Page 162 of Pandora's Pleasure

I had mixed emotions when it came to my future father-in-law. I admired his determination to take on important issues. But his forceful, controlling nature had always intimidated me. Nevertheless, I respected him.

His staff had removed the landline so there was no way I could call Damien. The guard outside the room refused to let me leave.

So here I sat, with nothing to look at but Godman’s plush office. A stately leather chair sat on the other side of his antique desk, a row of impressive bookshelves behind it, displaying thick tomes and photos of the Senator with public figures. There was even a picture of him with my dad.

A widescreen TV hung on the wall, its volume turned down low. A newscaster was spouting political rhetoric on Salvatore Galante’sReal Nation. The man stated that later today they’d be releasing an exclusive story on Brenan Bardot.

Oh, God.

If I wasn’t allowed near a phone that story would run.

Threatening words spilled from the presenter’s mouth, revealing that information pertaining to the Presidential candidate would shake the foundation of what had been a flawless campaign. They were going to run a story on Damien’s dad first thing in the morning.

Galante had no idea I’d hacked into his BODI and transferred the entire collection of scandals into my own personal cloud. That man believed he was untouchable. He had no idea that two young women had the power to take him down.

Time will tell.

I needed my phone. I needed to call Galante.

I needed to kill both of those poisonous stories.

Did Senator Godman know what was going on?

He at least knew that I’d visited Galante’s home. There was no other explanation for why my ass had been hauled in here, for why I was being sequestered away from Damien and my family.

But he and his men couldn’t know everything.

The door suddenly flew open and Senator Godman walked into his office with a determined stride. Tall and intimidating, he threw me a discomforting glare. Carter followed him in, his snide smile hinting that shit was about to hit the fan and he would enjoy watching.

Theo Tamer hurried in after them and closed the office door. He threw me a reassuring glance, his expression a mixture of confusion and sadness.

“Call Damien,” I pleaded with him.

His sharp nod told me he’d already done so, but a disapproving glare from the Senator warned me that he would be the one dealing with this situation—and me.

“We’re going to ask you a few questions,” Senator Godman began, dropping into his chair behind the desk. “As you can imagine, you chose a shit-awful time to do whatever it is you’ve done.”

I swallowed hard. “Can I explain?”

“Go ahead.” Godman leaned forward, his nostrils flaring with fury. “Explain what you were doing at Salvatore Galante’s home last night.”

“Were you following me?”

He ignored the question. “Galante’s network is now stating they have information that threatens my reputation. Coincidence? If you can’t be with Damien, you’ll destroy me? Is that it?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, realizing how bad this looked.

“You don’t deny it?” he asked.

Theo looked devastated. “What did you do?”

“I have to make a call.”

“The fuck you do,” snapped Carter. “Just tell us.”

“You can only imagine how disappointed your father is,” said Gregor. “We’re going to try to walk back the damage you’ve done.”

“Pandora, you need to tell us what Galante knows,” said Theo.