Page 18 of Battle with a Billionaire

Grant’s shoulders slumped at the suggestion. How much more would he have to put his wife through?

“That’ll nip this in the bud.” Kathryn sat back with a Cheshire Cat grin, pleased at her coup.

But the thought of calling Julia to ask for this made his skin crawl. After the incident yesterday with Kyle, he felt more uncertain than ever. Would she eventually agree with his son?

Kathryn scrolled through her cell phone contact list before she snapped her gaze back to him. “When I said get Julia on board, I meant now. Not when you felt like it. The last thing we need is a reporter shoving a microphone in her face and her having zero idea what this is about.”

“She should be at work. I doubt she’ll?—”

“What? Get a random phone call? Have a reporter waiting outside the office? Come on, Grant. You’re not this stupid. Get her on the phone, have a nice little chat, and say all the things you need to say so that when someone inevitably asks her opinion, we don’t have to do damage control. She can confidently answer which is a win for us because it looks like you two have no secrets.”

Grant pulled his cell phone from his pocket with a sigh. They had plenty of secrets. Or at least he did from her. His feelings about her being the biggest. And it was those feelings that made this phone call more difficult than it would have been had their marriage remained the contract it started out to be.

He scrolled through his contacts to Julia’s name, his thumb hovering over the call icon. Would it be easier in private? Maybe.

He stepped toward the door when Kathryn, her phone already pressed to her ear, called after him. “Don’t forget to tell her about the marriage interview. We’ll want to get her answers prepped for that right away.”

“Right,” he said with a deflated tone as he left her behind. He stepped into a quiet meeting room, too tense to slide into one of the empty chairs surrounding the long table. He didn’t want to make this call, but he had to. Kathryn had been clear about what they needed to combat this hiccup in his campaign.

He’d changed a good bit since the days of those photos. But even so, the thought of Julia equating those images with who he was now weighed on him.

He revived his black cell phone screen and hit the call button as he strode toward the window. He stared out at the fluffy white clouds doting the azure blue sky, hating the sunny day when he felt this gloomy.

“Hey,” Julia’s voice answered after the third ring, “we missed you this morning at breakfast. You were gone early.”

The tiny comment brought a slight smile to his face and also a punch to his gut. He wanted even less to ask her for this favor now.

“Yeah, I had a few things to take care of. How are things at Harrington? You settling in okay?”

“Yes, everything’s fine here. And thank you for the briefcase, you didn’t have to do that. But I love it.”

He smiled, his muscles relaxing slightly. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.”

“How is everything at the campaign? All these sudden meetings with Kathryn don’t seem so good.”

The happy moment ended between them, and his stomach clenched as he faced the moment he’d have to tell her the truth. “It’s not great.”

“Uh-oh,” she answered. “Anything I can help with?”

He slid his eyes closed, both grateful and mortified that he’d married her. She was always ready to be helpful. Was that merely because she was under contract, or could there be more? Probably not after what he was about to tell her.

“Actually, that’s the reason I’m calling you. There is something I need from you…as usual.”

“Of course. What do you need?”

He swallowed hard, trying to find the words. “Have you looked at the papers this morning?”

“No,” she answered. “Should I?”

“I’d rather you didn’t until I’ve explained.”

“That sounds ominous.”

He shook his head as he finally slumped into a chair. “Someone leaked some old pictures. Ancient history stuff, but still, fairly damning for someone who wants a Senate seat. I need to address it. And I’d really like your support.”

A few papers rustled on the other end followed by a series of clicks. “Oh, yes, these do not create a very nice image of a future Senator, do they?”

He slid his eyes closed as his stomach churned imagining her studying those photos. “Not really.”

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