Chapter 34
The thoughts whirling through my head were on overdrive. Not only did I dread my father calling me back, I had to deal with Jeremy’s lies and how that would affect everyone. I’d already put in a call to Clay, who was vacationing at his home in Palm Springs. I didn’t look forward to throwing him this latest curveball.
And then there was Mark. That asshole had to be dealt with too. I’d come to the conclusion that Jeremy’s press conference—whenever that happened—would put some of what Mark thought he had on me on ice. At least I hoped so. Why were all of these men throwing a wrench in my life? My father, Jeremy, Clay, and Mark. I didn’t want to deal with any of them. I’d wanted to stay in bed all day, not deal with this crap.
Thankfully, my father hadn’t bothered to call back, but I was trying to enjoy a second cup of coffee when Clay did. I shut my door and answered.
“Ms. Bowman, the fact you’re calling me while I’m on vacation has me perturbed.”
“I’m sorry, but we have a situation.”
He huffed a breath. “Not another one. Let’s hear it.”
I told him the whole sordid story. He listened quietly, and when I was done, he unleashed on me.
“I knew we should have gotten rid of Vaughn. In fact, we should have gotten rid of both those bums. One can’t stop gambling, and the other can’t stop sleeping around. All right, I pay you good money. What are we doing?”
Clay was always an animated sort of man, but he was furious, and I couldn’t blame him. I stayed calm as I laid out my plan. “I think we beat Orla to it and have Jeremy fall on his sword. My team will come up with language and we’ll time it around the Kodiaks bye week. That way it keeps the press away. And I’ve thought about this all morning, and I hate that I’m doing this, but I’ll stand by my man.” Even saying it made me want to retch. “When he makes his announcement, I will be there with him. I have no idea if his agent wants to be there as well. I haven’t contacted him yet because I wanted to run this past you first.”
Clay was silent for a stretch. “You know, I want whatever screws over Orla Donnelly. I think this is a great idea. I also appreciate that you are going above and beyond. If I could, I’d castrate Vaughn. Keep me updated on this. Texts will suffice.”
I crossed one man off my list. My next call was to Taylor. That call went quickly, and Taylor was careful to be professional when I could tell that he was furious with Jeremy. Well, he could get in line. He agreed with my proposal but had one suggestion.
“I worry this will leak before the press conference. Make sure you keep the circle of people who know very small.”
“Good advice. I’m bringing in only one of my staff and the only other person who knows is Clay, and I don’t have to worry about him.”
“All right. Send me the statement when you have it for me and Jeremy to look over. I will be there for the announcement. Give me at least a few days of notice when you settle on a date.”
I thanked him and checked another man off my list. Mark, Jeremy, and my father could wait. I had to bring in Whitney, the only person I trusted with this. She and I would write the statement and keep it under wraps. Before I could do that, I called legal to make sure Whitney’s NDA was in order. I couldn’t change a thing. By the time they got back to me, it was too late to have a meeting with her. It could wait until the morning. I needed a clear head to deal with the next phase.
I had no idea what I’d do without Chloe. She kept me sane. Taking her for a long walk after work cleared my muddled brain and pushed away some of the anxiety. I still had no idea what I planned to do about Jeremy, and for now, I’d shelved it. I also had no idea what I planned to do about Mark and my father. Right now, I had to put out one fire at a time.
Chloe and I cuddled on the sofa and watched mindless television, anything to keep my mind off work. I then took her for one last bathroom break and hit my bed. I slept soundly and felt refreshed in the morning. I was ready to take on the day until I thought of Mark and my father. Grrr.
My first order of business was to call Whitney into my office. She seemed a little worried when I closed the door. She took a seat and watched me with her big brown eyes.
“Did I do something wrong?”
I wrinkled my nose. “No. Why?”
“You seemed upset yesterday, and spent the afternoon in your office on the phone. It seemed off because you called in sick, then came in.”
“It has nothing to do with you, but we do have a crisis. You are the only one I’m bringing in on this, so it’s important we keep this between us. The people who know about this are next to nil, and if it gets out, I don’t want anyone pointing a finger at you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, of course.”
