JustHow does this look?
My own father hears I'm unconscious in a hospital, and his first instinct isn't to drive here; it's to check the stock price and push the closing date.
Labor Day.The rest of the summer.
They are benching me. All because Aston has them convinced I'm volatile.
"Is it bad?" Ivy asks. Her voice is small.
I look up at her. She's chewing on her lower lip, twisting a loose thread on that ruined champagne dress.
She looks guilty. She looks terrified.
And she looks... useful.
I look at the email again.Zero public scandals.
My thumb hovers over the screen. I minimize the email and open a browser window. I type Ever After, Inc.into the search bar.
The website loads instantly. I tap on the 'About Us' page. Three smiling faces stare back at me. Ivy Sullivan. Maddy Chang. Savannah Kingston.
I check the footer of the page. Ever After, Inc.An LLC. Excellent. That means they have assets. That means they have something to lose.
My brain, which usually runs on spreadsheets and risk assessment algorithms, makes a sudden, lateral jump.
I look at Ivy. I look at the 'Fiancée' bracelet on her wrist. I remember the nurse's beaming face.
That's true love, right there.
The lie is already in the system. The witness, Mason Kincaid, saw the assault. The hospital staff saw the devotion.
If I deny it, I'm the unstable guy who got into a brawl at a wedding, exactly the narrative Aston is trying to sell.
If I lean into it... I'm the settled, happy man who had a minor accident while celebrating with his fiancée.
I look at Ivy again. Really look at her.
Under the dirt and the panic, she's... polished. Attractive, in a sharp, dangerous sort of way. She handled the nurse with the ease of a politician. She stood up to me even when she was terrified.
She's a fixer. A professional liar.
And right now, she owes me.
"Ivy," I say slowly. "You work for Ever After, Inc., don't you? You and your friends own it."
She blinks, confused by the pivot. "Yes. Maddy, Savvy, and me. We're partners."
"LLC?"
"Yes."
"And you don't have corporate liability insurance that covers 'assaulting a guest,' do you?"
Her face goes chalk-white. "Brooks. Please. Don't sue the company. Sue me if you have to. I have... a savings account. I have a 2018 Honda Civic. You can have it."
"I don't want your Honda Civic," I say, dismissing the offer with a wave of my hand. "And I don't want to sue your company. That sounds like a lot of paperwork."
She lets out a breath, her shoulders sagging. "Thank God. Thank you. I promise, I'll sign whatever you want. An NDA, a settlement agreement, whatever..."
