Page 198 of My Real Love Affair

“I didn’t know any of this—” Cash started.

“There’s more.” Armand’s voice was like ice. “A police report filed by her neighbor two years ago for harassment. Apparently she became obsessed with the woman’s husband, started showing up uninvited, leaving notes, calling at all hours. The husband had to get a restraining order.”

Cash set the folder down, looking genuinely shaken. “She made a great impression. Her references checked out. I don’t understand how I missed this.”

“Because she’s a con artist,” Dad said flatly. “A good one. She knew exactly what you were looking for and presented herself accordingly. She probably gave you fake references. Did you actually call them, or did you have an assistant do it?”

Cash’s silence was answer enough.

I should have felt bad for him. It was serious, and Cash was clearly beating himself up over it. But I couldn’t help the small surge of satisfaction watching him squirm. How many times had he swooped in to clean up my messes while making me feel like an incompetent child? How many times had he looked at me with that disappointed older brother expression?

Now he was the one who had fucked up. Mr. Perfect had hired a con artist to babysit me, and it was blowing up in all our faces.

“I messed up,” Cash said quietly. “This could be bad.”

“Bad?” Dad stood, his hands planted on the desk. “This is a catastrophe waiting to happen. We have a documented con artist threatening to go public with information about our family and she has just enough truth mixed in with her lies to make it seem credible. The media will have a field day.”

“We can contain it,” Cash said. “Our legal team will fix this.”

“They’re already working on it. I had them start digging into Summer Auburn the moment you told me about the blackmail.” Dad’s gaze could have cut steel. “They’re the ones who found all of this. In less than four hours. What does that say about your vetting process?”

Cash’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue.Couldn’targue. “I’ll consult with them the next time I need to vet someone.”

Dad moved from behind his desk, pacing like a caged predator. “We need to walk this back as much as possible. Minimize the damage. Cash, you’re going to contact Summer directly and offer her a settlement. A generous one. Enough to make her think twice about going public. And make sure there is a damn NDA that is so ironclad she won’t think about breaking it again.”

“And if she doesn’t take it?” Cash asked.

“Then we enforce the original NDA, suing her for damages, and we’ll bury her with the truth. We release everything we found. We make her so radioactive that no media outlet will touch her story without questioning her credibility.”

It was a smart strategy. Ruthless but smart. Classic Armand Bancroft.

“What about me?” I asked.

He looked at me with annoyance. “You stay off social media for the next eight weeks at least. Complete radio silence. No posts, no comments, nothing that could be twisted or used against us.”

I could do that. I wasn’t a big social media guy anyway.

“And you stop seeing that influencer wannabe,” Dad said.

The words hit me like a physical blow. I stared at him because there was no way I heard him correctly.

“What did you just say?” My voice came out dangerously quiet.

“The girl. The one you’ve been parading around with. You need to end it. Immediately.”

My whole body tensed and I couldn’t breathe. “Her name is Melody. And she’s not a wannabe. She’s very successful.”

“Austin, it’s over. She’s probably involved in this.” Dad shook his head. “All these clout chasers are the same.”

“She’s a successful entrepreneur who built her entire brand from nothing. She’s passionate about what she does, and she helps people. Real people.”

Dad waved his hand dismissively. “She tries on clothes for a living. Who is she really helping?”

My temper ignited. This was everything I had always hated about my father, the casual dismissal of anything he didn’t understand.

“She’s helping women feel confident in their own skin,” I said, my voice rising. “She’s building a community. That matters.”

“We contribute millions upon millions a year to charity,” Dad shot back. “That’s real help. That makes actual change in people’s lives. Not teaching women how to take selfies in designer clothes.”