Chapter One #3
We managed to get a few things out of her.
Namely: Dawn hadn’t been prepped, hadn’t been given a list of questions to come up with answers for in advance, and hadn’t even spoken to Fiona Hall prior to the podcast recording.
Evidently, the Call Your Daddy people wanted to keep everything maximally open—so the actual event would blow up as large as possible when Dawn showed her face.
Mona exchanged glances with Samantha all through the explanation, gauging her reactions with little nods and tilts of the head.
It made Caroline’s job harder, but the makeup artist didn’t seem to mind in the slightest—she adjusted as quickly as if she were reading the tension in her subject’s muscles and predicting her movements in advance.
“Alright,” Mona said after a final nod from my babygirl. “We can work with this. I hope.”
“I’m willing to do this,” Samantha told the producer. “On one condition.”
The woman looked nervous. “Whatever it is, I have to run it by Fiona—”
“Fiona’s going to like it,” Samantha said coolly. “Trust me, I know. I used to listen to this show religiously back in Delta Rho.”
She let the words hang for a moment, enjoying the drama a bit herself.
Then my babygirl pointed at me.
The producer started. “Him?”
“Daddy’s in the room,” Samantha said. “Off-mic, off-camera, but close enough that both mom and I will see him. And Fiona will see him, too.”
From the look on her face, the producer wasn’t quite sure what to think.
“He won’t be backstage,” Samantha said, staring upwards as Caroline worked around her eyes with a makeup pencil.
“And not in the wings, like on Morning Harbor. In the room.” She flashed a smile that made her look for a moment every bit the bratty sorority queen she’d been the night we met.
“And if Fiona doesn’t like it, she can explain to her fanbase why Samantha Avery walked out of her studio twenty minutes before taping. ”
I almost felt sympathy for the producer before I remembered the way they’d been eavesdropping on us our whole conversation.
“I can run that by Fiona,” she muttered.
“Do,” Mona said, chuckling. Then: “Good lord, Samantha. Have I been rubbing off on you?”
“Maybe,” my babygirl said. “And maybe I’m just pissed that an interview I was really excited about is now going to have to be a shit-show.”
I took her hand. “I’m sorry, babygirl,” I said. “I know you were looking forward to this.”
Somehow, she managed to smile. “Oh, I’m still looking forward to it,” she told me.
“I’m about to unload the entire Project Fiona file in the first half of that interview.
I’m going to do my absolute best to break the Internet, Daddy.
” Her smile turned fierce. “And then my mom is going to show up. With no idea that I already know she’s coming, and that I’m ready to dismantle whatever bullshit story she’s going to spin for Fiona Hall.
” She let out a little sigh. “I won’t lie, that’s going to feel good. Really, really good.”
It was. Almost as good as the speech she’d given in a forest clearing a few hours before her wedding—
Suddenly it clicked.
“Babygirl,” I whispered, momentarily awe-struck. “I think I just realized why you made me being in the room a non-negotiable part of this.”
This time, the tears did fall. Caroline let out a little scoff as she reached for a tissue and the foundation, but I could tell she wasn’t really upset.
“You gave me the strength to stand up to them,” Samantha whispered. “If you hadn’t been there when I faced them, Daddy, I know they would’ve talked me into letting them stay. They would’ve bullied me into it.” She grit her teeth. “And it would’ve ruined everything.”
“I know, babygirl.”
Her hand squeezed mine almost tight enough to bruise. “That’s why I need you in the room with me. I’m… I’m not strong, Daddy. I’m not Kiki. I have to be able to see you.”
“You are plenty strong, babygirl,” I assured her. “You don’t need me to prop you up—not really.” My hand moved to the space between her shoulder blades, kneading it gently. “But I’ll be there. Hell, I’ll be proud to be there.”
I’ll have a front-row seat to the explosion, I thought.
Samantha brightened. “Good. In that case, I might actually be looking forward to this.” She shared a look with Caroline; both of them chuckled. “Just try not to turn too red when Fiona and I start talking about the stuff we do in the bedroom, okay?”
I’d seen the text chain she’d been bouncing back and forth with Heather and Eva all week. “I’m prepared, babygirl.”
At least I hoped I was.
Caroline finished the makeup while the producer had a heart-to-heart with Fiona. Presently she returned to the room, looking both excited and more than a little chastened. “We’re ready for you,” she said, nodding at my wife. “Both of you.”
Samantha’s hand rested on the gentle swell of her belly—the one Mona had done such a good job hiding with my babygirl’s wardrobe. “Okay. I’m ready.”
“Don’t worry,” Caroline murmured. “You’re gonna crush this.”
“I hope she’s right,” Mona said.
I took Samantha’s hand and followed the producer down the hall. We were walking into a trap, no different than the morning I’d accompanied Yukiko to the Morning Harbor set.
Except this time, we knew in advance that it was coming. We were ready.
And that, as it turned out, was going to make all the difference.