Page 40 of Sweet Surrender

“Well?” Dad demanded, still on speakerphone, while I stared in horror at what was in front of me. It was impossible. How the fuck did it happen? “There have been many times when I’ve asked myself if you were too spoiled. I’ve asked myself when you were going to get serious. Building a business is one thing, yet you’ve always had a penchant for poor decision-making. But this? You’ve outdone yourself this time.”

I forced my way through his disgust. “Dad, I’m telling you?—”

“I don’t remember asking you to tell me a damn thing,” he snapped. There was so much bitterness in his voice, so much anger. “No, you listen to me. It is one thing for you to fuck around with your own life, but when you start interfering with others, I have to step in. You owe a lot of people an apology for this. How do you think this is going to look to the public? You can’t keep your dick in your pants long enough to clear up your reputation.”

I had no way to defend myself because there was no defense I could offer. I had been caught red-handed. There was no denying what was going on between Sienna and me. The looks on our faces said it all. We were a couple who had sneaked off for a little fun when we were only supposed to be working together, and now any credibility I might have gained would be flushed down the toilet.

That was nothing compared to the way my heart seized for her. “I have to work this out,” I told my father, who only snickered like he didn’t believe me before I ended the call and threw the phone onto the bed.

Fuck.

In the blink of an eye, everything had gotten so much worse.

Sienna stumbled in a moment later, nose red, eyes swollen and watery. I was in the middle of leaving a voicemail for Maxim. “I swear to God…” I told him. “We’ll work this out. Call me as soon as you get this. We can run damage control ASAP.” As I spoke, my phone buzzed with an incoming text. I pulled the phone from my ear to read it.

Colton: Are you fucking kidding me with this? You goddamn hypocrite.

Son of a bitch!

Things were falling apart in record time, and all I could do was stand back and watch it happen. What else was there to do? Word was spreading, and before long, the world would know I was fucking the woman tasked with cleaning up my image.

But it was still Sienna I was most worried about, who sat on the edge of my bed with her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. “Jules said she couldn’t work with anybody she can’t trust.” She sobbed. “My mom left a voicemail, and she was crying and so embarrassed. How could I have been so stupid?”

“We’re going to get to the bottom of this.” I got up, pulling on a pair of sweatpants I’d left on the floor last night.

“Do you think so?” She lowered her hands and looked up at me, searching my face, clearly desperate to believe what I said.

I had done this to her. She would never have taken a risk like that if it wasn’t for me. Now, her business partner was ready to walk, and she would probably lose credibility with her employees and clients.

“No. You’re right.” She ran her hands over her cheeks, nodding firmly. Following my lead, she got up and searched for her clothes, which had been discarded at random as I peeled them off her. “This is fine. There is nothing I can’t figure out. It’ll just take a little work, that’s all.”

My fault.

All my fault.

Now she ran around like a chicken with her head cut off, rambling about strategy and covering her ass while her bare feet slapped the hardwood. “Sienna,” I murmured, watching her.

Either she couldn’t hear me over her own voice, or she didn’t want to. “And honestly, what do a few grainy pictures prove? Unless somebody actually witnessed what was going on, it’s all speculation and ugly headlines. Who the hell would have done this? What’s in it for them? This is what we need to find out.”

“Sienna.” I took her by the shoulders as she tried to hurry past me, holding her in place. “Stop for a second. Listen to me.”

“There’s no time! I have to go try to talk some sense to Jules. She’s losing it, and it’s all my fault.” Her voice cracked before she began trembling in my grip.

“It’s not your fault,” I told her, my heart heavy. “It’s mine. I got you into this. It’s obvious we made a mistake.”

Finally, she heard me. I’d gotten through to her. “What are you saying?” she whispered as her flushed face went pale. “No, this isn’t the time for that.”

“If it isn’t, then when? Here’s what we’re going to do.” Fuck, this was the last thing I wanted, and putting it into words took everything I had. “You’re going to tell everybody it was a one-time thing, a mistake, and that it won’t happen again.”

“Wait a second.”

“And then, we’re going to put that into practice because we have both worked too hard to throw everything away by looking like a couple of thoughtless, horny kids.” As I spoke, her face fell, but the truth in my words didn’t change. Nothing changed. I would’ve rather cut out my own tongue than admit it out loud, but my father was right. I couldn’t be irresponsible, not now. There was much too much riding on this.

Why was there so much hope in her eyes as they searched mine? Why couldn’t she accept this? “You know I’m right,” I insisted. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, letting go of her, but I forced myself through it. For her sake, if not for my own. I wouldn’t drag her down with me, and she was too big a temptation to resist.

I released her and backed away, turning toward the bathroom. “I’ve got to shower, then try to track down Maxim. Everything’s going to be fine. You handle what you need to, and I’ll take care of things on this end.”

She didn’t move, rooted to the spot in the center of my bedroom. “So that’s it?”

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