Page 25 of The Master

With my new contract, neither Nate nor Finley could stop Mr. Hancock from firing me. What Nate had done to protect us could have resulted in my termination. It was one thing to decide that I wanted to leave, and another thing else entirely to get fired, particularly when I was linked to a bunch of lascivious accusations.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. “I won’t let this interfere with my work. You have my word. I’ll do whatever you guys need me to do.”

“We need you to do whatever will make you the most comfortable. You can work from home until this blows over if you want.”

“Thank you,” I said again. “I’d like to come in like normal. There’s no one at my building now, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem. If it seems like it’s going to hurt the company, I’ll stay home.”

“We’ll support whatever you decide.” He cleared his throat. “I need to know if there’s any truth to the rumors that Nate used his position to influence you into a relationship. I know the accusation that you seduced him to advance your career is a load of shit – pardon my French – but I also know how intimidating he can be.”

My face burned with embarrassment. This wasn’t the type of conversation I’d ever imagined needing to have with my boss.

“No truth at all,” I said honestly. The pressure he’d applied to get me to go to that first event with him hadn’t exactly been the most ethical thing in the world, but it hadn’t been what everyone else was saying either. Best not to muddy the waters.

“Good.”

There was one thing I needed to tell him, though, just in case some reporter worked overtime on digging into my background. I’d let Ms. Lamas know face-to-face tomorrow, but since I already had Mr. Hancock on the phone, I’d tell him first.

“There is something that you and Ms. Lamas need to know. I don’t know if someone will figure it out if they go poking around in my past, and I don’t want either of you to get caught by surprise.” I took a breath to steady myself before stating, “Finley’s my father.”

Silence met my statement, and I gave Mr. Hancock half a minute to process.

“Can you expound on that?” he asked.

“The short version is that I was conceived via IVF with an anonymous donor. My mom got sick when I was a teenager, and since I don’t have any other family, I started looking for my biological father.”

“I’m assuming since you’re telling me that both Finley and Nate know.”

“They do.”

“Did either of them know when you came to work for us?”

“No. Nate knew first, but not long before I told Finley. We hadn’t decided whether or not we were going to tell anyone else, especially since neither of them are technically my boss any longer.”

Another short silence before he responded, “All right. Thank you for telling me. It would’ve looked bad if we’d gotten ambushed with that news.”

I wanted to ask him if it changed the way he saw me, but I didn’t ask. Between my relationship with Nate and my connection to Finley, I couldn’t help fearing Mr. Hancock’s answer.

Someone knocked on my door, saving me from continuing my internal debate. As I walked over to it, I asked, “Is there anything else I should know before tomorrow morning?”

“I think we’re covered. Just let me know if you decide to stay home.”

I said I would and ended the call. Even if I hadn’t been anticipating a reporter, I wouldn’t have opened the door without seeing who it was. I’d grown up in a good neighborhood, but I’d also been raised to be a strong, New York woman.

I used the peephole and was immediately glad that I had. I didn’t recognize the woman on the other side, but the fact that she had her phone out and pointed toward the door told me exactly what she was.

The vultures had descended, just like Nate had warned they would.

Seventeen

Nate

Jailene Hutzler wasin-house counsel for Manhattan Records, which meant she primarily dealt in contracts, copyright law, and that sort of thing, but she also could handle libel and slander issues, which made her perfect for a record label with a few not-so-well-behaved artists. I’d have to get a criminal law attorney, though, if the accusations that were out there ended up becoming something other than words on paper.

She’d blocked out her entire afternoon, so when I arrived at her office, the door was open, and she was waiting. In her early fifties, Jailene was a self-proclaimed workaholic and looked every bit the consummate professional. Today, however, when I walked into her office, she glared at me and pointed to a chair as if I was a child.

I couldn’t find it in me to be annoyed. She was my best chance of keeping this shit from destroying me, the business I’d created, and the woman I…cared about very much.

She dove right in, not bothering with any pleasantries or small talk, for which I was grateful. I didn’t want a friend right now. I wanted a badass lawyer who could make three vindictive women cry.

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