She told me the forbidden nature of it would ruin my reputation.”
Shrugging, I say, “But to be honest, I don’t give a damn. You may see an older man and a younger woman, but all I see is love. If people want to judge me for who I love, that’s on them. I’m not even going to try and convince anyone it’s okay. I know my heart, and I know Phoenix’s heart, and that’s all that matters.”
“Where is Delphine now?” a man with salt-and-pepper hair asks.
I smile triumphantly. “She and Willie are currently in police custody. They’ve been on the run for several years now, and the authorities have been unable to locate her. She’s very clever and hid herself well.” My grin widens and is just as Grinchy as Phoenix’s. “No one knew where she was until I gave them the address to her apartment this morning.”
I leave out the fact that I knew her address because I’ve been paying her rent for months. I’m positive Delphine orchestrated that whole sob story about having to leave just to get me to fork over the rent money, but I’m certain she didn’t see this little twist coming. And I feel pretty damn smug about it.
Glancing around the room, I say, “So, there’s your story, everyone. Happy holidays.” I stand and mimic doing a mic drop, earning snickers from most of my teammates. Ignoring the cacophony of questions being thrown at me, I walk calmly off the stage and directly into Phoenix’s waiting arms.
“Goddamn, you’re a badass,” he mumbles into my hair. “You owned every bit of that.” I hold him and smile against his shoulder.
“I think you sold it with your GQ supermodel act,” I say, looking up at him.
“Just trying to lighten the mood. It’s what I do.”
I shake my head. “You do so much more than that, Phoenix. You love me.”
He leans his head down to kiss me, but my teammates take that opportunity to exit the stage, led by Kam.
“Jesus, it’s crowded back here,” Kam says, pointing toward the door. “The Harringtons are providing lunch, so everyone head to the team dining hall.”
We’re pushed along in the shuffle, and our sweet moment is broken.
“Kam!” I call over my shoulder. “Can you bring my family?”
