For the first time since she stepped into the room, we lock eyes.
“There’s something I need to say,” I tell her, nodding to Luis and his camera setup.
Through the large window, it’s a peaceful day, the sunset gleaming off the city and the ships on Elliott Bay like a fever dream. The shiny silver and glassy water make such a striking contrast you’d never guess the world is falling down around us.
Any other day, it would be an ideal romantic backdrop for my quiet penthouse.
Today, it’s just the calm before the storm.
“Brady, what do you mean? You’re streaming rightnow?” Lena stares at me, her eyes wide and questioning.
No time to explain.
I can’t risk scaring her off.
“Everything’s set,” Luis says, checking the equipment one last time. I checked it myself three times before he showed up.
Queenie butts her head under my arm, her tongue flopped out with excitement. It’s going to be anticlimactic as hell if this dog jumps on me while we’re live, but what can you do?
If that’s all that misfires today, I’ll be a lucky man.
“I don’t understand,” Lena hisses, annoyance flashing in her eyes. “Can’t you just tell me what’s going on—”
“It’ll make sense in five minutes. I promise. Thanks for coming,” I say gently, checking my watch. Sixty seconds to go. “Humor me one more time, Lena. It has to be like this if I want it to come out right.”
She clenches her hands, her nails biting her skin as she shakes her head in confusion.
Damn.
I can’t begin to imagine what she’s been through over the past twenty-four hours, what she’s thinking, but there’s no time for doubt.
The live stream is about to start.
With the deepest breath, I face the camera. The tablet on my desk shows there are already over ten thousand people tuned in and waiting, with thousands more joining every second.
The counter on the screen ticks down a few more seconds.
I feel the weight of the world crushing me as I try to ignore the beautiful, hurt Medusa in front of me, promising to turn me to stone if I look at her.
Sorry, Sass.
Not now.
Not yet.
Once she’s heard me out, I’ll let her decide if those big brown eyes are heaven or portals to hell.
“Hey, everybody,” I start, without my usual smile. “Brady here, and today it’s all business. I couldn’t leave you in the dark a minute longer with all the rumors flying, so let me clear this up.
“First, on behalf of my family and Pruitt Ag, I’ve made some heaping mistakes recently.” Off camera, Luis hides his face. Lena looks pale, motionless. I force a smile. “That’s all on me and nobody else. Honestly, it hasn’t been great for my state of mind. A few hours ago, I even thought about socking a man in the face.”
Comments trickle in on the tablet. I glance at them, then at Lena, who’s watching with a frown.
Nobody ever said radical honesty was easy.
“Here’s some more truth—I’m almost thirty years old. Until this summer, I didn’t know I still had a lot of growing up to do. I know how that sounds, so go ahead and laugh. But hell, I’ve been stuck in the mud for too long. I haven’t been growing, not while I’ve been crashing out, haunted by my past. You know my reputation. That’s why half of you are here, I’m sure—you logged on to see a rich playboy punk get kicked in the nads by karma—but I’m going to disappoint you. I’m still a walking mess, just not the kind I used to be.”
Lena’s eyes brighten. I can practically hear her panic through her slow breaths, her shoulders rising and falling. All the ways she’s tensing, silently screamingno, no, no.
