Page 32 of The Tempo of Truth (The Monsters Duet #3)

Win grunted his agreement and picked up his drink again.

“I worry about anything that can be leveraged against you. As much noise as the two of you have been making since you returned to the city, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know your weakness.

Lowe is much harder for adversaries to target because he’s a Halliday.

Ky doesn’t come with security or any type of strong backing.

It’s a good thing he knows how to fight.

But I question how willing he’s going to be to play punching bag for competitors who want to use him to get to you. ”

“I think he’ll be all right. The only time I’ve seen Ky falter is when his family is involved.

He would never have ended up back here, doing what he’s doing, if he weren’t trying to protect his mother.

He never would’ve thrown a game if it wasn’t something he had to do for her sake.

None of the hardships he’s had to face were his fault.

” Not even the night I was kidnapped. If Ky had any part of that scheme, it was because he was manipulated and played by my grandfather. We all were.

He didn’t ask to have absentee biological parents or a weak, criminally inclined adoptive father.

And while Julie Kent did her best and loved Ky unconditionally, he never asked for her to turn his life inside out, while she lost her way trying to find herself in an unfamiliar world.

Ky had always done the best with what he was given.

“I’ve always admired his refusal to fold, but the fact you wouldn’t tell him about Lowe right after he was born tells me you had reservations about building a life with him back then.

It’s wise to remember why you were so hesitant.

” He placed the now-empty glass down and dropped the stubby cigar end into it.

He rose to his feet and stepped behind me, stooping so he could drop a kiss on the top of my head, just like he did when I was a little girl.

“Whatever happens, don’t forget I’m right next door if you need me. ”

“Thanks, Uncle Win. Tell Aunt Channing I said good night and that I apologize for getting back later than planned.”

He laughed on his way back into the house.

“No need. She would have encouraged you to stay the entire night at the hotel if she had her way. No one loves riling up the top one percent more than your aunt. Next thing you know, she’s gonna have me running errands without a shirt on to really get the board of directors frothing at the mouth. ”

I chuckled at the image that followed, not bothering to show him out since it was technically his house.

I sat outside, running through everything that had happened throughout the evening until I started to feel sleepy.

Once my eyelids felt heavy, I dragged my tired body inside to take a much-needed shower.

The warm water did little to wash away the marks Ky left on my skin, but it made me realize I had carpet burn on my butt and elbows when they started to sting.

I regretted being too impatient and not taking a few extra seconds to take our adult activities to bed.

What a waste of a free hotel room. We should’ve destroyed every surface with wild sex.

That way, the staff would have something interesting to report back to Oliver since I was sure he kept tabs on me after I left the bar with Ky.

I was fine with the hotelier trying to pursue me as long as it remained respectful and unobtrusive.

I thought I could string him along while we negotiated the deal between our companies because it was good for business and those damn optics everyone but me was worried about.

Having an appropriate suitor to offset the troublemaker who clearly had my heart should be enough to keep the wolves at bay.

However, as soon as Oliver started asking about Lowe and questioning Ky’s influence on his son, there was a line crossed that I couldn’t see a way back.

No one was going to use Lowe as a bargaining chip in their corporate games.

If they tried, I had no problem showing them just how far the name Halliday could reach.

Or how much I’d retained from growing up at my grandmother’s side.

There wasn’t a more ruthless woman than Colette Halliday, and she’d taught me everything she knew.

Thinking of Oliver’s persistence, I sent a message to Helio, asking him to do a more thorough background check on my new business associate.

He was a touch too eager to get close to me, and way too invested in starting a personal relationship with me, despite my obvious disinterest. He might be after a marriage alliance—something not entirely uncommon in the world of the ultra-wealthy—but if that were the case, the Byrd family would need to bring so much more to the table than a merger and a handsome son-in-law.

I understood my value very well.

Just as I turned off the light next to my bed and was getting ready to call it a night, my phone started vibrating with a call.

