Nope, Katrina herself,I think bitterly.
Emily shows me her phone, and a knot forms in my throat. The photo is a selfie of Asher and Katrina lying in a bed, tangled up in one another, their lips pressed together. As Emily said, it’s intimate, personal,provocative.
“Heather and I are already putting a statement together. We’ll get as far ahead of this as we can.”
Now it’s me who lets out a long sigh. This will be hard to get in front of. The initial pushback the team put out against the cheating scandal hasn’t had much success, and now the story will grow even bigger. And while it might be obvious to me that Asher is younger in the photo, it may not be obvious to the average person.
The rest of the team joins Emily and me at the table, and they begin to throw out suggestions on how to combat this. We circle around what feels like a million suggestions, but settle on the fact that the easiest, most effective solution is for Asher and me to be seen in public together.
“When does Mr. Langford return from Singapore again?” Michael asks.
“Saturday, and we have an appearance Sunday night at thesymphony. That should help show the world that we’re still very much together.”
“That’s good, but it may not be enough,” Heather says. “The articles are all starting to trend. And I’m not going to lie, some of the pictures of the two of them are hot. Asher has had several cheating rumors in the past, so it’s not a stretch for the public to believe he’s cheating again.”
“And people love a second-chance love story,” Michael adds, with an uneasy shrug.
“We need something big,” Emily says. “To squash these rumors once and for all.”
We’re all mulling over ideas when the conference room door opens. Haley, one of the receptionists, peaks her head in.
“Ms. Hale, you’ve been requested by the executives in the other board room.”
My stomach clenches, and I shrink as I notice everyone shoot me worried or pitied looks.
“We’ll circle back as soon as you’re done with them,” Emily says, a little too casually.
I only nod in answer.
As I make my way toward the smaller conference room, I mentally try to make a case for myself, assuming this little meeting is about the cheating articles. I also try to tamp down my frustration. Of course the board would bring this up when Asher’s not here to defend himself or me. I’m certain they’ll try to pin all the blame on me because I’m the much easier target, and that thought only annoys me further because the board knows these types of stories come with the territory of Asher. People flip and flop about whether they want to see someone like Asher happy and in love or in the middle of drama. It changes day to day, and the tabloids use that to their advantage. There is no way to avoid all scandalous or false stories with his level of fame, it’s just not possible, and calling me into their conference room to scold me is not going to change anything.
For a moment I debate stopping by Declan’s office and begging him to come to the conference room with me. Asher told him to keep an eye on me while he was gone, and if the executives are upset with me about something, Declan will surely have my back. But I decide against it at the last minute. I can do this on my own. I am good at my job, and I have nothing to feel ashamed about. Plus, I need to learn how to handle the suits in the boardroom if Asher and I are going to be together. Asher’s world is full of these types of people, and if we stay together, I know I’ll be forced to defend myself time and again. It’s better that I get used to it now.
Just as I turn the corner near the smaller conference room, I almost run into someone.
“Oh, sorry,” I say, catching myself at the last minute. I stop right in front of Daphne, who I just now realized wasn’t in our team meeting. But she’s not alone. One of the executives stands right next to her. He clears his throat and pushes past Daphne and then me, then disappears behind the corner.
“Did I interrupt something?” I ask, noting Daphne’s wide eyes.
“Of course not,” she says quickly, her posture stiff. “Mr. Hoffman was just asking me a question. The board is very concerned about this new cheating scandal.”
I raise my brows. “And I’m assuming you told him we’d have it in hand.”
“Of course I told him we have it in hand. That’s our job. I’m not going to get fired because Asher is already bored with you.”
I open my mouth to retort but close it just as fast. I’m not going to get into it with Daphne right now, not when I’ve been summoned to the executives’ conference room. I roll my eyes and push past her, bracing myself as I head into the lions’ den.
My eyes widen as I step into the room. Most of the members of the board are here, seated and waiting for me. Of course, it’s not all the board members since conveniently Asher, Declan,Sterling, and Harrington aren’t here—and two men who only come for official board meetings are also absent, but the rest of the executives who sit on the board are all present. And they’re all poised and ready.
“Ms. Hale,” one of them says. “Have a seat.”
My pulse pounds in my ears as I do. I swallow hard and surreptitiously wipe my sweaty palms on my skirt beneath the table.
“We are here to discuss your abysmal performance in the task you have been given,” Janet says. “We have yet another sordid scandal about Mr. Langford in the news. It was your job to make sure this didn’t happen.”
At least I wasn’t wrong in my assumption.
“With all due respect, I can’t control what is written about Asher.”
