Consequences (29 page)

Claire scurried to pick up the papers. She wanted to know what the article said
.
“What is this?”

“It is an exclusive Internet release of an upcoming story. It will run simultaneously in
People
and
Rolling
Stone
.” He hovered over her and then turned abruptly away. He went to the bookshelf, picked up a book, and threw it into the fireplace. He tried to gain control of his anger and of himself. “Shelly, my publicist found it today and immediately forwarded a copy to me. I flew home as soon as I could.” She wondered how long he’d been waiting and brewing in her suite. She desperately tried to read.

Well,
you
believe
you
know
Anthony
Rawlings,
forty-five,
self-made
billionaire?
Or
maybe
you
would
like
to
know
him?
You
may
be
too
late.
Since
May
of
2010
Anthony
has
been
seen
out
on
the
town
with
the
same
mystery
woman.
Up
until
now
we
have
not
known
much
about
Anthony’s
special
woman.
That
is
until
she
agreed
to
sit
down
with
old
friend
and
freelance
writer
Meredith
Banks.
The
woman
in
Anthony
Rawlings’s
life
is
Claire
Nichols,
twenty-six.
She
is
originally
from
Fishers,
Indiana,
just
outside
of
Indianapolis.

Claire
graduated
from
Valparaiso
University,
Valparaiso,
Indiana
in
2006.
She
has
a
bachelor’s
degree
in
meteorology.
Ms.
Nichols
and
Meredith
were
in
the
same
sorority
from
2003
through
2006.
It
is
believed
that
this
long-time
friendship
is
why
Claire
finally
agreed
to
sit
down
and
discuss
her
relationship
with
one
of
the
world’s
top
bachelors.

Claire looked up from the page in her hand. Tony sat on the sofa and watched her reaction as she sat on the floor and read. Her whole body trembled as nausea erupted in her empty stomach.

“Tony, I did go to school with Meredith, she did come up to me the other day and started talking. I didn’t know she was a reporter. I wasn’t giving an interview. I didn’t say anything about you. Your name was never mentioned!”

He didn’t speak. Instead, he nodded toward the pages and she continued to read.

Anthony
Rawlings
has
long
been
seen
as
a
wonderful
catch
for
that
one
deserving
woman.
He
dated
such
women
as
supermodel
Cynthia
Simmons
and
recording
artist
Julia
Owens.
However,
none
of
his
previous
relationships
lasted
very
long.
That
is
until
now,
now
that
Rawlings
and
Nichols
have
been
together.
These
two
were
first
seen
together
in
late
May
(see
picture)
at
the
Quad
City
Symphony
not
far
from
the
large
wooded
estate
of
Anthony
Rawlings.
And
since
that
time,
they
have
been
spotted
by
curious
onlookers
at
various
charity
events,
as
well
as
taking
on
two
of
the
nation’s
biggest
cities,
New
York
(see
picture)
and
Chicago
(see
picture).

The
question
all
eligible
bachelorettes
are
asking,
why
Claire?
What
makes
her
the
woman
for
a
man
like
Anthony
Rawlings?
Perhaps
it
is
her
youth,
her
beauty,
or
her
style.
Obviously,
from
her
college
days
to
present,
she
has
found
her
flair!

While
Claire
would
neither
confirm
nor
deny
that
she
and
Anthony
Rawlings
were
involved.
She
didn’t
deny
living
in
the
Iowa
City
area.
Could
that
address
perhaps
be
the
same
as
Mr.
Rawlings’s?

Social
Security
records
indicate
that
Ms.
Nichols’
only
employment
has
been
as
a
bartender
since
losing
her
job
in
2009
at
WKPZ
in
Atlanta,
Georgia.
WKPZ
was
purchased
by
TTT-TV,
resulting
in
the
layoff
of
many
employees.
Yet
despite
this
loss
of
employment
Ms.
Nichols
was
seen
shopping
in
Chicago
at
such
stores
as
Saks
Fifth
Avenue,
Anne
Fontaine,
Cartier,
Giorgio
Armani,
and
Louis
Vuitton.
It
was
also
rumored
that
Ms.
Nichols
spent
the
better
part
of
the
day
enjoying
all
the
comforts
money
could
buy
at
one
of
the
most
exclusive
day
spas
in
Chicago.