Page 2 of Bad for Business
I wave down the driver and let out a sigh of relief when they pull to the curb.
“Hey!” a man yells from not too far away.
I glance over my shoulder as I grab the door handle to find a frowning man and a woman next to him aiming dirty looks in my direction.
They were technically the first in line but I don’t bother responding. I open the door and slide into the back before anyone can stop me. New York doesn’t have any rules, and I certainly wouldn’t abide by them anyway. Not tonight. Not whenI’m already preparing myself for the disappointed look Dad will give me when I show up late.
“Where to?” the driver asks.
I’m in the middle of rattling off the address and begging the driver to break a few different laws to get there when my phone rings again. I don’t even have to look down to know who it is.
I swipe to answer and press the phone to my ear. “I’m on my way,” I state, sitting back in the seat. This taxi smells like pine and it’s so overwhelming that I can already feel a headache blooming because of it.
Dad lets out a disapproving sigh. It’s so loud I can hear it through the phone. “Get here faster,” he unreasonably demands before hanging up the phone.
Twice in one night. This might be a new record.
I roll my eyes and toss my phone on the empty seat next to me. As an only child, I get all of Dad’s harsh comments and poor attitude. It’s also probably because I was a daughter and not a son. I know it kills him that I wasn’t a boy, but that’s not something he’d ever actually admit.
“Boyfriend troubles?” the driver asks, watching me through the rearview mirror.
I stare back at him for a moment, not really wanting to chat. But since I need him to focus on getting me to the office in record time, I force a polite smile and answer honestly, “Daddy issues.” I nod my head to the road. “I’ll give you an extra twenty if you can get me there in the next fifteen minutes.”
He whistles. “That’s impossible, darling.”
I frown at the pet name from a complete stranger. He isn’t smooth in using it, but the wide grin tells me he thinks the opposite.
“Nothing’s impossible with the right mindset. Guess you don’t want the tip badly enough.” I rip my gaze from the mirrorand stare out the window, silently telling him the conversation is over.
He doesn’t say another word for the rest of the car ride. Despite his lack of faith, he manages to get me there in sixteen minutes. I tip him anyway because I feel too guilty not to, despite him being over by one minute. He broke some rules for me. He earned the tip.
Once inside the building, I take the elevator to our floor and prepare myself for the worst.
TWO
RYKER
“I can’t even lookat you right now,” Dad spits, his gaze razor-sharp as he stares at me from across the table.
“It’ll be fine,” I tell him, keeping my voice calm. I think he’s overreacting about my current predicament, but for once, I keep my mouth shut—even though it’s hard to do so.
Dad’s laugh tells me he actually finds none of this funny. “Fine? None of this is fine, Ryker.”
I shrug because what does he expect me to say? For the record, I don’t see why he’s so upset. There’s one small video circulating around the internet that someone got of me when I had a little too much to drink last night.
It isn’t that big of a deal.
Unfortunately for me, the people sitting around the table, all of them glaring at me like I’ve majorly fucked up, think otherwise.
“It doesn’t look good right now, but we’ll come up with a plan,” Troy speaks up.
Dad aims an intense look in Troy’s direction. He watches him closely, as if he’s trying to figure out if Troy believes what he’s saying or not. Troy Vaughn runs the most prestigious PR firmyou can find. He’s the best that money can buy which means my Dad must think we’re in deep shit if he’s bringing him in.
“Can’t we just start the meeting without Camille?” a guy next to Troy asks.
I vaguely remember Troy introducing him as one of his employees, but I can’t remember his name. He’s got to be barely in his twenties—if he’s even that old.
“No, Brennan, we can’t. She’ll be the one who has to clean this up.”
