Page 138 of Brutal Kingdom

I try to rein in my temper. This isn’t his fault. He’s right. I wasn’t careful, but I had no reason to think Jordy and I were being followed. This is Bella’s doing and I know she leaked this video to back me into a corner. “Dad. It’s out there. Me and Jordy, and it doesn’t matter if you can’t see her face. Everyone will know it’s her.” I look at him, pleading for help. “Dad we, need to get this off the internet and make Bella pay for this.”

“We had an agreement to keep the first video quiet, and no proof that Bella is behind this one. What reason could she possibly have for following you and leaking this?”

“To get leverage. To make sure I go through with this engagement, because she knows I was getting close to finding a way out of it.”

“Logan, I told you to stop fighting it, and I told you to stay away from Jordanna Felding.”

“This video was taken months ago, and I told you I couldn’t just go along with it. Not without doing everything I could to find a way…”

“Son, I know you care about this girl. But that part of your life is over. You and Bella are getting married. You’re right about one thing. We don’t need this out in the world. Especially with the stink of last year still hanging over you.”

The board won’t care that this wasn’t intentional or that it’s the same girl. They’ll label me as problematic.

“The Lance’s have offered a solution to this PR nightmare.”

“Other than the agreement we already have in place? What more can they want?”

“For us to announce your engagement.”

“To the board? Fine.” I can handle that and still work on an out.

“To the world. I’ve agreed to hold a press conference, addressing the video. We’ll do it then.”

“How does that help?”

“It helps by changing the optics. Instead of it being a careless act of you with a random woman, we’ll tell the world that a private moment between you and your fiancé was taped unknowingly, and someone violated your privacy by leaking it to the press.”

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse. “You want me to go on television and say Bella is the one on the tape?”

“Yes. It’s the only way to diffuse the story.”

I have to say I’m engagedandsleeping with her. That’s the one thing I could hold on to. That Jordy could hold on to. My promise that I wouldneversleep with Bella. Now my dad is asking me to lie and say I did. “Dad, you control the spin and media cycle. Why not just pull it?”

“Because the tabloid that’s running with this story isn’t one we own or influence.”

“You’re telling me she leaked this to The Grime?” The one paper that hates McKay Media almost as much as I hate Bella Lance. They’ll never print a favorable story about anything connected to us. Bella fucked us over and knew we’d have no other recourse but to go along with this. Because a public declaration puts all eyes on her and gives that final shove of relevancy she needs for her life to feel complete. I’ve no doubt she has a whole speech planned about the so-called invasion of her privacy.

I’ve gotten my anger under control, enough that no one will suspect I’m plotting to murder my fiancé on our wedding night. We’re touring the space that will become McKay Media’s new digital media department.

Bella’s standing in the middle of the floor, pointing to the space in front of the window. “So I’m thinking a mahogany desk or cherry wood. With a matching bookshelf.”

“Are you going to put books on it?”

“It’ll be for the photos I take with the most influential people in the world, and their gifts.”

Only Bella would put a bookshelf in an office of a media enterprise and use it for knick knacks. And heavy wood in this space? Where everyone is into streamlined designs and ergonomics? “If that’s what you envision, fine, but I don’t think it matches the overall motif of the rest of the office spaces.”

“I’m not here to match or conform. I’ll be in charge, so it’s my job to stand out. You shouldn’t be blending in either. No one will ever take you seriously if you’re still trying to be just like everyone else.”

“A great leader understands the day-to-day experiences of his employees. Hiding behind my huge desk and title will only alienate me and lower morale.”

“Who cares about morale? I don’t give a shit if they like me or not as long as they do their jobs, and if they don’t like it here, they can quit and we’ll bring in other people for less money.”

“That’s not how it works, Bella. We’d be losing the experience and knowledge we need to mentor our cub reporters.”

“This is the digital age. We don’t need as many people around.”

“Digital doesn’t mean less content or time. It’s just a shift in format. The training and technical expertise won’t change. The reason we’re the best is because we staff the best.”

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