HDU #2: Dirt Read Online Free Page A

that nature.   Dozens upon dozens.   They all kind of blended together.   Looking back on the time in her life,
Amanda cringed.   Then, the biggest
highlight of her day consisted of spreading awful stories about someone whom
she was really only making assumptions about since she didn’t actually know him.   She felt nothing like that person
anymore.   Still staring at the
screen, her stomach started to churn.   But the memory of her bored, hateful self wasn’t actually the most
disconcerting thing about reading the comment.
    It was figuring
out how the hell it got there.   For
the life of her, she couldn’t and all she could hope was that it was some
glitch in the system that synced her HDU inbox and email.   It
could just be a glitch , she reasoned with herself.   She swallowed.
    Or it could be that someone hacked into your
email, where you’ve very stupidly kept every last shred of evidence regarding
Liam, Ian and HDU.
    After a couple
seconds of staring with her breath held, Amanda let herself release a slow but
hesitant breath, her fingers typing out a three-word reply — which felt
strange and a little stupid considering it was addressed to her own inbox.
    Who is this?
    “You okay?”
Ian’s voice sounded far away but she managed to nod at his question right after
hitting send.
    Please be no one, please be no one, please be
no one.   Amanda stared at her
phone, refreshing her inbox maniacally, all the while stretching her lips into
a strained smile for Ian and Harper, who cocked their heads curiously at her.
    “Nothing,”
Amanda said meekly, not that either of them had asked a question.   Harper gave her a strange look.
    “You’re sure
you’re okay?” she asked slowly.
    Amanda flashed
her a smile that she was about certain made her look like some terrifying wax
figure.   “Totally fine.”
    Except not.   Her grip tightened around her phone upon
feeling it vibrate once again.
    With dread, she
peered down slowly, her heart slamming against her ribcage upon confirming the
brand new message in her inbox, once again from her very own email address.
    Take a guess, Pretty. ;)
    ~
    Amanda’s hair
flew behind her as she ran down a corridor that looked like it might lead to a
bathroom, though she couldn’t be sure.   Agno was located on the ground floor of a marble building that had been
a famous bank in the early 1900s.   It had been preserved to continue looking as such, which meant no
restroom signs or markings to mar its grand appearance.   Amanda had no idea where she was
going.   Regardless, she kept
running.   She would’ve commended
herself for her stilettoed speed were she not so completely racked with worry.
    Somebody knows.
    She raked her
fingers through her auburn tresses, taking about three seconds to destroy the
look that the stylist had dedicated forty minutes to during hair and makeup at
Wendy’s Tribeca apartment.
    Somebody knows about me, about Ian, about
Liam, about HDU, about the contract, about everything.   We could all be screwed.
    “Oh no.”
    Amanda stopped
suddenly in her tracks, her heart dropping like a brick into her stomach.   Liam.   She and Ian had barely anything to lose compared to what he
had — especially in this particular year of his career.   A movie that he had physically and
mentally given everything for.   A
probable Oscar.   A verbal deal to
star in a $218 million production that would launch him into the most exclusive
percentage of Hollywood’s top earners.
    And she was set
to ruin it all by letting herself get hacked like a tech-challenged idiot.   Fingers flying, Amanda sent a reply,
feeling suddenly as much fury as she did terror.
    Tell me who you are and what you want.
    Heart racing,
she waited for a response, each second feeling like a solid minute.   By the time an actual minute passed
with no reply, her fury transformed back into total panic.   “Shit,” she breathed, frozen alone in
the middle of the giant, empty marble hall,