Famous by Association

by Leddy Harper

  “Dollars?” My eyes were so wide that they immediately began to dry out.

  “Yes. Their show was nationwide.” He gave me a second to let that sink in. “Anyway, his mom helped run the ministry. They were very popular among the religious community, being among the top few who were in such high demand for speaking gigs and appearances.”

  “That’s really a thing?”

  “Yeah…people can make a lot of money doing that.”

  I still didn’t understand, though. I could see why he wouldn’t want to be in the limelight, especially if he’d grown up in it, but why hide who he was? His paranoia over his past didn’t make sense. “Why doesn’t he want anyone to know that?”

  “He’s probably more concerned with people discovering that his parents were frauds.” Ty nodded as I gasped, practically choking on that news. “They were arrested, charged, and convicted of tax fraud as well as hiding assets that were paid for by donations made to the church.”

  “Embarrassing, sure, but that still doesn’t explain Jacoby’s reaction.”

  “Well, there’s more.” Before Ty had a chance to say anything else, Dave walked in. “Just look it up. I’m sure once you read what’s being written about them, you’ll understand the importance of privacy to him.”

  “What?” Dave asked, glancing back and forth between Ty and me. “What are you guys talking about? What did I miss?”

  “I’ll tell you on the way home. We have seven hours to kill.” I started grabbing the boxes to take them downstairs. And as I predicted, my best friend didn’t make a single comment about my being unprepared or lack of organization. No one knew me better than he did.

  I was too tired for this.

  After a long drive home, not getting to the apartment until after two in the morning, all I wanted to do was spend an entire day in bed. I would need at least that much time to grapple with everything I’d learned about Jacoby’s family on the ride home. Each article got worse and worse, but I couldn’t stop myself from reading everything I could find, even articles from twenty years ago. The whole thing seemed more like an episode of Law and Order than someone’s life, but that’s exactly what it was—Jacoby’s life.

  No wonder he didn’t want anyone sniffing around.

  But a day in bed wasn’t in the cards for me. I had to go to the shop and let them know that I was back so I could be added to the next schedule. Now that I wasn’t getting a penny from Tiffany for the last month and a half that I’d done her bidding for her, I needed money. Dave had been struggling to keep up with things in my absence, and I couldn’t expect him to keep doing that now that I was home.

  However, after speaking with my supervisor in the back office, I was informed that I had been replaced. They’d managed to keep me in my position, though, which meant I was still an assistant manager. Except I was no longer the assistant manager at that location. During this meeting, I also learned that if I wanted to stay in my position, I would have to travel over forty miles one way to the closest store in need of an assistant. My other option would be to step down and become an hourly associate—which came with a considerable pay cut.

  I kept reminding myself that things came in threes. First was losing Jacoby, then it was losing the money that I should’ve gotten for impersonating Tiff, and now it was the loss of my job. To be honest, it was the only thing that got me through. If not for my constant reminder that things could only get better from here, I might’ve just given up completely and gone all Britney Spears on everyone.

  “I feel like the worst person in the entire world,” I cried to Dave just after he’d ordered a pepperoni and extra cheese pizza. “I only did it so that we could expand the youth center like we’ve always talked about. Now, not only did I screw that up, but I’ve made it impossibly harder to pay our bills.”

  He set a mug of spiked hot chocolate on the coffee table in front of me and joined me on the couch. “Don’t worry about it, Tosh. We’ll figure it out. We always have, and we always will. Don’t you remember how much we struggled when we first moved in together? We were eating butter noodles every day and unplugged everything unless we needed it just to keep the electricity bill low. We made it through that, and we’ll make it through again. Things always work out for us. Never forget that.”

  “I know. I think part of my guilty conscience is from the mess I made for Jacoby. He doesn’t deserve the things people are saying about him, and I feel like a disgustingly horrible person for not putting an end to it.”

  “How would you do that?”

  I knew that Dave already had a comeback waiting, because he already knew what I would say, but I said it anyway. “I’d tell everyone that he was with me, not Tiff. That way, they can stop making him sound like a royal bag of douche for sleeping with someone while knowing that she was engaged to another man.”

  “Yeah, you could do that…” And here came the retort that he already had prepared. “And then spend the rest of your life giving your sister every dime that you earn.”

  “It’s a price worth paying to clear his name of this.”

  He rolled his eyes and let out a rambunctious laugh. “You just got done apologizing for making things harder on us financially, yet you’re talking about turning over every paycheck you get from now until the end of time to Tiffany, the fleabag who got you into this mess to begin with. If you think about it, she’s the one responsible for all of this.”

  Well, I couldn’t exactly argue with that, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

  “Just promise me that you won’t do anything for the time being, okay?” He glared at me, almost daring me to disagree. “Let’s wait and see what happens from here before making any life-altering decisions. For all you know, it’ll work itself out, and you’ll be the one reaping the benefits in the end.”

  “Why are you always so freaking optimistic?”

  “One of us has to be, and right now, that’s clearly not you, Cynical Cindy.”

