Page 45 of Blackmail of a Billionaire

“None of this looks good,” Sierra added. “You’re lucky it’s just us with those pictures and not the press.”

She swallowed hard, her eyes going back to the picture.

“Who is he, Julia?” Grant’s voice hitched and he paused, collecting himself. “If this is someone you…” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words that spelled out her interest in this man. “Sierra’s right, you’ll need to be more discreet.”

He nearly choked on the last words, but he realized she could easily put him in his place. He had no right to dictate her personal life no matter how much he wanted to.

“Ah, no,” Sierra said with a shake of her head. “You’ll need to call it off. The last thing we need is this idiot deciding he’d like to cash in and blackmail us. Or going to the press. Or big-mouthing it to one of his buddies.”

Grant flicked his daughter a glance before he returned his to Julia, who remained quiet. She really was nothing like his ex-wives. Caught red-handed, they’d defended their actions up and down. He’d flirted too much with a business colleague, he’d left them alone too much, or he was married to his job, not them.

With Julia, the words seemed to crush her. Had she not realized the consequences of her actions?

She slid her eyes closed for a second before she snapped them open and focused them on him. She flipped the photo around, holding it against her chest. He eyed the intimate moment for the umpteenth time, still feeling no relief from the pain it caused him.

“This,” she said, tapping a finger against the man in the picture, “is my brother-in-law, who happens to be in town for a conference. I met him yesterday for coffee, and then we went to his room where he gave me a jar of jelly my sister sent.”

Grant’s features scrunched at the words. Brother-in-law? His heart skipped a beat. He’d completely misread the situation, leaping to conclusions because his emotions clouded his judgment.

She continued, her voice tight but laced with anger. “I took off my rings because he has no idea that I was insane enough to enter into a fake marriage to save someone’s image, and I’d rather not explain my lapse in judgment to him.”

The words stung him as she spat them out.

“And now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to my charity meeting. It wouldn’t look good to miss. And it’s all about appearances, isn’t it?” She shoved the photo back at Sierra before she stormed to the door.

He startled as it slammed shut behind her, still reeling from how terribly he’d misjudged the situation. “Julia, wait,” he called, but the roar of the Porsche’s engine followed by the squeal of tires announced her departure.

Grant whipped the door open but failed to catch her. She barreled down the drive without looking back. He cursed under his breath as he entered the house, digging into his pocket for his phone.

The last time they’d had a misunderstanding of this kind, she hadn’t answered. He doubted she would now.

Sierra stared at the photograph in her hand, her eyebrows scrunched. “Brother-in-law?”

Grant heaved a sigh, heavy with a mix of emotions ranging from disbelief to remorse. As he snatched the picture from Sierra, his fingers trembled slightly from the turmoil swirling within him.

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The furtive conversation he’d overheard, the laughter, the enthusiasm, the final haunting words. She hadn’t meant she was in love with the man, she’d meant she loved him like a brother.

He’d been a fool. And acted as one. He’d been cold and distant yesterday when she’d needed him.

“Apparently,” he murmured as Worthington entered the foyer, studying the mess.

Grant stooped to collect the other photographs when Worthington stopped him. “I’ll handle it, sir.”

“How is this her brother-in-law?” Sierra mumbled, confusion still apparent in her voice.

Worthington straightened the photographs before Grant shoved them into the folder and strode into his office. He slammed it down on the desk, the loud slap echoing in the otherwise silent room. “How the hell did we miss this?”

“Well, that’s on Max.” Her quick deflection accompanied by a dismissive head shake was characteristic of her–always quick to shift the blame and maintain her own sense of righteousness.

Of course, she’d blame someone else. Sierra did not like being wrong. She’d accused Julia of infidelity and had been proven wrong. So had he. Unlike Sierra, though, the guilt hit him as hard as the idea that Julia loved another man had only a day before.

Worthington remained silent, indicating his disagreement, but unwilling to voice his opinion in front of Sierra.

“And why not just say that? I mean, did she really need to be that dramatic?”

Grant offered her a hard glance. “You accused her of infidelity, Sierra. In a very nasty way.”

“Well…” Sierra’s nose wrinkled. “I still think she was being dramatic.”

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