“Financially, things were only getting worse for me, so when I walked in on you and Abel that one day, I figured what harm could there be in me letting them know about that? Nellie, I really, really needed the money.”

He paused again then exhaled sharply, the dread seeping deeper and deeper with every word she heard. Nellie held her palm flat against her chest now as she continued feeling completely betrayed by both Logan and Sam, but the hurt she felt wasn’t anywhere near the dread of what this all meant for the tabloids.

“They got real excited when I told them, especially when I mentioned that it appeared that Abel didn’t seem the least bit pleased about me being there to see you. I also told them how I’d almost shit my pants because I’d mentioned having a date with you over that intercom and he’d obviously heard. They were very intrigued that you denied being more than just friends, even when Abel had clearly insinuated just the opposite with his body language. A few days later, they offered me an obscene amount of money if I went along with their scheme at the concert. They told me to say that Sam was my friend, and they said that he was just a reporter who would try to get an exclusive out of you. I was actually happy about the way everything turned out at first, until I found out that Sam was McKinley’s f**king brother!”

Nellie nearly dropped the phone, immediately wheezing. She didn’t even listen to the rest of the rambling, apologetic message. After taking a few much-needed hits of her inhaler, she turned on the television. She didn’t have to the flip the channels more than once before finding coverage of her affair with Sam “McRage” McKinley.

“. . . it’s still unclear if the 5th Street coordinator whose been rumored to be romantically linked with the heavyweight contender, Aweless Ayala, was actually involved with his opponent’s brother, a former heavyweight fighter himself, Samson “McRage” McKinley, or if this is just a publicity stunt. Coming off the heels of yesterday’s conference brawl between the two camps, it’s hard to know what is actually the real story or just hype. Neither Ayala nor Ms. Gamboa has been able to be reached for comment, but with the big fight just hours away, it’s all the buzz on McKinley’s side. While Samson McKinley has yet to be reached for comment either, his brothers have, in fact, confirmed that the romance between Sam and Gamboa is alive and well.”

It wasn’t just the tabloid channels talking about it. Even the sports channels were putting in their two cents. “I’m not one to comment on the personal lives of athletes.” One former heavyweight champ was commentating on ESPN. “It is what it is, you know? We all have our family and personal drama. From what I’ve been told, this is not Ms. Gamboa’s first personal scandal that’s played out in the media, but without getting into that, I’m just gonna say this, getting back to tonight’s fight that’s only minutes away from getting started: Regardless if she is actually romantically involved with Ayala or if she’s just his personal assistant,” he shook his head. “I hate to be melodramatic, but technically she is sleeping with the enemy. That’s gonna play a role in his fighting tonight, no doubt about it. If, in fact, he has been following the story today, he won’t be getting in the ring with a clear mind.”

Nellie sat frozen on the sofa. She was barely able wrap her brain around the magnitude of this. She watched in horror as she switched the channel and stopped when she saw Abel’s opponent being interviewed about the scandal.

“Well, I don’t know if their lack of commentary on the subject suggests they’re denying it.” McKinley said to the reporter as his hands were being wrapped by his trainer. He shrugged. “My brother’s personal life is his personal life, and I don’t wanna piss him off by saying too much. All I can say is that photos don’t lie. And what I can say for certain is Mr. Aweless was none too happy about me mentioning it last night. You all saw how that ended.”

He laughed, those light blue eyes twinkling into the camera, and now Nellie knew why he’d looked so familiar when she looked him up. “How did I not put it together?” she gasped.

But how could she have? This was outrageous. Abel had mentioned that McKinley’s camp was notorious for going above and beyond to get into their opponents’ heads, but this?

As if her heart hadn’t had enough, it nearly gave out when the reporter explained what photos McKinley was referring to. Then photo after photo of her and Sam flashed on the screen. There were some of the two of them having brunch, holding hands, walking into his hotel room by the beach, and then photos of him caressing her face and the embrace they shared just outside his hotel patio. It dawned on her at that moment that she remembered him acting strangely and asking her to go out onto the more open beach to hug her. The bastard! And here she’d thought him so genuine then. They’d even taken photos of him hanging out with her and her parents just outside the emergency room doors and in the parking lot of the hospital the night Gus had stuck a bean in his nose. Then there was another photo of him kissing her goodnight just outside her home.

Nellie stood up in an effort to try and calm herself because her inhaler wasn’t quite doing the job anymore, and she was beginning to struggle to steady her breath.

The photos of her and Sam “sneaking away” to be alone in the hotel lobby Thursday were being labeled especially scandalous given the fact that insiders were reporting that Abel and Nellie had arrived together in Vegas. They even reported that she was very likely staying with him in the same suite.