Page 47 of The Morally Grey Billionaires Boxset

Liam

I let her walk out on me. Again. This time, she made me promise I wouldn’t shield her from the media storm she unleashed.

My beautiful, gorgeous, strong wife left, but only after extracting a promise I wasn’t going to shield her, that I’d stand by as word of our video spread, and as comments began to pile up on her social media feed.

My fingers trembled as I scrolled down the thread.

My palms sweated, and my mouth dried. I was never this nervous…

Not even when I faced down the bastards who kidnapped me.

At least then, I was taking my fate into my own hands.

This is a thousand times worse—having to bear witness to the world reacting to her disclosure, and not being able to do anything about it.

At least, it seemed like no one had seen her post yet.

That was half an hour ago. She’s only been gone for thirty minutes, and already, I’m pacing my office.

Already, my muscles are tight, my guts so knotted I’m sure I’m going to be physically sick.

How am I going to stay away from her physically, when everything inside of me insists I stay by her side, hold her hand, comfort her, and distract her?

When I know, with one phone call, I can track down anyone who dares speak ill about her and shut them down in the online space.

There’s nothing more frustrating than knowing you have the power but are not allowed to wield it.

There’s nothing more humbling than realizing all the money in the world that could help me to help her is off limits, and only because she insisted.

Because I can’t go against my word. I promised her.

Doesn’t mean I’m going to sit here silently without doing something… But what?

My phone vibrates with an incoming call. I answer it.

"Don’t do it," Hunter says even before his face appears on the screen.

"Don’t do what?"

"Whatever you’re planning."

Remember what I said earlier about your childhood friends knowing you so well they can anticipate your response? Well, this is another of those times.

"What are you, a mind-fucking-reader?" I snap.

"I am your best-fucking-friend. Isn’t that what BFF stands for, anyway?"

I glower at him. "What are you, ten?"

"What are you, a plonker?"

I shake my head. "This entire conversation is bonkers."

"No more than you doing something you’re going to regret for a long time to come."

"A-n-d, there you go again. Like I said, you have no idea what I was up to when you called."

"You mean, you weren’t going to call Karina Beauchamp and have her team monitor Isla’s social media and block trolls and delete negative comments the way you controlled the response to your wedding announcement?"

I try to wipe any expression off of my face, and he shakes his finger at me. "Don’t even try on that innocent look. It makes you look like Max after he’s dug up all the plants in the flower bed."

"You’re comparing me to Sinclair’s pet?"

"At least, I didn’t compare you to Michael and Karma’s kitten, or JJ’s turtle."

"JJ has a pet turtle?" I’m referring to the head of Kane Enterprises who also happens to have launched an exclusive networking platform through which I identified my next startup investment. One for which I have high hopes.

"I’m a politician." He leans back in his seat. "I know everything."

"And I know something about you that you don’t even realize yet."

"If you mean Zara—"

"So, there’s something going on between the two of you."

His brow creases, then he rearranges the expression on his face. "There’s nothing between us."

"So you keep saying."

"Because it’s the truth. Also, nice segue, but it didn’t work." He narrows his gaze on me. "Coming back to what you were going to do when I called you—"

"I was going to get a cigar. Is that allowed?" I huff.

"Bull-fucking-shit. Do not try to manage the response on this video. Not when she dared to share her true self with the world."

I sink back into my chair. "So you saw it?"

"I did, and I think Isla is incredibly brave for what she did. It takes guts, it takes bravery, it takes belief in oneself to do what she did."

"She was daring in what she did, and now I must be gallant and protect her from the backlash."

"You’re doing her a disservice."

"Because I want to ensure no one harms her?"

"She knew the risks when she put herself out there. She’s willing to face the response, whatever it is. If she finds out what you’re going to do—"

"She won’t."

"You mean like she didn’t find out how you managed the reaction to the wedding video?"

I stiffen. "And how did you find out about that, anyway?"

"Because I told him," a female voice pipes up from near Hunter. He places the phone on a stand, and when he steps back, I spot Karina and her husband Arpad clustered about his chair.

"I know, client confidence is very important in what I do." Karina’s lips firm. "I’ve never done this before, but just this once, my friendship with Isla overrode all other considerations."

I draw in a breath. On the one hand, I’m pissed at what Karina did.

On the other—well, Isla needs friends who are loyal to her.

If I really wanted to keep this from Isla, I never should have chosen to do it in the first place.

Maybe a part of me had known she’d find out.

Maybe I even counted on it. Maybe I hoped she’d be appreciative when she found out, that she’d understand just how deep my feelings for her run.

Either way, I’m not upset with Karina. I drum my fingers on the table. "You’re right in what you did."

"I am?" Karina seems taken aback.

"You’re a good friend."

She exchanges a glance with Arpad. "O-k-a-y."

Arpad, for his part, seems uneasy at my reaction. And Hunter? He’s watching me carefully. The man has a bloody impressive poker face. Of course, he’d have to, considering the astute politician he is. This is the first time I’ve been at the receiving end of it though.

"Don’t all three of you try to stroke my ego at once." I look between them. "I’m not a complete idiot."

"You’re a knob-head," Hunter drawls.

I disregard him. "Look, what I want to do is short-term. I just want to control the worst of the internet’s reaction.

I want to ring-fence the response and keep it positive for her.

Or at least, not so nasty. Maybe at some point, the responses will get out of hand, and I won’t be able to shield her any further.

But at least, she’ll have slowly built up a resistance so it doesn’t hurt so much. "

Karina leans forward on the balls of her feet. "What makes you think the rejoinder to her video will be negative?"

"Because I’m a cynical bastard who’s seen enough in life to know, when people spot a weakness, they like to use it to destroy you."

"You are a bastard, period," Hunter interjects.

"A sentiment I’m not going to comment on since you’re my client, but perhaps you need to get your facts right." Karina hides a smile.

"Eh?" I scowl.

"She means, have you seen the comments on her social media feed?" Arpad asks.

"I haven’t, I—" I glance at the expressions on all of their faces, then switch out of the camera and onto her social media handle. I take in the reactions and the comments to her post. It’s only been forty-five minutes since she posted, but there are already ten thousand likes and hundreds of comments on her post.

I read first one reaction, then the next.

I scroll down, unable to believe my eyes. "Holy shit!"