55. Quentin
I felt every bit of my sleepless night as I walked down the hallway toward the conference room for our crisis PR meeting. After Rei left and I’d convinced Bryce I would be okay, I went online.
Like watching a train wreck, I read every article as it came out, scanned every social media post and watched video until my eyes were dry and my vision crossing. The original article had stuck to the facts, but people online could be vicious.
They called her a gold digger, a black widow who would suck the life out of MyHome to feed her own company. They said I was stupid for falling for it and questioned my leadership.
Maybe I was stupid for trusting her and hoping for the best.
But I’d been stupid last night too. She said she wanted to talk to me, but I insisted on making love instead. I had thought she wanted to discuss Claire, but now I knew she wanted to tell me her story.
Was it my fault she didn’t get the chance to tell me before the news leaked?
Today would look so much different if she had just told me the truth. Something I felt in my bones as I walked into the conference room to discuss the situation with MyHome’s crisis PR team.
Aaric had already arrived, and he stood to greet me with a sympathetic look that made me want to crawl out of my skin. What happened was embarrassing enough without his pity.
“I’m good,” I lied. “Just ready to put this behind us.”
Aaric nodded, but his eyes told me he didn’t believe me.
As I moved to sit down, I noticed Simon coming down the hallway, leaning heavily on a walker. “Shouldn’t you be resting?” I asked him.
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” he grunted. The phrase was a lot darker with a terminal diagnosis and an attempted murder under his belt.
“Good to see you up and walking,” Aaric encouraged him.
He dipped his head in a nod, showing patchy, scaly bits on his scalp. “Met with the nurse early this morning, and she said it was important for me to stay mobile. I’d rather not spend my last few months lying in bed.”
Jude came into the office then. “What a fucking mess,” he muttered.
I huffed a surprised laugh. Never before had I been so grateful for his sour mood. At least he was honest.
Bryce came in next and made small talk with Simon about something he’d read in the news about our alma mater’s new horticulture building, which of course piqued Aaric’s interest. I was relieved not to have their focus on me.
My phone vibrated on the table. I glanced at the screen, seeing Rei’s name. I quickly turned it over. The last thing I needed now was my feelings getting in the way.
The conference room door opened again, and Cruz came in, followed by several men and women I recognized from the PR department.
Cruz brought his laptop to the head of the table and plugged it in so we could see his screen on the projector.
The presentation displayed the title, CRISIS PR PLAN, RADIANT CLEANING.
“Let’s get started.” Cruz clicked to the next slide, launching into an overview of the events.
“Last night, an article dropped in the Dallas Times about Rei Li, Quentin’s new wife and an employee of Radiant Cleaning, the company contracted to do MyHome’s custodial work.
” There was a photo of her on the screen from her security badge.
The dull, pixelated image didn’t even come close to how beautiful she was in real life.
“She’s not just an employee of Radiant Cleaning,” I said. My voice came out so rough it was almost a growl. “She owns the company.”
Several people sucked in breaths, but Jude said, “Explain.”
“After everything that happened, she changed her name and started a new company. Conrad Hale was a figurehead so she could run her business without her reputation standing in the way.”
Cruz looked stunned. “She owns it? Why didn’t they report on that?”
Aaric tapped long fingers on the wooden table. “She probably filed the LLC in a state that doesn’t require a name or address. It’s pretty common.” He shrugged.
I nodded, and Bryce just looked down at the table, jaw working. Last night, he told me that Jada had kept Rei’s secret from him. It was all a jumbled mess, this web Simon had woven for us to earn his shares.
Jenny, our crisis PR lead, said, “Thank you for filling us in on the details, Quentin. We’ll work on a response plan should that news leak to the press.”
With his dark eyebrows drawn, Jude said, “What’s our contract with Radiant, Aaric? Is there a morality clause we can use to discharge their services?”
My jaw flexed. “I signed a five-year agreement with her company as a condition of the prenuptial agreement.” An unexpected wave of relief washed over me.
