‘Yeah, I just saw him drive past. I’ll talk to you later.’
By the time she said goodbye and started walking downstairs, they were inside. She pushed away the uncomfortable feeling and smiled as she hugged her daughter. ‘Did you have fun?’
‘We had ice cream and went to the park, and Daddy pushed me so high that I almost touched the clouds,’ she said triumphantly.
Kenzie raised her eyebrows at Ewan, who cleared his throat quickly and tilted his head slightly. ‘That is probably a slight exaggeration. We went a sensible,safeheight, because I’m a responsible adult,’ he added, side-eyeing his daughter, who giggled.
For a moment, she managed to forget her earlier worries, lost in how cute they both were, even when they were clearly conspiring against her.
‘I think Peggy has some afternoon tea for you in the kitchen,’ Ewan said to Poppy, and they watched her happily run off in search of the housekeeper.
Kenzie prepared herself to tell him the news, but before she could, he took her hand and led her back outside. ‘Something’s come up on social media,’ he started, looking anxious.
‘I know. I’ve seen it, and your sister called just before you got home.’
He searched her face for a moment before he pulled out his phone and opened the screen, holding it out to her. ‘There’s something else,’ he said reluctantly.
Kenzie took the phone and saw the text message from Sasha. Her fingers went numb where they wrapped tightly around the phone. Sasha was going to destroy her reputation and ruin her business. She shook her head slowly, and tears began to sting her eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Not now … not after all the hard work she’d done, building her business. What was she going to tell her staff? How was she going to support herself and Poppy if she didn’t have a job? A million other thoughts raced through her head, making it pound in time with her heartbeat.
‘It’s going to be okay,’ Ewan said gently, taking a step towards her.
‘It’s not,’ Kenzie said, shaking her head harder. ‘You read what she said. She wants to destroy me. Once she tells everyone, I’m going to lose all credibility. This industry is built on reputation.’
‘Tell them what? We didn’t do anything wrong.’
‘We didn’t have todoanything. All she has to do is put the suggestion out there and the rumour mill will do the rest.’
‘Then we’ll get some legal advice and make sure she can’t.’
‘It’s social media, Ewan. Once it gains traction, there’s no way of stopping it. The damage will be done.’
‘She’s right,’ Floss said from behind them, making Kenzie jump. She turned around to face her. ‘This is my fault. If I hadn’t put the photo up, she wouldn’t have found out.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ Kenzie said, suddenly feeling weary. ‘It was just a harmless photo. Besides, you took it down, so there’s nothing there anymore to cause a stir.’
‘I know women like Sasha Delsanto,’ Floss said. ‘They don’t give up that easily.’
‘I would have to agree with Floss here. If there’s one thing Sasha hates, it’s losing, and if she’s convinced she was somehow cheated, she’s not going to let that go without making a huge drama out of it, if only to save face,’ Ewan said.
Her phone rang and Kenzie checked the number it hesitantly. ‘It’s the office.’ She sent the others a quick glance and answered. ‘Tara. Hi.’
‘Hi Kenzie. I’m not sure what’s going on exactly but I’ve just had a phone call from a journalist fromNuptialpalooza, the online magazine, wanting to contact you for comment? They wouldn’t say what it was about exactly, but he sounded very keen to talk to you.’
‘Oh God,’ Kenzie moaned, looking at Floss and Ewan. ‘It’s already started.’
‘Kenzie? Is everything okay?’ Tara asked nervously.
‘Not really,’ Kenzie sighed, explaining briefly what had happened.
‘Oh no,’ Tara said, deep concern conveyed in her tone. ‘What are we going to do?’
Floss waved a hand briefly to get Kenzie’s attention. ‘Do you mind if I cut in for a sec?’
Kenzie nodded and put the phone on speaker. ‘Tara, I’ve got Ewan and his sister, Floss, here. I think we need to make some kind of crisis plan.’
‘Hi Tara, it’s Floss. I’m the reason all this has blown up, but I think I might have a way to stop it,’ Floss said, ‘or at least to stop it making Sasha look like some kind of victim here, if she’s determined to ruin Kenzie’s reputation. We need to get ahead of this. Get our own story out there first, before she can twist everything around.’
‘I agree,’ Tara said slowly, and Kenzie had to give it to her, she’d handled having the phone call turn into an impromptu crisis conference without missing a beat, a testament to her ability to adapt quickly and calmly in most situations.