  For the first time in days, I cracked a smile, which made me think of Jacoby and all the times he unknowingly made me smile or laugh or blush. What we had was something beyond special, and I’d lost it.

  When it came to the really important things in my life, Dave had never steered me wrong, so I had decided to put my faith in him again this time. I’d hold off on making any decisions regarding my sister and the truth—for now—but if the storm didn’t clear soon, I’d have to take matters into my own hands.

  And I didn’t care what it would cost me.

  20

  Jacoby

  I hadn’t bothered to go online since my past had been blasted all over the internet. There wasn’t anything on there that I cared to read. That was…until Jessa informed me that Tasha was gone. It wasn’t like it surprised me much. What surprised me the most was how I’d felt when finding out that she’d left town for good.

  It was like a punch in the stomach.

  And a knife to my heart.

  At some point over the past two weeks, from the time she’d left my place after our last talk to now, Tiffany’s press team had released a statement. It explained that the false claims reported by many of the gossip columns had severely affected her relationship with Adam King, and for the time being, she asked for privacy while she and Adam worked things out. As for now, they claimed that Tiffany was safely out of the public eye with no indication as to when she expected to return.

  It was all so bogus. There was no way that Adam would’ve left over that. Although, it did make me question if he really did leave her. If so, then that would’ve been the only piece of truthful information in that entire press release.

  “Why don’t you just call her?” Jessa asked when I went to her looking for help.

  I was on the verge of pulling my hair out. “Do you really think I haven’t already tried? Her phone is turned off. I literally have no way to reach her.”

  “Don’t you know her best friend? Oh, what about the guy she was with all the time…the one who works for
her sister? I’m sure he’d know how to find her.” Her brows knitted together and her lips pursed, as if an obvious thought had just crossed her mind. “Didn’t she tell you where she lives?”

  “Kind of, but it’s a large city, so there’s no way I’d be able to just go there and find her.”

  “Let’s back up for a second.” She paused, contemplating other suggestions. “What do you know about her that could at least get you closer to finding her? Has she ever said anything about her job, where she works, where she hangs out…?”

  Running through our conversations in my mind only made things worse. It reminded me of how amazing she was, which immediately caused an ache in my chest for letting her go. Granted, I didn’t know that she would leave. I guess that, on some level, I’d assumed things would blow over before the show finished filming, giving me more time to work things out with her. Knowing how much money was on the line and what it was for, walking away from it all was the last thing I thought she’d do.

  “She’s a manager at a video game store, but I’m not sure which one. And considering the size of Glenndale, there could be a dozen of them, if not more.” I hadn’t even started the full-on search for her, yet I was already feeling defeated.

  “Start there.” Jessa pushed my cell toward me from across the table. “Make a list of every video game store in Glenndale and call until you find the right one.”

  It was a tedious task, but as of right now, it was the only way to find her.

  Almost two hours later, I finally dialed the right number. “Oh, Tasha? Yeah, she doesn’t work here anymore.”

  There had to be some sort of mistake. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same Tasha? Her last name’s Lewis, and she’s the manager—assistant, I think.”

  “Yes, sir, we’re talking about the same person.”

  “Well, do you know how I can get ahold of her?”

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t give out that information.”

  “Okay…” I decided to try a different tactic. “Do you happen to know where she’s working now?”

  Unfortunately, that didn’t work, either. No matter what I asked, I hit a dead end. So I hung up and went back across the yard to Jessa’s house. Even though we were much older than when our lives had fallen apart many years ago, she was still the one I went to when I needed help or advice. I didn’t think she could help in this particular situation, but at least I knew I could lean on her for emotional support.

  “What’s something else she’s told you that could help us get ahold of her?”

  I scrubbed my face with my calloused palms, too frustrated to concentrate on one thing. I knew there had to have been something significant that she’d told me, but I couldn’t seem to come up with anything other than the obvious. “Dave works at a youth center in town.”

  “Okay, so let’s call them. There can’t be that many, right?”

  Not surprisingly, only three called themselves a “youth center,” the others were simply summer camps. I should’ve started with this lead rather than waste hours trying to track down where Tasha worked.

  “What am I supposed to ask? If they know anyone named Dave?”

  “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”

  “I don’t know his last name. She’s only ever called him Dave.”

  Jessa must’ve noticed the defeat on my face because she held out her hand and demanded, “Give me your phone.” After tapping on the screen a few times, she held the device up to her ear, leaving me in complete suspense.

  “Hi,” she said in a cheery tone that matched the smile on her face. “By any chance, is there a Dave who works there?” She furrowed her brow for a moment before relaxing it and saying, “To be honest, I’m not sure what his last name is. I’m not even sure I have the right youth center. You see, I’m a foster parent, and I met with him last month regarding the different programs the center offers for all the age groups. He mentioned something about a video game area, and I just got a teenager who would love to spend some time there, so I thought I’d try to get ahold of him because I’m not sure which youth center he’s at.”

  Her eyes immediately lit up, and with an enthusiastic thumbs-up, she switched the call to speaker and set the phone on the table between us. It was my turn now. She’d gotten me this far, so now it was up to me to do the rest.