Even if my feelings about Rei were complicated right now, I didn’t want her business or her employees to suffer for it.
Especially since I felt partly to blame for being involved with Claire in the first place.
“Damn it, Quentin, “Jude snapped, glaring at me. “Why would you do something so fucking stupid?”
“Back off,” Bryce shot back. “It’s not his fault he was between a rock and a hard place.” He had to talk in code with the publicists here, but we five founders and Simon all knew what he meant.
“Jude’s right,” I said though. “It was stupid. I trusted her, and I should have known better.”
Aaric shot me another sympathetic look. “How were you supposed to know if she didn’t tell you?”
“Why would she tell me something like that before the wedding?” I asked. We all knew what she stood to gain if we got divorced.
Simon stared at the table, jaw clenching tight, wrinkles deepening around his lips.
“We can bury her in the press,” Cruz offered. “Spin it so she’s the villain and you were just someone in love. You’ll look sympathetic, and it will distance MyHome from her past.”
Protective instinct rose within me, making my voice harsh. “Don’t you dare.”
Cruz held up his hands and said, “Got it. Defensive strategies only.”
Jenny frowned, then stepped to the computer. The presentation changed to a slide highlighting a plan to plant positive articles about MyHome, including our charitable initiative to improve the clinic for low-income and uninsured mothers.
Cruz said, “As you know, the board agreed at our yearly planning meeting to a charitable donation to New Hope Clinic. Now would be a good time to announce it. Quentin, we think you should lead this press circuit.”
“Me?” I asked. “Don’t we want everyone to forget about Rei and me?”
Jenny shook her head. “It’s too big to ignore right now. We want to take control of the story instead of letting the media run with it.”
“That makes sense, but can’t you just write a statement for me?” I asked. If I got stressed and my stutter came out, I’d be even more humiliated.
Cruz gave me a sympathetic look. “Our plan is to have you lead a press conference about the New Hope Clinic improvements that we’re making.
Interviewers will ask you about Rei, but you can have a prepared answer and divert attention to the clinic.
If they press about it, the interviewers will look bad for caring more about idle gossip than something that will deeply affect the community. ”
Jenny nodded in agreement. “MyHome will look good again, and soon enough, something else will come up to catch the media’s attention.” She looked around the table, waiting for our response. “Any questions?”
Jude’s hair was messy from running his fingers through it. “Have you ever thought what would happen if Rei talks to the press before we do? Or posts online?”
The room went silent, and Cruz swore under his breath.
“Damn it!” Jude slammed his hand on the desk. “PR is not my fucking job. Figure this shit out now, Jenny, or your whole damn team is fired. Cruz will have to find a new one.”
Lips pursed, she nodded and turned to leave the room.
“Wait,” I said. “Let me talk to her first.” I got up to exit, but Jude said, “Wait.”
I turned to him. “Yes?”
“Do you have security on her?”
I studied him for a moment, taken aback by the question. “Not now that the wedding’s over, why?”
“If you care about her, put someone on her twenty-four seven.”
“Is that a threat?” I asked, pushing up from the table.
“No, it’s a goddamn suggestion. Paparazzi are going to follow her around until this dies down, this Conrad is being prosecuted for blackmailing charges according to my contact at the DA, and I would appreciate if everyone at this fucking table would quit acting like I’m the enemy when everything I’ve done is to protect this company and everyone in it.
” His chest heaved from yelling while everyone fell silent.
Simon cleared his throat. “Speaking from experience, you can never be too careful, and we all know money isn’t an object. You don’t want something on your conscience that doesn’t need to be there.”
With those sobering words, I stood up. “Get with Daniel about my schedule for the interviews. Email me the talking points, and I’ll be prepared.” I brushed past them and out the door.
On my way down the hall, I got out my phone and called Steve. “You’re covering Rei,” I said. “Be discreet.”
“Yes, sir,” he said and hung up.
Then I got to my office and locked the door. Flipping through my messages, I saw one from Rei.
Rei: This article is going live later today. I wanted you to see it first.