Page 28 of Token

“Oh, it’s nothing like that,” Aurora said with a negligent wave. “He called to ask if I could get my hands on a backstage pass to Sahara’s charity concert in September for his daughter. Brittany’s a huge fan. Like,reallyhuge.”

As Kennedy had predicted, her best friend and the singer got on like a house on fire right from the start, and the three had developed a strong bond, making a point to get together whenever Sahara was in town.

“What could’ve possibly given him the idea that you have that kind of clout?” Kennedy asked coyly.

Aurora’s eyes danced mischievously. “Imayhave mentioned that I have her personal cell number on speed dial and that whenever she’s in town, we all do lunch.”

Kennedy gave an amused snort. Her parents were Hollywood royalty, yet it was Sahara’s name she’d dropped. “Mentioned, huh? Don’t you mean bragged?”

“What?” Aurora exclaimed, laughing. “I had to prove my bona fides after he told me he had the biggest Sahara fan living under his roof.”

Ah, yes, his nineteen-year-old daughter. Now it made sense. Her friend usually wasn’t one to drop names all willy-nilly.

“Brittany is a Desert Stormer. She’s got the jacket, the sweatshirt, the baseball cap—the whole works,” Aurora said, gesturing widely with her hands.

Whether Sahara liked it or not, she was more than a celebrity to girls and young women like Brittany Faulkner—she was the ultimate role model. Personally, she didn’t know how Sahara dealt with the weighty responsibility that came with it.

“When was this?” His corruption scandal had been four years ago, years before Kennedy had met Sahara.

“I ran into him a few months ago at a fundraiser my mother dragged me to.”

Kennedy nodded. She remembered the weekend Aurora’s parents flew in from LA. The Vaughns loved a good cause and these days had thrown their considerable celebrity heft behind saving the planet, women’s rights, and closing the wealth gap.

“Has he said anything about whether he plans to run for governor?” The election was still two years away, but many of the potential opponents had already started jockeying for position in what looked to be a crowded primary. It was widely believed that the party nomination was his if he chose to run.

“Not to me he hasn’t,” Aurora replied.

“Well, the next time you talk to him, tell him to keep his nose clean. He can’t afford another scandal, even one that isn’t his fault.”

Aurora let out a short, dry laugh. “Believe me, he knows.”

“Damn, the press is down there in full force. I’ve never seen the lobby that packed,” Jack Walters, the company’s CTO, announced upon entering Nate’s office.

Friends since high school, he and Jack had attended Columbia together, both Computer and Information Science majors. He’d been working for another tech company when Nate started Constellation and had offered his talents before Nate had a chance to ask him to join the small team it had been at the time.

“What did you expect? They’re here for the show.” Nate finished the rest of his lukewarm coffee and set the empty mug on his desk. It was his fourth for the day and the only thing keeping him awake.

Between the lawsuit, meetings with the legal team and senior management, and almost no sleep in the past forty-eight hours combined with a wicked case of jet lag, he was wiped out. One-thirty in the morning was when he’d stumbled into his apartment drunk with sleep deprivation. He might as well have slept at the office. At least he’d have been able to catch a couple more z’s and been saved the morning commute. But then he wouldn’t have been able to change clothes, and it had been nice to sleep in his own bed and shower in his own bathroom. He hadn’t realized how much he missed it until he was back.

Kennedy probably has something to do with that.

He swiftly pushed the thought aside. No matter what he felt about her, Kennedy had made her feelings for him very clear. She wasn’t interested in starting anything up with him again.

Jack stopped in front of his desk. “You want me to do this? I don’t mind dealing with the press. I’ve been told I have a nice speaking voice and I won’t need a microphone.”

“By who, your mother?” Nate quipped, eliciting an amused smile from his friend. Mrs. Holly Walters made helicopter parents look like ’70s-style hippies.

Nate glanced down at the printed statement he’d spent an hour writing up last night and now knew by heart. “Nah, I have it covered. Anyway, Aurora said it’ll go over better coming from me.”

“She’s probably right,” Jack conceded as he rocked back on his heels, hands shoved in his pant pockets.

“As I have you here, has anyone in HR been able to find Alberta Simpson’s last performance review?” This was the stuff that made him lose his shit. How was it that no one could find the performance review of the person at the forefront of the lawsuit? Not only did the company keep printed copies of them, they were also digitized. The damn thing had to be sitting on one of the servers.

“Not yet, but I’m sure it’ll come up. Bonnie probably filed it in the wrong place. But don’t worry. I’m having IT search the backup servers.” Jack sounded irritatingly unperturbed.

“You’re sure she was given a paper copy?” In the lawsuit, Alberta claimed otherwise.

“Bonnie swears Alberta received one once she signed off on it. Said it was sent to her via internal mail. If Alberta didn’t receive it, why didn’t she say something at the time? Annual reviews were over six months ago.”

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