Page 54 of Without Judgment

“And I’d like a copy of the latest video, please.”

Her father, growing red from either embarrassment or anger, shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

“Then this is a request from my attorney for a copy. Oh, I have one of those now, too. So if you don’t comply, I will be forced to take legal action.”

“You can’t do this.” His eyes scanned the paper while his expression went incredulous.

“I can. And I will. This is your campaign, but it’s my life. And it’s time I take control of it.”

“I won’t pay for any of this.”

A laugh without humor escaped her throat. “I’ll take it out of my mother’s inheritance, then. I think she’d want me to fight for the right to wear pink nail polish.”

“I’m trying to protect you.”

I’d always understood that her father loved his daughter, but in this case, he seemed to be prioritizing her beneath his political campaign.

“No, you’re sheltering me, and there’s a difference. And you’re on board with having these people, these strangers who only care about your campaign—” She swept her arm in the direction of the suits. “—dictate what I should wear, how I should act, as if I’ve done something wrong. Something I should be ashamed of. But I haven’t. And I’m not giving in to whoever is trying to smear my reputation. They’re only doing so in order to keep you from running for mayor. If anything, instead of me apologizing, you should be the one to do so. I’m in this situation because someone is using me to get to you.”

I wanted to applaud at how well she was standing up for herself. God, it was sexy.

But her father wasn’t as easily affected. “This is about damage control.”

She gave him a sad smile, one that gave me the urge to take her far, far away from here. To protect her. To assure her I was on her side.

“For you, it’s damage control. But for me, it’s about self-respect. I’m no longer okay with feeling shamed and judged for something I didn’t do. I want a copy of the second video given to me within the next hour, or I’m giving my attorney the green light to file a lawsuit tomorrow. Think about how the publicity of your own daughter suing you will look for your precious campaign.”

She turned on her heel without glancing back.

It took everything in me not to go after her. But I had to remember I worked for her father. He was investing in my company and, therefore, my future. I also reasoned I could glean more information by staying as part of the aftermath discussion than I could by leaving the room.

Finally, thirty minutes later, after everyone had left and her father had shut himself in his office, I went up to her room.

She answered her bedroom door with a question. “How bad is it?”

I grinned, handing over the thumb drive. “You have your video. And he sent the suits home.”

“He’s drinking in his office, isn’t he?”

“Probably. He’s leaving for DC in the morning.”

“Should I—? I mean, never mind.”

She looked vulnerable, attempting to ask if she should go talk to him. Family dynamics were a bitch. One I hadn’t even begun to address in my own life, so I could hardly advise her on hers. But she’d asked, and I had to try. “If I were you, I’d wait for him to come to you. But that’s just me. You should do whatever feels best.”

She took the flash drive, walked over to her desk, and plugged it into her laptop. “I guess I’ll wait. After all, I have porn to watch. You, uh, sticking around?”

Nope. No way. Although she wasn’t the woman in the video, I wasn’t about to observe her innocent face taking in the raunchy ménage or double penetration. Now that I’d seen it, just imagining her watching it was making me feel weird. “No, thanks. I take it you met with a PR person today?”

She sighed. “Yeah.”

“You could’ve told me.”

“I couldn’t take any chance you’d tell my dad.”

“I’m on your side.”

She lifted a brow. “Could’ve fooled me.”

My jaw ticked. I badly wanted to tell her all the ways I was in her corner, but the road I’d decided to take meant keeping my distance. I didn’t want to jeopardize her father’s belief I was loyal to him. “Regardless of what you believe, ditching your security detail today was unacceptable.”

She turned back to her laptop. “Fine. Next time I’ll make you wait in the car for me.”

“That was impressive down there, by the way. The way you handled the suits and your father.”

She turned her head, clearly startled by the compliment, and then smiled. “Thank you. It actually felt good to take charge for a change.”

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