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“You’re so cute, you know that? Who do you think made sure Amber was at that airport?”
“Did you arrange for my plane to be rerouted?” The more she said, the more horrified I was. She clearly had no boundaries.
“Oh, heavens no. I’m no deity. I just watched the weather reports.” She waved her hand at me and shook her head. “But I had people at the hotel. And there’s video of you escorting her from your car to inside the lobby. And when you’re willing to pay a lot of money, people can do remarkable things with video. For instance, you can turn a perfectly harmless activity into something scandalous. Imagine the headlines when it looks like you picked up a girl on the way to film a show to find a wife. And then, you fell in love with your best friend’s sister.”
A loud guffaw bubbled out of her then, a sound I likened to one of the villains from James Bond, ready to take over the world.
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” I replied through clenched teeth. The wave was coming at me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it from pulling me under.
“I know that.” She laughed again, the sound as grating as nails on a chalkboard. “But the media doesn’t. They’ll believe anything I tell them, especially when you hand them a juicy story complete with video or film. You and Harper made my job ridiculously easy.”
She had me, and she knew it.
The chances of Harper coming out of a scandal of that size were slim to none, regardless of her popularity on the show. People loved drama, and the story would fuel sales and views and likes for days and weeks to come. People would come to her shop, but instead of coming to be witness to her talent, they’d be coming to meet the girl I’d shoved into the spotlight, just another one of Flynn Jackson’s conquests.
She’d lose all the good graces she’d gotten back with her family for choosing a different profession. I’d lose my friendship with Steven, the whole reason I’d never pursued Harper to begin with. If I walked away now, I could still salvage it. I could protect her.
I raked my hands down my face, a heavy sigh escaping me.
“What do I do to keep Harper out of this?” I raised my eyes to Laurel’s, the weight of the decision at hand almost more than I could bear.
“Send her home. If she stays tonight, or if you two think you can outsmart us, I promise you, I’ll bring the full wrath of our legal team on both of you.”
“If I send her home, I want her left alone.” I stabbed a finger in Laurel’s direction. “You don’t say a word to her outside any remaining contractual obligation.”
She spread her hands open. “I have no reason to say anything to Harper so long as you play along like your contract says, Flynn. I say jump, you say how high, right?”
My jaw clenched, and my hands balled into fists.
I’d somehow blindly walked right into this, and for what?
“Fine. It’s done. I’ll send her home tonight.”
“That’s my boy. The network will be thrilled to hear it.”
“How do you sleep at night?”
“On bamboo sheets in a really expensive house.” She smiled, not a single ounce of warmth behind it.
Shaking my head, I stalked out of the room. I couldn’t stand to look at her anymore, let alone hear anything else she had to say. Against my better judgment, I went to find Harper.
Right as I turned a corner to head into the kitchen, I almost bumped into Amber.
“That could’ve been bad.” She laughed, holding her steaming mug of tea away from both of us. “Where’s the fire?”
“Just looking for Harper.”
“I haven’t seen her in a little while,” she replied before bringing her mug to her lips.
I thought back to the woman I’d saved from being literally trampled by a bunch of my crazy fans. She hadn’t given me a reason to think she was anything but honest, but I’d been horribly wrong.
“Why’d you do it?”
“Why’d I do what?”
“This. Come on the show so late in the game. Did Laurel put you up to it?”
She flushed a little, which only amplified my anger.
