Page 50 of Latte Girl
I shake my head from side to side. “Idon’t.”
“Mr. Davidson thinks you can help with this,” my fatherintervenes.
“With the...sexy factor?” I ask, unable to believe that my dad is allowing that term to be used in a businessdiscussion.
“Yeah!” answers Tyler. “Here’s what we’ve come up with. My PR firm does a lot of celebrity representation as well. We’ve just signed on with NinaFelina.”
He throws his hands up as if this is the be all and end all of public relations accomplishments. I just continue tostare.
“Nina Felina is a local actress turned singer,” he tells me in a coaxing voice, like I’ve forgotten an answer I really should know. “She’s already big, but we need a media boost to make her even bigger. We also need a way to bring Knox Security into the celebritysphere.”
I still have no idea where I come into this. My father glances down at his watch and Tyler notices, taking the hint to speed thingsalong.
“We’ve told her signing up for Knox Security services is in her best interest, and that being seen with the good looking son of the company’s head is a perfect way to drive media intrigue. Your father tells me you’ve already got a lady killer reputation”—Tyler wags his eyebrows suggestively—“so we’ll spin you as the wayward bad boy who’s finally falleninlove.”
I look back and forth between my father and Tyler, waiting for them to burst into laughter and tell me this has all been a joke. Even the idea of my father making a joke is more believable than him fallingforthis.
“Her name is Nina...Felina?” Ichokeout.
“Nina Felina,” Tylerconfirms.
I can feel a string of swear words rising in my throat, but my dad starts speaking before they have a chance toescape.
“Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Davidson. I’d like to continue discussing this with Jordan now. I’ll be in touch with youagainsoon.”
“Sounds good,Mr.Knox.”
Tyler shakes both our hands and then lets himself out of the office. I turn tomydad.
“You can’t beserious.”
“I am,” he sayslevelly.
“You run a business, not a boy band! This is insane. You’re going to let someone who looks and sounds like he belongs on a game show tell you what’s right for thecompany?”
“Tyler Davidson may be an idiot in many respects,” my father explains, “but as far as public relations are concerned, his company has achieved some of the best results I’ve ever seen. If he can increase our profits by the margins he’s promising, his services will repay themselves nearlytenfold.”
I get up from my chair and start pacing the floor of theoffice.
“I’m not going to be a...a wayward bad boy who’s finallyfoundlove!”
I can hardly believe the words leaving my own mouth. This all feels like a weirddream.
“I was willing to overlook your indiscretions because they got better results from your team,” continues my dad, as if I haven’t spoken at all. “Now I’ve found a way to use them to benefit the entire company. Youwilldo this for me Jordan, and youknowwhy.”
I wheel around, stopping dead in my tracks to glareathim.
“Don’t bring her into this!” I dare to shout, trying to stop what he’s going tosaynext.
He folds his hands under his chin again, his eyes hard as he utters the words I know all too well, handing them down to me like a prisonsentence.
“What’s good for the company is good for yourmother.”
I feel the weightlessness coming over me, the sinking feeling of knowing I’m about togiveup.
“She and I have a plan for you. You know what happens when you disobey that plan and upset her. You’ve done well here so far. Continue to do well and she may be ready to see youagainsoon.”
He stands up and begins collecting a few papers off his desk, acting like I’m not even there anymore. I turn and leave the office. Rushing past the reception desk, I bypass the elevator door and head to the stairwell, storming down three flights worth of steps before I pause on a landing and slam my fists against theconcretewall.
