Page 21 of The One I Love

Britt’s brows drew together. “You’re not taking one of your assistants with you?”

“I considered taking Lissa, but decided against it.” Eve expelled an audible breath. “I don’t want to bring anyone from my team, because I don’t want to subject them to all this.”

Britt’s eyes turned razor-sharp. “Has someone been hassling them?”

“No.” Eve offered a reassuring smile. “No. So far, no reporters have bothered them, and that’s how I want to keep it.”

“What about Anson?”

“He wanted to come with me, but Jerome blew a gasket.” Eve took another sip of wine. “Anson was going to come anyway, but I told him, as much as it pained me to say it, that I agreed with Jerome.”

“I agree with that, too, but I do believe that in these situations, it’s always good to have someone else there looking out for you.” Britt set down her glass of wine. “You can take me.”

“Britt—” Eve was touched by the offer, but she didn’t want to bring Britt into this mess either.

“Look, I’ve been where you’re at.” Britt lifted a hand. “Okay, so maybe not exactly where you’re at, but I know what it’s like when the internet turns on you and when reporters sensationalize a story. Please, Eve, let me be there for you.”

“Does my brother know you’ve got a stubborn streak?” Eve asked in a teasing tone.

Britt grinned. “It’s just one of the many things JR loves about me.”

* * *

The next morning, Eve and Britt took the elevator down to the garage level and found one of Eve’s brothers waiting.

“Miles. What are you doing here?” Eve wasn’t sure what surprised her most—seeing her brother in a suit, or seeing him in Denver on a weekday morning.

“I decided I needed to be around just in case someone gets pushy with my little sister.”

Eve smiled. “Well, it appears I’ll have two people looking out for me this morning.”

CHAPTERSIX

The town car dropped Eve, Britt and Miles off at the side door to the studio. Security guards pushed back the reporters, so the short walk inside was uneventful. Eve had taken extra time with her appearance and was confident she looked her best.

She knew how the interview would proceed. She and show host Calista Kuhns would talk about how her cosmetics line differed from what was already out there. Then they’d move on to how Eve had built her online presence to be the juggernaut it was today.

Calista had given her a list of possible questions, and Eve was prepared. Not simply prepared, but jazzed.

While she waited, Britt met her gaze. “You’re going to do amazing.”

“Break a leg, sis,” Miles said, then surprised her with a hug.

When the cameras began to roll, Calista smiled warmly. “Today, we have Eve Driskill with us. The Driskill name is familiar to those of us in Denver. Eve’s family owns the Colorado Grizzlies, as well as Velocity, a billion-dollar athletic-footwear manufacturer.”

Though she wanted to frown, Eve managed to keep the polite smile on her face. Where was Calista going with this? When they’d spoken last month, Calista had insisted that she would keep this interview focused on Eve and not her family.

“My family has an entrepreneurial spirit.” Eve kept her tone gracious. “Which is why I think that I—”

“You’re also dating Anson Hawkins.” Calista rolled right over her. “Heir to the Mountain High Brewery fortune and candidate for a seat on the city council. Unless the two of you are no longer together?”

Eve smiled. “Isn’t it funny how often people think of makeup as something we wear for others—boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses? I’ve always felt that makeup is something we do for ourselves. EVE is about confidence. It’s—”

“The reason I bring up Anson Hawkins is that we haven’t seen the two of you out in public since we all saw that scandalous video.” Calista inclined her blond head. “Are you still together?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Eve saw Britt stand up and walk over to a producer. While she was touched that Britt was ready to fight for her, it wasn’t necessary. Eve knew how to handle Calista. “Calista, I’m here to speak about my new cosmetics line, not my personal life.”

“Of course, and we’ll get to that in just a moment.” Calista lifted a hand when Eve opened her mouth to continue. “I hear the number of followers you have on social media has skyrocketed since the video was posted. Was the sex tape part of your launch strategy?”

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