Of course I was. “They know where to find me.”
With a sigh, I went into my office and logged in. My email and phone messages were flooded. Some were from people who actually cared about me, expressing concern. A few were business partners and colleagues asking for reassurance. Others were reporters, fake friends, nosey fucks, and people pestering me on behalf of my mother.
Delete.
Terrance popped his head in. “Do you have a minute?”
“For you, always.” While I should deal with some of these emails, they could wait.
“Good.” Terrance came in, closing the door and taking the chair in front of my desk. “I’m guessing you’re not following all this with your mom closely.”
“Fuck no.” I didn’t even have social media.
He sucked in a breath through his teeth. “So… it’s gotten worse. While your mom is generally very careful and good at keeping up appearances, not everyone loves her, and she has slipped a few times. People are speaking up.”
“I figured.” I sighed. “She does throw her power around sometimes.”
“Bren, one of them is someone from the rehab facility that your mom forced you into.”
It was like being hit with a brick. “Fuck.”
That was something few people knew. Most people just had heard that I was seriously hurt and took a while to recover, which was the truth. Even Caroline had dismissed it as me just needing some time toheal and brood,as she’d put it.
“Yeah, and that caused the ambulance driver to speak up about how we literally jail-broke you.” Terrance’s look went grim. “I’m going to have to make a statement before this spins out of control. I mean, it’s all in our favor right now, but we want to keep it that way.”
The last thing I ever expected was for allthatto be in the media. Shit. I didn’t like people in my business.
“You’re also going to want to control the media–both for you personally, and the company. Right now, you’re fine, but your brothers are being attacked big time, and so is the foundation,” he added.
An email came through from Misty, the head of PR.We really need to talk about what’s going on and probably hold a press conference.
With a sigh, I replied.Draft a statement and send it to me.
I didn’t want to hold a press conference, but I would if I had to. Maybe a statement would be enough.
“They’re attacking the foundation?” I frowned.
“Yeah, they’re calling for the resignation of your mom, Troy, and Liam from the foundation board. Right now, your dad is safe, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has to blame cutting the omega scholarships on them.” Terrance rubbed his temples.
“Wow.” The foundation had a backup plan for that exact scenario, but I wasn’t sure my father would do it. “Is hercompany under fire?” It was privately held, but bad press could still affect so many things.
“Yep. Every project that is publicly held is taking a beating in the stock reports today. If I were a lesser man, I’d suggest buying up the State Street project out of spite. But some shell company from the Mediterranean is gobbling things up while they’re cheap.”
My mind went back to Daphne’s text.
“Morris Company has publicly traded projects?” I didn’t know that. Not that I paid much attention to them anymore.
“A few. State Street is one of them,” he replied.
I responded to Daphne, now getting what she was doing.
Me
Go ahead. Send over the papers when you’re ready.
“One of Spencer’s business tycoon cousins wants to take over the State Street project and turn it into an artist colony. Pretty sure that’s her,” I remarked. “She was telling me about her project at Spencer’s party. It sounds great. It’s honestly not that different from what my mom wants to do, but instead of luxury apartments, it’s artist lofts. The businesses are all local, not chains. The community workspace will have things like kilns and forges, and there’s a place for plays and performances. Oh, and there are quarterly art festivals so you can see the artists' work. I agreed to sell her my building because she has a clear vision and an excellent track record.”
“Yeah, I talked to her, too, and I love the sound of it. Hey, my family had a fantastic time at the party. That was the fanciest bouncy castle ever–and my kids loved being at the kids' table. When Grace’s little sister comes to visit for camp, can we have a playdate?”
