Page 49 of Battle with a Billionaire

“Question for Mrs. Harrington. How can you continue to support a man who has been constantly embroiled in scandal?”

Next to her, Grant tensed, though she’d been prepared for a question like this. “I believe him and I believe in him. These accusations don’t define him, quite the opposite—they define his opponent’s campaign. If you’d prefer someone who would stoop this low to win an election, by all means, support the other team.”

As the words left her lips, the irony of the situation struck her. She defended a man she was contractually bound to, yet the sincere and genuine urge to protect him laced most of her words. The blurred lines of their arrangement continued to tug at her.

Grant’s fingers squeezed her side in a silent thank you. She returned the gesture.

Kathryn offered her a sly smile before she spun back to the throng of reporters. “One more here, gentleman in the blue tie.”

Julia offered Grant a reassuring smile as the press conference continued.

“Yes, what’s being done to disprove these photos?”

“We are tracking every lead we can to find the evidence we need to prove that these photos are fake. That’s all we have at this time. As soon as we have more, we’ll let you know. Thank you all for coming.”

Reporters continued to shout as they strode from the room. The silence of the hall outside the press room was a stark contrast to the scrutiny of the media.

Kathryn blew out a long sigh as she led them to her office and dumped her folders on top of her desk. “That went well, considering.”

“Do you think it helped?”

“We’ll see what the numbers say. See if public opinion changes after that. Julia, you did very well. Throw it back at the other guy as irresponsible. And Grant, your statement was flawless, firm, yet vulnerable. Perfect.”

“Are we actually making any progress on determining how these came to be?” Grant asked.

“I’ve got the best people looking into this. They tell me it can be done. We’re still trying to figure out how. And who would have done it? But this isn’t going to be easy. Without someone stepping up to say, ‘Hey, I did this,’ we may never know.”

Grant’s jaw tensed at the words.

Julia squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry this is so frustrating.”

“Thanks, Juls,” he said as he patted her hand. “I suppose you need to head out?”

“Yeah, I do need to get back to the office. Call me if you hear anything.”

“I will.”

Julia slung her purse over her arm before she reached for his hand and squeezed. “Or if you need anything else.”

The second statement brought a slight smile to his face. “Thanks. Have a good day at the office.”

He kissed her cheek as she thanked him before she strode from the room. A check of her phone showed a text message from Kyle. Great job at the press conference. Do you think DG could be behind this, too?

His willingness to consider Grant’s innocence, even begrudgingly, marked a departure from his usual stance. Was his cynicism a shield for a thoughtful, albeit conflicted, person? She typed a response as she walked to the car. It’s possible. Are you finally believing he’s innocent?

Her phone chimed again as she fired her engine. Let’s not go crazy here. But I’m willing to entertain the idea that he was framed. It’s happened before.

Julia chuckled at the response before sending her own. Several times.

She threaded through the busy city streets to her office. As she plopped into her desk chair with a thick stack of messages in hand, her mind turned to her other issue. What would happen tonight at seven?

Her hand rested on the phone’s receiver as she considered calling Mike Donovan when her cell phone buzzed. She glanced at it, finding another message from Kyle. So where are we at with the DG investigation? Did Metcalfe take the bait?

She sat back in her chair as she stared at the message. Should she let him know about the meeting tonight?

As she tried to figure out how to respond to him, her phone buzzed in her hands. She expected to see Kyle’s name, but Ethan’s showed up, jolting her with surprise.

She swiped to accept the call. “Ethan? What’s up?”

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