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No one cared more about their reputation and how they looked to the rest of the world than Samantha Maxwell, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “So, you don’t have a problem with it?”
“What she does and who she does it with is none of my business. You seemed like a better man than your father ever was. I hope that’s the case, and if Victoria wants to be with you, then you must be. She’s a much better judge of character than most. If she is with you, then it’s because you’re a good man. One who’s worthy of her. I take it Charles does not agree?”
“That’s a big understatement,” I muttered.
“Do tell,” Samantha said dramatically.
She might have moved on with her voice coach, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t looking for a way to take down my father if she could. I was possibly walking into the lion’s den by talking to Samantha about this, but if I wanted to do what I needed to do, it would work better if she was on board.
“My father doesn’t think that Victoria is the right fit for the image that he wants me to portray with my reality show.”
“He wants you to still hang out with all the models and wanna-be celebrities that he pushed your way.”
“You knew about that?”
“You didn’t?”
I shook my head, feeling more of a fool that I hadn’t seen what my father was doing and how he was manipulating me. But that was going to stop now. If everything went the way I wanted it to, not only would Victoria and I get to be together, out in the open, but I would get my father out of my life forever.
“He didn’t like it when I refused to stop seeing Victoria,” I said.
Samantha slowly stood up and looked me directly in my eyes, her voice was barely above a whisper, but it was deadly. “What did he do to Victoria?”
“He’s trying to ruin her career by saying that we did something in her classroom that was more than it was. She’s up for tenure and could lose it unless she agrees to never see me again. Or at least that’s what the principal told her.”
“He can’t do that. Can he?”
“I don’t think so. Though technically, he’ll just give another reason to not give her tenure if she doesn’t agree to do what he wants.”
“She shouldn’t agree to do it. If she does, the man will own her for the rest of her career. He could use the same information on her over and over again. It will never end.”
Something about how she talked about being blackmailed made me think it had happened to her. I wondered what that was about, but it wasn’t the time to get into it. “I hadn’t thought of that, but yes. Victoria doesn’t want to do it. We love each other, and we want to be together. But I can’t have her risking her career, her dream, just to be with me. I can’t let my father win either.”
“What do you think I can do to stop him?”
“Are you willing to help?”
“Do you even have to ask? The man is hurting my daughter,my daughter; no one can get away with that. Not while I’m still breathing. And I get the impression that you don’t just want to get Charles to back away from you and Victoria, but you want him to be gone from all of our lives for good, and you need my help to do that.”
“All my contacts are his. If I do anything, if I make a move, he’ll know about it before I even do it. But you have different contacts, different ways of getting information, and I think that can help Victoria and me. It will also help you with the divorce. You could probably ask for anything you want if this goes my way, including the Malibu home.”
“I don’t want anything from that man but to leave you and Victoria alone. If I can ostracize the man in our industry while I’m at it, all the better. Though having the Malibu home wouldn’t hurt,” Samantha admitted.
“Samantha, thank you so much. This means the world to me. I’m sure Victoria will appreciate it too.”
“You haven’t told her? She doesn’t know you are here?”
“No. But when she finds out what you’re willing to do and how much you’ve helped us, she’s going to be as happy that you did as I am.”
Chapter 25
Victoria
I had to run an errand. I’ll be back soon. I love you – Z
The note Zach left me was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. I had expected to find him in bed with me. In his very comfortable and large bed. After we made love on his couch the night before, he had carried me up to his room and pleasured me all night long. I had gone to sleep in the early morning and was shocked to see that I had slept so late.
I had known I wouldn’t be able to face my students or be productive at school, so I had called off. I needed more time to figure out what I was going to do. I hated leaving my kids hanging like that, but they would survive one day without me. Taking one day might help me find a way to stay in their lives permanently, something that I very much wanted to do.
