AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I resist the urge to say, “What?” and instead go for the more polite, “Yes?” I’m sick of this press conference already, but it is the least I could do to support my brother.
“Do you agree with the speculation that most of the scrutiny your brother has been facing over the past few months of his campaign arose from yournegligence and inability to manage your social life outside of the public view?” a bespectacled woman from the New York Times asks.
Ouch.
Four months ago, I was planning my revenge. I was taking note of her name, planning how to get her into bed, and how to force her to print a retraction.
But now…
The doom I feel has seeped into the pores of my body, so much so that I barely feel the sting of the insults, even though about half of the journalists are trying hard to conceal smiles.
“Yes,” I say.
That stuns the New York Times journalist and everyone around her.
Theodore gives me a warning, side-eye glance.
I look back towards the journalist, much too exhausted for blame games. “Yes,” I say again. “And I take full responsibility for the dramatic change that this campaign went through. Still, I am confident that my brother will be the best congressman this state has ever had.”
The journalists look thrown off their horses and unaware of what to say for a few seconds. But then, the bespectacled woman speaks again.
“Mind giving us a rundown of howeverything happened, exactly? You know, with Georgina Harris and how you apparently went from mortal enemies in the press to lovers in real life?”
My temple burns with a fervent headache.
“Yes,” I say, “I do mind.”
When I glance at Theodore, he looks like he’s about to strangle me. The clamor of journalists starts up again, with several of them throwing random questions. Half of them are directed at me, and the other half at Theodore.
As Theodore picks a question related to his campaign, I spot a woman standing alone, away from the rest of the crowd. She’s tall, with curly hair and kind, expressive eyes.
Her badge readsEnchanté.
I feel as if something punched me in the jaw.
But it could have been worse. It could have been Georgina.
“I have a question for Mr. Brandon,” someone says quite clearly. I look back to see with displeasure that the bespectacled woman has taken control once more. “Did you seduce Georgina Harris for daring to say the truth about you? Do you do this allthe time? Did you wreck a young woman’s career to satiate your ego?”
I exchange glances with Theodore, and he looks almost as clueless as I am.
Yet, he gives a disarming smile and says, “Well, that’s quite a lot of questions. As they don’t relate to the campaign, we will go on to the next question.”
“They do,” the woman insists stubbornly. “Without this drawing the media in, you wouldn’t have received as much publicity as you did.”
I notice Theo’s smile drop, but he recovers nicely. “Thank you for that blunt assessment, miss, but the media has moved on from this story. My brother and Ms. Harris dated, but that did not stop her from carrying out her job. The media wildly exaggerated the drama, but we’re past that now.”
The woman does not back down. “The public feels that they might have been misled by your brother,” she says. “The photos of them popping up after the news of her pregnancy broke seem too convenient to be true. No one exactly knows where—”
“Alright,” I say, stepping forward. My headache is thrumming, and I would give anything to get this woman to shut up.
Including telling the truth.
“You want to know?” I say, feeling a tremor in my fingers. “Well, then, here’s what happened. Georgina Harris is one of the best journalists I’ve ever met. A far better one thanyou,because she would have known how to ask your ridiculous questions without alienating me. And her career is notruined. She is still a journalist, and I sure damn hope she’ll be coming for your job soon.”
The woman blanches. I’m aware of Theodore killing me with his eyes, but I don’t care. Nothing keeps my doom at bay more than finally talking about this. Even if it is to a den of vipers. My eyes search for the tall black-haired woman I saw standing on the side, and I notice that she’s no longer there.
Good,I think. At leastEnchantéwill have access to this information last.