Typically, I would’ve ignored it since it was late and I’d had one hell of a night, but once I saw it was my assistant on the other end of the call, I knew I had to pick up.

I turned the lights back on and swung my legs over the side of the bed. “What’s going on?” I didn’t waste any time on pleasantries.

Jeremiah sounded exhausted when he replied, “The head of PR and our media manager called me in for a midnight meeting. There’s a picture of you coming in and out of a hotel with that guy you picked up from the hospital and met at the park.

The images are pretty provocative. The media department is having a meltdown.

They want to try and bury everything to protect the company.

I told them I needed to get your permission before we started any sort of media play.

I know you wanted to keep your personal life off the table in terms of manipulating public opinion, but we’re backed into a corner here.

The company and you have to say something. ”

I swore and rubbed my tired eyes. “Our media department knows that I’m not a celebrity, right?” It was wild that there was so much focus on who I was spending time with. The constant scrutiny made me miss the tiny Italian island I left behind.

“You’re basically the second coming of Princess Diana. You’re a different sort of celebrity, like it or not.”

I swore again and punched my mattress in frustration.

“Make a statement that I was at the hotel for a retirement party. Our stance around any image of me and Kyser Kent is that we’ve been friends since we were teenagers and have a close relationship.

It shouldn’t be shocking for us to be seen together.

Be sure there is always messaging that Lowe has a good relationship with his father, and so do I, even if we’ve yet to disclose a name.

I want to pave the way for declaring his role in Lowe’s life, so that when the announcement is made, there will be less shock and limited room for speculation.

People are going to put two and two together regardless of what we say.

You can let anyone asking for a statement know I had too much to drink at the party and requested Ky to join me and pick me up.

Say that he came from another obligation, which is why he was dressed so outrageously.

Emphasize that he stayed with me while I sobered up and made sure to hand me off to my security team for safekeeping when it was time to return home. ”

I heard Jeremiah rapidly typing my instructions.

There was a pause before he warned, “We’re going to have to define your relationship eventually.

A ‘close relationship’ when he looks just like your son and leaves a hotel with you, while he’s covered head-to-toe in noticeable bite marks and scratches isn’t going to cut it, Boss. ”

I kicked my feet in aggravation and silently berated myself for losing control and mauling Ky like a wild beast. I knew he didn’t have a shirt to wear, so any of the marks I left behind were going to be visible to anyone with eyes.

I heaved a resigned sigh and told him, “Have our media make a statement letting any interested parties know that I fell in love with Kyser Kent when I was fourteen. I moved to Europe for college because he was playing football in Spain. We’ve been in and out of each other’s lives since we were kids, and now that I’m back home to manage the family business, I’m looking forward to the chance to reconnect with my first love since we’re finally in the same place.

That’s a definitive answer and should make all the gossip mongers salivate. ”

Jeremiah cleared his throat. “That’s incredibly personal. Are you sure you want to put that much of yourself out for public purview?” I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was against it.

Neither of my uncles ever offered more information than they had to.

“I keep saying if I’m going to do this job, I need to do it my way.

If they have the truth in front of them, maybe it’ll stop them from trying to fabricate an even more ridiculous story.

Besides, I’m not ashamed of how I feel or what I’ve done.

” There was no way I was getting shoved back into the box of shame that Colette Halliday tried to bury me in.

Jeremiah hung up after assuring me he would handle the news going out for the next day.

I nearly cried in relief when I crawled under the covers and finally got to close my eyes and go to sleep.

Sadly, my rest was limited because right when dawn was creeping into the sky, my phone rang again. I wanted to ignore it, but when I saw Lev’s number on the screen, my curiosity got the better of me. Pushing back exhaustion, I answered the call with a sleepy, “Hello.”

Any lingering drowsiness disappeared the instant Lev’s heavily accented voice barked, “Halliday, you have to do something. Ky’s been arrested.”