Page 16 of Power Games

He shrugged. "Worth it, if I'm divorced by the end of it."

Charles hesitated, feeling uncomfortable. "I have...things that might help. If it getsugly,as you say. Pictures."

Barrett lifted a brow. "The compromising kind?"

He nodded, and the lawyer chuckled.

"Perfect."

Charles slid the folder in his hand across the desk. Barrett only looked at the first couple of pictures before snorting.

"You just changed the game. I can take the case if you want me to. We'll wrap it up in moments. Make her a decent offer, then her lawyer will advise her to accept it, because she could walk away with nothing." He lifted his eyes to Charles. "Are there pictures of you?"

"No."

His answer was simple and firm.

Callum King was one of the major shareholders of Jacobs Enterprises. He had a place on the board. About three months after Izzy had proposed the arrangement that had destroyed them, the New Yorkerreached out to Charles.

“A little bird whispered that you and your wife are now in an open relationship.”

Charles had stiffened. Had Izzy propositioned him? Shit.

“Isabella’s actions are of little bearing to the future of Jacobs, but yours could cost the shareholders a lot of money if you were caught in the act. I don’t have to tell you that appearances are important. I happen to have a solution to that little predicament.”

And so, he’d been invited to The Tower Club.

Had he fucked dozens of women in the past years? Definitely. But as he'd only done it at The Tower, there was no proof, and no one would run their mouth. It was simple as that. If anyone broke their NDA, the Kings would descend upon them with their armies of lawyers, their infinite amount of money, and also release compromising material on them to boot. No one was going to mess up.

Patricia had been the one exception, and there was no evidence.

"Then you’ve won. It might impact you negatively for a little while, though, Saint Charles." Many of his friends had taken to calling him that. "Izzy will milk the sympathy of women out there. They'll rally around her because she has a vagina. That's the way it works."

He shrugged. "I can deal with that."

Barrett tilted his head. "Can you? I mean, it'll blow over, eventually, but still. If you're angling for something bigger with all the public stunts you're pulling, that could go against you."

Charles repeated, "Something bigger?"

The lawyer shrugged. "You know. House, Senate, the presidency. That sort of thing."

Charles laughed, sitting back. All right, Barrett was pulling his leg.

The lawyer remained stoic.

"You're kidding."

Barrett shrugged. "No, not really. Me and the guys were talking about that a while back, when you stopped showing up on poker night because of some baby-kissing nonsense. Cade guessed you were probably trying to build a public image for bigger stuff like that. It makes sense."

Charles remained silent, his brain finally taking in the information, processing it and assessing the possibility.

Barrett was right. It did make sense.

"I'm just doing my job," he said. "The board needs me to have a good image. And I like—"

"Giving to the disadvantaged, helping the vulnerable, taking a chance on the youth," Barrett completed. "You know, serving your country, and the rest of the world. The kind of shit politicians like to do."

It made so much fucking sense, but Charles had never even considered that path before. He did now, however.

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