“My mother’s friends are calling. Some of my high school classmates are calling. My college roommate sent me a link asking if it’s really me.” Her voice was hollow. “Three million people have watched me have sex. Three million.”
“More now,” Leo said, then winced. “Sorry. Not helpful.”
“Who did this?” Tashi asked, finally looking at me. “Who would do this?”
“Someone with access to the security feeds,” I said. “Someone who knew exactly when and where to find footage they could use against us.”
“Who?” Orion said quietly. “We need to know.”
I pulled up the metadata I’d been analyzing before the world imploded.
“The footage was uploaded via VPN.”
“But why?” Tashi’s voice cracked. “What does anyone gain from…this?”
My phone rang. Unknown number. I answered anyway, putting it on speaker.
“Mr. Kolykos.” Kurt Wilder’s voice filled the room, smug and satisfied. “I assume you’ve seen the footage circulating online.”
“What do you want, Wilder?”
“I want you to understand the severity of your situation. The Gaming Commission takes workplace conduct very seriously. This footage demonstrates a clear violation of professional boundaries, potential coercion of an employee, and?—”
“Investigate all you want,” Orion said, his voice cold. “You’ll find that three consenting adults entered into a relationship with another consenting adult. No coercion. No workplace favoritism. No policy violations. Just four people making choices about their personal lives.”
“It’s four adults who work together, and the optics are bad,” Wilder said. “We need to contain this to protect the reputations of our industry. The Gaming Commission hearing is rescheduled to three days from now. I expect all parties to attend.”
“We’ll be there,” Orion said. “With our lawyers.” He made a slashing motion with his hand, and I hung up.
Tashi’s hands were trembling. “I’ll quit and end this. I’m just the slut who slept with three billionaires.”
“No,” said Leo. “That’s what he’ll make it seem like.”
“That is what people are saying!” Tashi stood up, finally showing some fire. “Have you read the comments? Have you seen what they’re calling me? Gold digger. Whore. Home-wrecker, even though none of you were married. I’m being slut-shamed by millions of people who think they know me based on ninety seconds of stolen footage.”
“Then we tell our story,” I said. “We control the narrative instead of letting them write it for us.”
“What story?” Tashi demanded. “That I fell in love with three brothers, and they decided to pass me around like a time-share condo? That’s not going to play well in the court of public opinion.”
“Maybe not,” Orion said. “But I’d rather fight for the truth than hide from lies.”
“Easy for you to say when you’re billionaires with reputations that can survive scandal,” Tashi shot back. “I’m nobody. I am a marketing director from New York who made the mistake of getting involved with my bosses. This disaster will follow me for the rest of my life.”
The room fell silent. She was right. No matter how this ended, she’d endure public judgment. We had money, power, and lawyers. She had nothing but our promise to stand by her.
“What do you want to do?” Orion asked quietly. “Because we’re not abandoning you. But if you want out, if you want to walk away and try to rebuild somewhere else—we’ll support you.”
“Don’t.” Her voice broke. “Don’t offer me charity or give me an escape route. Because I might take it, and then I’d hate myself for being a coward.”
“That’s not cowardice,” Leo said gently.
“Isn’t it?” Tashi looked at each of us. “Because right now, survival feels like giving up everything I care about to make other people comfortable. And I’m so tired of making myself small to fit into boxes other people designed.”
I glanced at my brothers. Leo’s face was puckered like he’d sucked a lemon, and Orion looked like he wanted to smash someone.
“Then don’t,” Orion said. “Don’t make yourself small. Don’t apologize for loving who you love. Don’t let them shame you into hiding.”
“But the hotel?—”
