“Um…” I began, to fill the painful silence. “Sothathappened.”
My stomach was turning inside out over this worst-case scenario. A good PR strategist considered every outcome, but this one had been so left field that I hadn’t really thought of it as a possibility. Now I was kicking myself for not having a disaster plan in place.
I braced for the tirade that was sure to come. But I couldn’t blame Harrison for whatever was about to explode in the suite, because what just went down was a PR nightmare. Like, I couldalmost hear the McPherson guys laughing at me from across the country.
Harrison remained quiet, but I could see his jaw clenching.
“Are you okay?” I asked cautiously.
“Been better.”
It was more a measured response than I’d expected, but the fury was right there, just below the surface. I needed to do damage control.
“It’s going to be okay,” I began, hoping that by the end of my rah-rah speech I’d believe it myself. “Yeah, it wasn’t what we wanted to happen, but here we are. You still have a fantastic opportunity to plead your case tomorrow night. And hey, the media is definitely going to make this story a priority, so you’ll have even more eyes on you as you show the world who you really are. It’s not ideal, but you can still turn it around.Wecan. I’ll be right there with you.”
He fell back against the couch, rubbing his eyes. “What I don’t understand iswhyshe would do it. Does she have a grudge that we don’t know about? Because it doesn’t make sense!”
I didn’t want to add fuel to his fire, but honestly, Harrison was right. I couldn’t make sense of why she’d veer off script when we’d all agreed to it.
“I’m not sure why,” I replied. “And that’s what worries me. I need to do some digging, because if this is an open wound, no amount of groveling will stop the blood loss.”
“Thanks for equating my professional life with gore. Feels about right.” Harrison sighed. “Let’s get to work. What do I need to do first?”
I shook my head. It was my job to make this right.
I reached for my phone, which was lighting up like the Fourth of July. “You preserve your peace. This is on me for now. Let’s just say I won’t be going to bed for a while. I have to connect with theAfter Darkteam, her people, and our crew. We need to tweak your message, as well.”
“Isn’t there anything I can do to help?”
“Get your beauty rest. You’re the one who’s going to get cross examined in HD tomorrow.”
“Gwen, no, I can?—”
“I’m serious, I can handle everything. Go to bed. I’ve got this. One of us should get some rest, and it isn’t going to be me. On the bright side, looks like we don’t have to worry about sharing the bed after all.”
Harrison finally unfolded from the couch and stood up. He watched me for a moment, and I could’ve sworn a hint of regret flickered across his face.
10
HARRISON
The absolute best alarm clock in the world was Gwen between my legs with my cock in her mouth. I reached down to wind my fingers in her hair, and she practically swallowed me whole. I tended to revisit the memories of our time in Aspen whenever I was feeling…pent up. But the reality was even better than my memories of it. It usually only took a few seconds of justthinkingabout Gwen before I exploded, and this morning was going to be no exception.
Damn, that tongue. Those lips.
“Gwen,” I murmured.
“It’s time,” she replied.
“So close…”
“No,now.”
I felt her shove my shoulder, and I cracked an eye open.
Gwen was hovering above the bed, dressed and ready andnotcurrently giving me the world’s best blow job.
I quickly rolled onto my side to hide my massive hard-on. She looked even better than dream Gwen in a fitted navy dress.
