Page 66 of Captain's Claim

My head throbs, but through the hangover haze, more of last night's conversation filters back.

And then… it hits me.

I straighten up, a sudden decision crystallizing inside the swirling slosh of a mess that is my head this morning.

If I want to keep the board out of Blake’s program, I need to give them something better. Something they can’t resist.

And I have just the thing.

"Ah, Blake! I'm so glad you're here, why don't you join us?"

"What?" He practically spits the word at me.

So much for the 'care' package.

"Come sit." I pat the chair next to Jackson, whose face lights up at the suggestion. "Share what the youth program means to you."

Blake stalks forward, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "What the hell are you doing?"

I flash my sweetest smile, fully aware that every single camera in the room is capturing this moment in high-definition glory. For just this moment, this isn’t about PR. It’s about making sure the board stops looking at his kids and starts looking at him.

"Oh, you know…" I bat my lashes for good measure. "Just telling a better story."

I can actually see the moment he realizes he’s trapped.

And God, it’s glorious.

"Sophia-" The warning in his tone could freeze hell.

"Please, Blake?" Jackson pipes up. "You never talk about when you started playing."

Blake's expression cycles through fury, panic, and resignation before settling on barely contained rage as he drops into the chair, glaring right at me.

He might hate me again. After we finally seemed to take some steps forward last night, here we are again.

But soon enough, I'll show himwhyI'm doing all of this.

He'll understand.

I signal the camera operator who has turned one of the cameras around to be pointed at Blake and Jackson now. Greg is practically doing cartwheels so much is his excitement.

Good. This won't be the fluffy PR piece they wanted, but it might be something far more important.

Blake's knuckles go white on the armrest. "You'll regret this, Sophia."

I’m either going to be a genius or a dead woman walking.

Because with Blake, there's no in-between.

"We'll see. Let's begin."

Chapter Sixteen

Blake

The second Greg shuts up and lets me go after the interview, I burst into Sophia's office, the door slamming against the wall with a satisfying bang.

My blood's still boiling from that ambush interview with Jackson. The one where I've been forced to answer questions that I've never answered before in my life.

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