“My schedule is demanding, so I need to be clear.”
I sit straighter. “Of course.”
“I hope you do.” His gaze sharpens.
“Quench is not merely a soft drink to me. It is my creation. My brand. My investment. And tonight’s event? This showcase?” He gestures at the glowing ballroom. “A significant portion of my annual budget.”
“We appreciate that, truly.”
“Yes,” he says coolly. “But appreciating it isn’t the same as protecting it.”
Mr. Lemon studies me the way a jeweler inspects a stone. Checking for cracks, flaws, anything that might devalue the product.
“I’m not here to chastise you. But you must know this brand,mybrand, cannot weather uncertainty. Chaos is bad for business.”
My pulse thumps in my throat.
“I did see the tabloid photo, Miss Smith. Antoine explained it. And I saw your interview with Braxton. It was good spin. It bought you sympathy.”
His gaze hardens. “But you need to know I don’t invest in sympathy. I invest in stability.”
He leans in.
“If there is one more incident—one more photo, one more hint this engagement is messy or fake—I pull the sponsorship.”
My breath catches. “You…you can’t. The concert is tomorrow.”
“I can,” he says calmly. “The loss will be Rio’s problem. And the band’s. And my charity’s. But the scandal?”
His eyes pin me. “That will have your name on it, Miss Smith.”
I swallow hard as he rises.
Then I calm myself by remembering that lightning rarely strikes twice in the same place.
For a moment, the clink of glasses and soft music blur together in a fog. My eyes sting, but I blink it away.
Not here. Not now.
I'm obligated to meet and mingle as Rio's fiancé until the party ends.
The ballroom glows bright yellow around me, buzzing with conversations I no longer hear.
Tomorrow is the concert.
And everything rests on what comes next.
CHAPTER 28
MADDIE
Istep into the marble shopping arcade, still vibrant though it is near midnight.
A woman in a flashy red dress puts her hands around a much older man to her right, laughing at something he said.
Two women with tattoos and multi-colored hair lock arms as they push a stroller in front of them. Whether it contains an animal or an infant, I can’t tell.
Las Vegas.
