Page 3 of Bad for Business
The guy—Brennan—doesn’t argue any further. I don’t know if I would either with how annoyed Troy is.
I clear my throat and sit up in my chair. I look at my dad, even though I know at this point, it seems like it’s Troy who’s making the decisions right now. “I’ll put out a public apology. Things like this always blow over. They’ll forget about me and jump onto the next new scandal, just like they have in the past.”
Dad grunts. “Ryker, this isn’t blowing over when the entire board is threatening to deny you from taking over my position. You’ve fucked up.”
I open my mouth to respond, but before I can get any words out, the door to the conference room swings open.
“Finally!” Troy barks, his eyes focused on the woman walking into the room.
At first, I can’t really see her face, but when she looks up and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, my entire body freezes the moment my gaze lands on her face.
Memories come rushing into my mind like a tidal wave.
The hurried frenzy of hands pulling at clothes. The crash of lips. The scrape of teeth. My mouth pressed against her delicate skin. My fingers slipping underneath the fabric of a skirt and….
“Everyone,” Troy begins, turning around in his chair to look at the woman walking in, and effectively cutting me out of whathappened last New Year’s Eve. “This is my daughter, Camille. Ignore her tardiness. She’s typically far more professional.”
Camille—or Cami as I remember her—doesn’t notice me right away. She’s too busy looking at her father with an unreadable expression. I’m waiting for her focus to move from her father to me, wondering if she’s as shocked to see me as I am to see her.
“My apologies,” she begins, her eyes moving to my dad. “I wasn’t expecting to be called into work to—” Her words fall short when her eyes finally land on me.
I offer her a smile, trying to be polite as I work through the shock of seeing her again.
Her mouth falls open before immediately turning into a frown.
“Take a seat,” Troy demands in a harsh tone, taking me by surprise. From what he just said, she’s his daughter. Does he always talk to her this way? Is that normal for them?
Cami rips her gaze from mine and takes the chair next to her father, giving me no indication of what she’s thinking. Her poker face is immaculate, and I hate it. Does she not remember me? She has to remember the night we shared. Or is it that she’s just ignoring me? I don’t know which one is worse.
“What are we looking at here?” Camille asks, glancing over at me once before looking back at her father.
My dad huffs out a laugh. “The problem is,” he begins, his hand landing on my shoulder and squeezing—hard. “The heir to a billion-dollar entertainment company was caught on video bragging about acquiring a major TV network six months before it was supposed to be announced.”
I sink back in my chair, trying not to show any reaction to his words. In my defense, I’d been lured into giving out that information. How was I supposed to know the woman feeding me drinks all night was a reporter?
“People were guessing it was going to happen,” I offer, knowing the moment the words leave my mouth that I should’ve stayed quiet.
Dad’s jaw flexes. “You’re too trusting, and…”
“Charming,” I offer with a laugh, trying to ease the tension in the room.
“Immature,” Camille speaks up, taking me by surprise. I don’t seem to be the only one given how her father stares at her with lifted brows for a moment before looking back at me.
“Here’s the thing, Ryker,” Troy begins before letting out a long sigh. “You used to get away with things because you were young and fun. But you’re thirty now. You’re the only heir to Davenport Media which means you can’t get away with things anymore. This whole naive, golden-boy card has been played one too many times. It’s time for you to get your shit together and become the leader everyone expects you to be.”
I swallow as his words sink in. I’ve met Troy in passing before tonight, but this is the first time we’ve ever used them for PR. I don’t like the way he’s talking to me, but I know it’s best to not voice that feeling. He might have a point. Over the last year, I’ve been more reckless than what people are used to from me. The fact my father brought on Vaughn PR tells me that this time, it’s gone too far.
The bleak faces as I look around the room make me realize that this time it’s bad. The public’s perception of me doesn’t matter; it’s the board’s I need to worry about. And if they don’t believe in my ability to take over Davenport Media, I’m fucked. Bringing in Vaughn PR makes sense, no matter how much I don’t want to admit it. I have to find a way to fix this mistake.
If I’d known the woman was a reporter, I would’ve kept my mouth shut. She seemed so sweet and interested in knowing more about me. I fell right into her trap, apparently, and now I have to find a way to prove I won’t make the same mistake again.
“Whatever happened to ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’?” I offer, trying again to lessen the tension.
Camille lets out a shrill laugh. “Not to talk out of line here, but as your publicist team, it’s our job to be brutally honest with you. That’s a stupid saying and you’re not a reality TV star begging for crumbs of the public’s attention. You’re supposed to run a multibillion-dollar company. You have to act like it.”
My mouth falls open at her words. She was blunt the first time we met at a party; I just wasn’t prepared to be on the other end of it in a professional setting.
I’m still coming up with some sort of a response when she pulls her attention from me and instead focuses on her father.