I’d thought long and hard about whether to tell her that my relationship with Jeremy was fake. I decided against that. The less she knew, the better. “Orla Donnelly has a book deal. Something about writing steamy romances, but her first book appears to be loosely based on her life, and it comes out in April. Normally, no one around here would care, but she has a publicity campaign that’s going to start soon. You’re likely wondering why this is a crisis.”
She nodded.
“Jeremy Vaughn did have an affair with her. He lied about it, and so did she. Now she plans to come clean as a way to get publicity. At least that’s what I think she’s doing.”
“Oh no!”
“The plan is to cut the head off the monster and beat her to it. And I need you for this. We are going to craft a statement for Jeremy to make at the press conference later this month. I can’t do this alone, and I need your help. I also need your help vetting candidates for the Ravens PR position as well as doing our day-to-day activities. I’m asking a lot, so I’ll make sure Clay comes through for you.”
“It’s part of my job, and I’m happy to do it. If I can be honest, having you here has been a breath of fresh air. You’re the best boss we’ve had, and we know you care about us. I also have a sneaking suspicion you were behind our year-end bonuses. That came in handy. My boyfriend and I have been looking for a decent place to live now, and we think we can afford to get married. Thank you.”
I had no idea how old Whitney was, but I guessed she was around my age. To think that bonus had changed her life made my lip quiver for a moment. I blamed the stress.
“You deserve it, Whitney. You do a tremendous job.”
“Thank you. I guess we should start on that statement?”
Whitney and I delegated work first. I hated piling on Zane, but I knew he could do it. We even gave Oliver some added responsibilities that we knew were harmless and not things he could gossip about. We assigned tasks to our shared marketing team members, mostly the mundane items that wouldn’t arouse any suspicion with Mark. Once that was done, we started on the statement. We spent all morning working on it and both hating it. I suggested we get takeout, and I learned that Whitney loved Indian food as much as I did, and she knew of a great place nearby that delivered.
I was finishing up my samosa when we somehow got on the subject of Mark.
“I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but Mark is an asshole.”
I laughed because I’d never heard her swear. “Oh, I’m getting that idea.”
“He was blackmailing John somehow. That’s why John would always capitulate to him. I guess he finally got fed up and quit. That was the best day of our lives. I love that you don’t take shit from Mark. And I know it sounds bad because I don’t think John was terrible, he just didn’t do what was right.”
I must have looked like I’d seen a ghost because she asked me if I was okay.
“Mark is trying to blackmail me.”
It felt good getting it out, and Whitney sat up straight, anger etched on her face.
“I hate him so much! What is he trying to do to you?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I bet some kind of blackmail is in my future. He thinks I’m having some kind of relationship with Clay.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What a creep. I guess his plan is to spread that around. It doesn’t even make any sense. You’re engaged to Jeremy Vaughn.”
I bit my lip. “About that, while Jeremy and I are sort of dating, we aren’t engaged. Not really, anyway. It’s for show.”
“Oh,” Whitney said. “But you got a dog. And you seem pretty serious. You definitely had me fooled.”
“We have a dog, but we aren’t serious.” It hurt saying it, but it was true, wasn’t it?
“Wait, does Mark know that too?”
“He’s speculating because he thinks I’m Clay’s mistress and Clay put me up to dating Jeremy. It’s all a mess.”
“I get the impression Clay likes you and not in the way Mark thinks. Have you thought about going to him about Mark?”
“I’ve thought about that, but Clay wouldn’t like the idea of Mark sharing this rumor.” Then a thought occurred to me. “I could go talk to John. Maybe he’d file a complaint against Mark. And if I file a complaint, that’s two. I’d bet everything I own that there are people in the marketing department who would come forward too.”
A grin spread across Whitney’s face. “I think you’re on to something. I know a few people over there, and I could ask around discreetly.”
“Would you mind?”
“Not at all. I’d love to bring Mark down.”
So would I.