  I just prayed he at least gave me a chance to speak.

  If I were Tasha’s best friend, I’d have a few choice words for me before hanging up.

  “This is Dave.” His voice came through the speaker, making my heart rate skyrocket.

  I looked at Jessa; she stared at me, and in that brief moment of eye contact, I felt her unwavering support. Either that or it was when she placed her hand over mine. Either way, I had no doubt that she had my back a hundred and ten percent.

  “Hello?” he asked again. I’d clearly spent too long composing myself.

  “Uh, yeah…hi. Is this Dave?”

  “Yes.” He slowly dragged out that word, the way you would when insinuating that the person you were speaking to was not very bright. Then again, I think I’d proven how not bright I was when it came to Tasha. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m sorry…what I meant to ask was, is this Dave, Tasha Lewis’s best friend?”

  There was a long beat of silence—which did nothing to help my racing heart. Then he softly cleared his throat and said, “Yes, that’s me. Who am I speaking with?”

  I was terrified that as soon as he knew it was me, I’d lose my chance of getting ahold of Tasha, but I didn’t have a realistic lie lined up, so my only choice was to tell him the truth. “Jacoby Abbott, I live—”

  “I know who you are. What do you want?” At least he didn’t hang up. I’d never been more relieved.

  I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and just went for it. “I’m trying to get ahold of Tasha, but her phone is turned off.”

  “No, it’s not,” he argued, but then he sang the familiar ah-ha tune. “I’m assuming you were calling the number she used while pretending to be Tiffany? Yeah, that’s not her phone number. She left that behind when she came home. Why do you suddenly want to talk to her now? Why didn’t you do that before she left?”

  Part of me hated the interrogation, but a bigger part of me was beyond happy to know that she had someone who loved her and protected her as much as he did. “Listen, Dave…I didn’t know she was leaving. I assumed she’d stay until filming wrapped, so I thought I still had time to figure things out with her. I was just waiting until the smoke cleared.”

  “So you thought you could call me, and I’d just hand her over?”

  “No, nothing like that at all.” I released a rush of air and fought the desire to drop my forehead to the table. “You’re kind of like my last-ditch effort. I’ve called almost every gaming store in Glenndale looking for her.”

  “That was a waste of time,” he said before I could get that far. “She doesn’t work there anymore.”

  “That’s what I was told, but they wouldn’t tell me why.”

  “Can you hold on for just a second?” He barely waited for me to agree before putting the call on hold. Music played for about a minute before he came back on the line. “Sorry about that. The kids were about to come inside from the basketball court, and I didn’t want to get interrupted. I’m in the office now, so I have a couple more minutes.”

  Oddly enough, he didn’t sound angry with me. If anything, he spoke to me the same way he always had—like a friend. Or at the very least, like someone who was important to his best friend.

  “So, about Tasha’s job…” He told me about how they had to replace her because her boss couldn’t manage the store alone—apparently, something Tasha was able to do without a problem. And that when she returned, they didn’t have room on their payroll for two assistant managers, so rather than kick out the guy who’d replaced her, they gave her a choice: transfer to another location or stay where she was but as a part-time, hourly associate.

&n
bsp; Jessa must’ve noticed that my blood was boiling because she got up from the table to get me something to drink. Unfortunately, she returned with a glass of water, not a bottle of liquor. If I were Tasha, I’d have asked for a hot chocolate with a shot of whiskey and a large pizza.

  The only thing that eased my mind was knowing that she at least had some money after being here for over a month. From what she’d told me, it would be enough to hold her over for a bit. Without that, I didn’t know if she’d be able to afford to live. She’d given everything in her savings to Dave to help with the rent while she was gone, which meant she'd be completely broke without the money from Tiffany. “Where’s she working now?”

  His sigh filled the kitchen. “She’s currently unemployed. Right now, we only have my salary, and to be honest, it’s not much. But she’s been applying everywhere, so we’re hopeful that she’ll get hired somewhere soon.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was meant to be a guilt trip, but it certainly felt like one. Like he was saying that they wouldn’t be in this mess if I hadn’t needed a little bit of space until the media died down. “What about the money she earned for the time she was here?”

  Dave barked out a sardonic laugh. “Tiffany refused to pay her. She said that the only way she’ll get the money is to fulfill the contract in its entirety.”

  If I thought my blood was boiling before, that was nothing compared to how I felt now.

  I saw red. My blood pressure was so high that it felt like I had cotton balls shoved into my ears, and my fingertips were tingly. My outer vision dimmed, and a high-pitched ringing sound filled the room.

  I. Was. Livid.

  “Listen, I understand that this isn’t your fault,” Dave continued while I fought to regain control over my anger. “We both know that you didn’t want any of this to happen. But just like you had asked her for time and space until things calmed down, I think it’s best if you give her the same right now. She has a lot on her plate—we both do. So how about you let her get things here sorted, and then I’ll tell her to call you. That’s the best I can offer, Jacoby.”