"How did you let this happen, Garrett?" Greg asked finally.
I shook my head. I couldn't say anything. I was supposed to be in control. I was the puppet master. But I had been played.
"It's going to be all over the news," Mace said. The shock was wearing off, and the anger was setting in.
"It would be one thing if it were just rumors, but she's been embedded forweeks," Greg hissed. He turned to Hunter. "This went on right under your nose."
"It was Garrett," Hunter argued. "I thought he of all people would have done an extensive background check on whoever he brought around our family."
"She seemed so nice."
Gunnar patted my shoulder. "Stop ragging on him. We need to do damage control. We can worry about taking Garrett down a peg later. This article can't go out."
"I told her everything," I groaned.
"Jesus, Garrett, you barely knew her. You just met her a few weeks ago," Greg said coldly.
"She seemed so nice and understanding." My whole world was crashing down. It was like the fall when we were kicked out of the compound, and the realization was setting in that actually we were kind of fucked. The chill of the air, the death and desperation.
"We need to fire her," Mace said. "Actually, we should go to the police."
"Gunnar, you're the one with media contacts," Greg said, making a list. "Try to get the article pulled. We also need to come up with a contingency plan, just in case we can’t."
"You don't understand," I said, trying not to hyperventilate. "I told hereverything. She knows about how I'm trying to ruin our father, and she knows about our sisters. They'll publish it, and we'll never get the rest of our siblings back."
Mace gaped at me in shock. I felt sick.
This was bad.
75
Penny
The Grey Dove Bistro was busy when I walked in. Hazel waved.
"I started Garrett’s iced coffee order," she called.
"I sort of don’t even want to buy it for him, " I said, rolling my eyes. "He’s just going to complain about the straw."
"I have straws made out of paper, metal straws, and actual straw from a plant," Hazel offered.
"Garrett is going to complain about all of them."
"Then he cannot have coffee."
"Can I have a donut Danish?"
"Pumpkin cheesecake?"
"Yes please!"
"How many, two?"
"A bag. I'm going to take some to the office." I declared. Actually, I was probably going to eat all of them myself then have a massive sugar headache. But I was still upset about my mom, and hey, I was a stress eater.
I took a big sip of my coffee. The thoughts about my mother were making me nauseous.
"How do you make this so smooth?" I asked Hazel.
