“Who canceled it?” Though she knew she was off her game, she slipped into the persona that dealt with her father the best. Rich bitch.
“Anderson decided it was unnecessary. He and I have come to a gentlemen’s agreement regarding the sale of his European division.”
The blood rushed in Akira’s ears. The business she had spent months vetting and studying and courting had been purchased out from under her? By her own father? Rage guiding her actions, she slammed her fist on the emergency-stop button. The car came to a swift, jerking halt.
“You’re bluffing,” she said, attempting to modulate her voice.Don’t let him see what this is doing to you.“Anderson wouldn’t do that. That’s bad faith.”
Hiro shrugged. “This CEO has a surprisingly rigid moral code for someone who owns bars.” The man said the wordbarslike he mightcrack dens,showcasing the strange morality that made his show and family acceptable but her legitimate business an embarrassment.
“What does that have to do with me?” Akira demanded.
“He doesn’t like you. Thinks you’re too wild.”
Akira’s nostrils flared. “You released asex tape.”
Her father lifted a shoulder. “Yes. We discussed that. A regrettable mistake, on my part, but it was a private moment with my future wife never meant for public consumption.”
Fucker. She wondered how the bastard managed to bleat any of that with a straight face. Her breaths were coming faster than she’d like, but there was little she could do about that. “How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That I was going after Anderson? It was kept under wraps.”
He clucked his tongue, rocking back on his heels, clearly enjoying this moment. “You really shouldn’t talk business in front of your driver, Akira.”
A stab of sorrow hit her heart. Kevin? One of her own had betrayed her?
She pushed her hurt aside to deal with the shark standing in front of her. “Why did you do this? You hated being a hotelier. You don’t know anything about this industry.”
Her father cast a measuring glance at her hand. Carefully, she uncurled her fist and flexed her fingers. “You know why.”
Of course she knew why. Ever so slightly, her shoulders slumped. “You want something from me.”
“You could have answered my phone calls,” the man pointed out gently. “And we wouldn’t have to play this ridiculous game.”
“This seems like a high price to pay to get me to guest star on your show.”
Self-satisfaction oozed out of him. And why not? He had the upper hand. “Oh, no. Not guest star. We’re thinking semi-regular. I’ve even negotiated an opening credit for you.”
He sounded like she should be happy. Was he delusional? She linked her hands together to stop their trembling. “Are ratings that bad?”
“I prefer to be proactive. They’ve offered Brandy,” he said, referring to Chloe’s daughter, “her own spin-off. She’s a big part of the ratings grab. I can’t chance the new baby will be enough to pull viewers in.”
Akira experienced a momentary pang of sympathy for her unborn half-sibling. She couldn’t say much for her childhood, but at least she hadn’t been a tool to score big with Nielsen. “But I will?”
His lips twisted. “People find you fascinating. For whatever reason. You only need to come in a few times a season. You barely have to think. The producers manage most of the scenes.”
So much for reality television. “Oh, is that all?”
“This will benefit you as well. We can discuss compensation. Plus, there’s no price you can put on this kind of publicity.”
“I assume,” she bit off, “you will also immediately back off this gentlemen’s agreement you have with Anderson.”
“And recommend he close the deal with you.” Her father spread his hands. “We all win, Akira.”
“This is an expensive risk you took,” she remarked. “If I tell you to go fuck yourself in the ass, you’re stuck with a hundred underperforming bars in Europe.”
He looked unbothered by that thought. “I have the money to burn, and it won’t be the first time I’ve jettisoned some establishments. Hell, maybe it could even be a nice inheritance for your little brother and sister.”
