Page 121 of Fall of a Kingdom

Her brown eyes twinkled with sharp acumen. “You and Barrett have disappeared from the public eye. I get it. You’re happily married, you’re raising a young family, and you live in the Highlands. It’s a fairytale existence, but the public needs to see you as a loving married couple, a philanthropic, loving married couple. You need to do some interviews together. After we handle this mess, of course.”

I closed my eyes. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying…”

“Yes, I am. You know me well enough by now to predict what I’m about to say.”

“You want me to drag my wife all around the world and have us pose as a couple in front of cameras, smiling, sipping champagne and donating money to causes we don’t believe in just so people will forget that there was a bomb at my hotel?”

“You can either complain about it, or you can just know that I’m correct. And don’t think anyone will ever forget about the bomb. They just won’t know the true details behind it. This is what you hired me to do, remember? I clean up messes, and whether you like it or not, you have a big fucking mess on your hands. Now, the only way to clean something of this magnitude up is for you to do your thing with the authorities, and then for me to shove you in front of the public eye in a way that allows us to control the narrative. It’s all about the narrative.”

I had brought her into the SINS fold because she’d needed to understand the true complexities of my life and how I ran my empire. She hadn’t balked when I told her the truth.

I’d upped her signing bonus.

“How long do you expect this PR jaunt to last? Give me a timeframe.”

“Couple of months.”

“Months,” I muttered. “Christ, woman, we have four children.”

“So, bring them along. That’ll be even better. We’ll show you as a loving, committed family man.”

“Iama loving, committed family man,” I groused.

“You’re also a criminal,” she pointed out.

“Barrett and I care about causes. You know we do. We just can’t make them public.”

She ignored me and continued to speak, “And I know you’re really gonna hate this idea, but I know someone atHome and Country MagazineI’d like to introduce you to. If we can get them into your home to do a spread, it would go a long way toward humanizing the whole family.”

Barrett was going to hate this, but she would go through with it if it meant saving The Rex and our reputation. Because above all else, we had to protect the SINS.

I scratched my chin. “All right. Set up the press conference for tomorrow morning—late morning. InviteThe Times,The Tribune. Invite them all. I don’t care.”

“I’ll take care of it,” she said, straightening her black blazer and then grabbing her black leather briefcase off the coffee table. “I’ll be back later with a prepared statement. We’ll need to go over it until it’s ingrained in your head.”

“Fine.”

She headed for the elevator. “Oh, and Flynn?”

“Hmm?”

“Shave before tomorrow’s press conference. You look like hell.”

“You’re lucky you’re damn good at your job.”

Her heels clacked across the wooden floor and then she entered the private elevator. “Seriously, Flynn. I’ve got this. Trust me.”

The doors closed with a soft chime, and I was alone.

I rubbed my forehead, feeling lightheaded. I’d barely eaten anything and had a cocktail on a nearly empty stomach.

I picked up the phone and dialed Barrett.

“Hello, you.”

I heard the noise of laughter and splashing water in the background.

“Where are you?” I asked.