I’d been casually dating both of them, not knowing that they were friends. When I asked one of them, Monica, on a date, she must have told Jessica—and they’d begun to put the pieces together.
It was just bad luck, as far as I’m concerned. I mean, what were the odds?
Though, I’d be lying if I said this had never happened to me before.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” My father’s voice is deadly calm, but I can hear the stirrings of anger in the lows of his tone.
I grit my teeth, bracing myself. “Sure. This was all a big misunderstanding.”
That was the wrong thing to say, apparently. My father’s eyes narrow. “Is that so?”
Beside me, Shane shuffles uncomfortably. If he didn’t want to be here before, he certainly doesn’t want to be here now.
“Yes,” I say, lifting my chin and looking my father in the eye. “You know how it is with the paparazzi. It’s all embellishment. They don’t really care about the actual details of the situation. They’re just looking for personal shit?—”
“This occurred at a public restaurant,” he interrupts. “A fine establishment, too. I know the owners. This has damaged my reputation with them, and it’s damaged the company’s reputation in general.”
“It really wasn’t that bad.”
“According to this article, you were cheating on this girl with her close friend. They came to tell you off on a Friday night, in front of the entire restaurant crowd. Is that accurate?” My father curls his lip at me. “Or is thatall embellishment?”
Guiltily, I duck my head, breaking eye contact. “Well?—”
“Your improprieties have affected this family’s image in ways that you cannot begin to imagine,” my father snarls, hisfury finally breaking through the veneer of calm. “You are an unprofessional, ungratefulchild,and you’re bringing this company down.”
I can feel my hackles starting to rise. My hands curl into fists beneath the desk. “Hey,” I say, trying to keep my voice measured. “I don’t see howmypersonal life has that much impact on the company.”
“Is that supposed to be a joke?”
“No.”
“The fact that you can’t see the problem only illustrates it further.” Shaking his head in disgust, my father reaches over the desk to snatch up the tabloid, the paper crumpling in his fist. He smooths it out, glaring at my image on the page.
I know better than to fight with my father, so I force myself to take a deep breath. “What would you like me to do about this?”
“Get yourself together,” he snaps in reply. “Start acting like a grown man. If you don’t, there’s another Eastwood this company can go to.”
He doesn’t even look at Shane as he speaks, but I do, out of the corner of my eye. The look on my brother’s face is one of abject misery.
He doesn’t want Eastwood. He’s never wanted Eastwood.
I set my jaw, wrestling with the instinctive wave of anger that overcomes me. I can’t help but bristle at my father’s domineering attitude, the way he wields the future of this company as an implicit threat.
It would be a mistake to get into it with Lionel, though. That’s not a battle I can win right now, and it would only serve to make things worse.
So instead, I sigh. “It won’t be an issue,” I promise, my voice even.
My father gives me a skeptical look. Subtly, and without the same haughtiness, Shane mirrors it in my periphery.
“How can you be sure of that?” Lionel asks.
I have to search quickly for an answer; I didn’t think I’d get this far. “I’ll stop dating for a while,” I offer, grasping at straws. “That will repair my image in the press, right? If there’s nothing salacious for them to report on, they’ll lose interest.”
For a few moments, my father is silent, considering. Then he nods curtly. “Good. Keep your head in the game. I don’t want to see your name in print for the next few months, do you understand?”
I nod. “Loud and clear.”
He sniffs, tossing the tabloid into the wastebasket by the door. He turns on his heel to leave without so much as looking in Shane’s direction, as if we were alone in my office.
