Page 4 of Twisted Truth

“No, but he doesn’t sound happy, if that helps.”

I roll my eyes and hold in a groan.What now?I’ve had a shit morning. One of our subsidiary companies had an accident in their warehouse last night and five people were sent to the hospital. They’re all okay, thank god, but that’s the second time in the last six months that something like that has happened. This is not something I take lightly, and I won’t allow the employees back on the floor until we can figure out what’s going on—their safety is not worth the risk. But I don’t have time to be distracted by whatever it is my father wants when I need to get to the bottom of this.

“Tell him I’m busy.”

“No can do, he’s adamant.”

“Did you tell him what Declan and I are dealing with, with Greenspan?”

Declan is my brother and the COO of our company. He’s incharge of all our companies’ operations, and he’s assured me that the proper protocols and procedures are in place, and yet these accidents keep happening. It’s a major problem and it will only get worse once the board hears about it. They already consider Greenspan a liability because it’s a research and development operation, so as of now, not only does Greenspan not make profits, it’s bleeding money like a damn severed artery.

Whatever my father wants, I really don’t have time for it right now.

“He knows, and he said this takes precedence.”

I shove away from my desk and mutter under my breath as I exit my office and head to my father’s. My father stepped down as CEO of Langford Holdings six months ago and passed the reins to me. He hasn’t retired yet, but is staying on for the first year as the transition of CEO shifts to me. So, while I technically hold all the power, he still holds a lot of sway in the company for six more months. Not that I’m eager to push him out; my father and I get along well, and he’s taught me a lot about being CEO to one of the largest companies in the world, but with our problems with Greenspan this morning, my patience is waning quickly.

“You wanted to see me?” I bark as I walk into his office.

He’s at his desk, reading what looks like a magazine. He looks up from it, and the glare in his eyes could burn.

“This was brought to me this morning,” he says, tossing the magazine onto his desk. “Do you know what it says?”

I groan internally. With these magazines, it could be anything.

“It’s an interesting story about you having an affair with a married woman. A Charlotte Edwards. There are even pictures of the two of you kissing in a restaurant. And a few more of her exiting your car, holding your hand. Did you know she was married?”

“No,” I say, annoyed, but not wholly surprised. “She definitely didn’t tell me she was married.”

“Did you even ask?”

“No. I assume that when women come on to me, they aren’t married.”

“Ah, how sweetly naive of you. She came onto you, did she?”

“Why do you ask that?” I snap.

“Because the article insinuates that it wasn’t merely a flash affair. They’re speculating that you pressured Charlotte into sleeping with you.”

“What? That’s bullshit. I don’t have to pressure women into sleeping with me. They’re practically lined up to.”

“Don’t I know that all too well,” my father says in a scathing tone. “And now, because of your habit of taking almost no care to learn about the women you sleep with, you’ve made yet another huge mistake that makes us look bad in the press.”

“I’m sorry we got some bad press over it. It will blow over, just like all the others.”

My father’s face turns to stone. “Just like the all the others,” he repeats, deadpan. “Do you even hear yourself, Asher? Your name has been dragged in these trash magazines for so long that you’ve become accustomed to it.”

“Everyone with money and names like ours gets dragged through the media. Even you, on occasion.”

“You’re right. But the difference is, the articles written about me are always false and easily disputed. I can’t say the same for you. The media vultures get these articles right more than they get them wrong with you. But that’s not even the worst part, son. Do you want to know what the worst part is?”

“What?” I say, growing irritated. My father gets annoyed with me at times, but I haven’t seen him this upset with me in a while.

“Charlotte Edwards is the wife ofHenry Edwards.”

Oh, fuck.

I open my mouth to respond, but there is nothing to say. I won’t even try to make an excuse. Henry Edwards sits on our board. And now I’ve fucked his wife. Of course my father is livid. I’m livid, myself. How could I do something so stupid?