Page 39 of Battle with a Billionaire

“Yes, I do. I am not having an affair.”

“Julia–” Kathryn began.

“I believe him,” she answered.

The statement brought a slight smile to his face despite the terrible predicament.

“I don’t give a rat’s rear if you do or not. What I need is support from you whether it’s true or not.”

“It’s not,” Grant insisted.

“You have it. Whatever you need,” Julia said.

“That’s half the battle.” Kathryn stared down at the compromising pictures. “The other half is what we’re going to do about it.”

She shook her head at the pictures. “Fake or not, Julia’s right. These are damning. Thank goodness these came to you first and not the press.”

“My concern is these aren’t going to stay buried. Someone didn’t send them to me for them to die here.”

“No, you’re right. They’d never count on you to leak them. It’s too much of a wild card.”

“If we let this stand,” Grant said, “who knows what they’ll get away with? These are fake. What’s next?”

“Fake or not, they hold the power to sway the public’s opinion of you pretty quickly. Even with Julia standing next to you, saying she believes you, or even saying she forgives you–”

“No,” Grant said with a slap of the desk. “I’m not admitting to this. I didn’t do it.”

“The pictures tell a different story. I’m trying to come up with the best way to combat this. And it may not be spinning a tale that these are faked.”

“Are you serious?” Grant choked out. “They are fake!”

“I understand. Julia understands that. But the problem is that reeks of desperation. It sounds like a man denying the obvious. A man who isn’t willing to take responsibility. And people don’t like men who don’t take responsibility. It’s that simple.”

Grant leapt from his seat and strode to the drink cart to pour a bourbon. “I’m not taking responsibility for something I didn’t do. It’s as simple as that.”

“Then you may be making a choice between your integrity and winning the election.”

His fingers tightened on the glass as he stared at the dark front lawn. Night had crept over the estate like darkness had taken over his life. “I can’t believe this.”

“Believe it. Look, you don’t have to decide tonight. And I’ll keep running strategies, but you paid me to win you an election. That means by whatever means are necessary, and right now I’m telling you the easiest path forward is to own up to this. Can we recover from a cheating scandal? I’m not going to guarantee it, but I can spin this six ways from Sunday to make it look like you’re the good guy.”

Grant let his head fall back between his shoulder blades.

“Telling the public you didn’t do it, these are fake, and this is some kind of witch hunt…that’s not a surefire way to spin this. But we’ll do whatever you want.” Kathryn grabbed her purse and strode toward the doors. “Talk it over between the two of you, sleep on it, and call me in the morning.”

“Thanks, Kathryn,” he murmured as she slipped out of the door.

A mix of frustration, defeat, and dread swirled within him, and he resisted the urge to whip his glass across the room. He lost the battle a moment later, hurling the glass at the fireplace. It shattered into a thousand pieces, startling Julia.

He lunged forward, grasping the edge of the desk as his tension ramped up.

“I understand you’re frustrated, but this isn’t the end of the world.”

His nostrils flared as he let the anger burn through him. “Isn’t it?”

“No. It may be the end of your campaign, but you haven’t lost everything.”

He sucked in a deep breath, sliding his eyes closed. At least he hadn’t lost her…yet. “You’re right.”

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