Page 50 of Burning Your Lies

“Why wouldIwant this out there? How does this benefit me?” I shake my head. “We need to do damage control. We deny it, no matter what evidence they produce. If anymore papers try to print anything, I will shut it down. You just keep your fucking mouth shut.”

“Fine. But we still don’t knowwhospoke to them in the first place. Who else knows about us?”

My face settles into an unimpressed fixture. “Your husband.”

She shakes her head. “No! Hux wouldn’t do that. Not to you. Not to me. He wouldn’t want anyone to know the truth.” Shestares at the ground and taps her feet as she wracks her brain. When she looks at me, she looks defeated. “Brynn.”

I defend her as valiantly as she defended her husband. “She wouldn’t do that.”

A loud groan fills the room. Savannah rubs her face in frustration. “Of course it was her! Who else would be so fuckingstupidto speak to a reporter?”

“Watch your fucking mouth, Savannah,” I snap. “The only reason she knows anything is becauseyouwanted to drag her into your twisted game.”

Her palms rest on the desk, and she leans forward. The fire I equally love and detest burns bright in her golden orbs. If I were anyone else, I would have cowered at the fury in her.

“Your little girlfriend is a throwaway card. She's the red joker. I haven’t even started on her. And if you want to keep it that way, I suggest you tell her to keep her mouth shut or I’ll permanently silence her.”

Rowan looks like a smug bastard as he takes a seat on the other side of my desk. His thick beard and hair have been trimmed and groomed. His waistcoat sits snug against him as he lets out a relaxed sigh. “I’ve had a blissful morning. Got myself pampered while I read awonderfulstory in the news.”

“I wouldn’t have this problem if you followed through on your promise. Why isn’t she dead yet?”

He tuts at me. “I don’t play by your rules. Your request has been added to the waiting list.”

“What are you doing here?” With a confused look, Savannah stands in the doorway. She closes the door behind her before walking over to my desk and handing me the papers I requested.

Rowan blatantly eye fucks her. “I need a PA. If she looks anything like you, I’d be tempted to have an affair too.”

She rolls her eyes. “Those journalists are bottom feeders who will print anything for sales. It’s all lies.”

He turns to me with a grin. “Is that so?”

“How much to make my business a top priority?” I ask. “I’m willing to do anything.”

“You should get better at your poker face, Xavier. You’re laying all your cards on the table and I can see how vulnerable you really are.”

Her arm slides across the back of his chair. “Begging is never appealing.”

He leans back into his seat. “What she said.”

I eye the two of them as they share a look I can’t quite decipher. “Make it happen,” I order.

His focus is back on Savannah. “Can I interest you in a drink, my darling?”

“Raincheck. I’m off to pick my daughter up for an evening of toys, giggles, and cuddles.”

I hate the way she denies I exist. She wouldn’t have Elise if it weren’t for me. It’s half of my DNA that she loves so much. “Ours,” I call out as she heads for the door.

“What?”

“She’sours. Mine and yours.Ourdaughter.”

The scent of a roast dinner wafts through the house as I enter. My keys are carefully placed on the side table before I begin my search for Brynn to ask if it was her that spoke to a reporter.

She’s stirring the gravy when I enter. She glances up at me. “Perfect timing! The chicken is almost done.”

I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the counter. “Why did you tell the papers about my relationship with Savannah?”

Any hope of gloating to Savannah that she was wrong flies out the window when Brynn stops stirring. Her chest rises and falls as panic sets in. “I didn’t know he was a reporter.”

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