Free CHASE: Complete Series by Cassia Leo Page A

drama and acting classes. All the faux tears I’d cried over faux tragedies. Surely, I could muster some faux strength in the midst of this very real tragedy.
“Good afternoon,” Teddy said, and the microphone on the podium sounded perfectly crisp and blaringly loud as I gazed out across the shouting and ebbing sea of faces.
My eyes wandered further over the crowd until my heart stopped. The mob stretched all the way to the end of the block and beyond.
“Senator and Mrs. Underwood and Miss Jacobs will not be taking any questions today,” Teddy’s voice echoed in my ears as his hand fell from my shoulder.
Not answering any questions? Miss Jacobs? That’s no way to address your supposed girlfriend, Teddy.
I turned around to confirm this new development with Chase, but he and Katherine were nowhere. They had been right behind Teddy and I as we approached the front door of the hotel. Now they were gone. They abandoned us. Chase abandoned me.
I looked to Teddy and the severe expression on his face as he glanced in my direction told me I was screwing this up. I didn’t look strong. I didn’t feel strong. I felt worthless.
Then I saw her. Heather Rodin stood in the front row of the pack of reporters holding up her hand to ask a question. And the anger returned. But I wasn’t angry at Heather. She was just doing her job. I was angry at Teddy for making me think this was a press conference to clear Chase’s name and make everyone believe Teddy and I were the ones having an affair. This wasn’t a press conference. This was my public lynching. This was Teddy sewing a big, fat “A” on my chest in front of a crowd of thousands of people. This was me being exposed.
“Larissa: How much did Senator Underwood pay you for your first encounter together?” Heather’s question whooshed past me as a roaring anger muffled my senses.
“I told you Miss Jacobs will not be answering any questions at this time,” Teddy repeated his mantra over and over as my vision blurred with rage.
“You lied to me!” I shouted, and Teddy quickly motioned to the nearest Secret Service agent.
The same handsome agent I had ogled on my visit to Baltimore with Chase now had both my arms in a vice grip as he shoved me toward the hotel entrance. My feet glided over the concrete as he practically carried me toward the doors.
“Where’s Chase?” I asked the agent, but he didn’t answer. “Drew, please, where is he?”
I never addressed the agents by their names. He probably thought I didn’t know his name because something changed in his face for just a brief moment. He shook his head as another agent grabbed my other arm and they both led me toward the elevator.
“How can you guys do this?” I whimpered, as the reality of how powerless I was at this moment finally hit me.
The tears rolled down my face in a never-ending stream of regret. I had trusted the wrong man. No, I had trusted the most wrong man. I had never screwed up this badly in my life and I had no safety net. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had already cleaned my bank accounts to erase all ties to me. They were going to erase me. Anything so Chase could become the next president. Because the numbers showed that he still had a chance, but, obviously, only if I no longer existed.
“Larissa?” Drew’s voice startled me as the elevator carried us upward. His young face was wrought with guilt.
“What?”
He opened his mouth to say something, but instead he shook his head. “Nothing.”
“How could he do this to me?” I whispered to myself.
The elevator stopped at the penthouse and, for a moment, I allowed myself to think that Chase would be waiting on the other side of the doors. The elevator doors slid open and the antechamber was empty. They led me into the sitting area and there he was, sitting on the bottom step of the staircase.
“How—”
“Wait,” he interrupted me, as he strolled across the black tile toward me. “Just be quiet for a moment.”
He knelt in front of me