Page 54 of The Master

He raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

I grabbed the waistband of his pants. “Because it’s your turn…unless you want me to get you off in the shower.”

Without a word, he swung me into his arms and headed for the bathroom. I supposed that was one way to express his preference.

Thirty-Five

Nate

I wasin the middle of a surprisingly accurate dream about what Ashlee had done to me in the shower when my phone rang and interrupted the best part. Well, anything with Ashlee naked was the best, but not getting to finish in a dream was almost as bad as it was in real life, especially when it meant waking up with an aching hard-on.

“What?” I answered the phone without bothering to see who it was. Anyone responsible for my current state deserved to be snapped at.

Ashlee’s phone rang with what I knew was her mother’s ringtone. I sincerely hoped she was calling to apologize or do something to patch things up with her daughter.

“I’m going to guess you just woke up and haven’t seen any news yet.” Finley sounded pissed, and even as groggy as I was, I could tell it wasn’t directed at me.

“I haven’t.” I sat up, glancing over at Ashlee as she answered her phone. “What’s up?”

“There’s an article in theTimes, online and print, and it’s bad. It’s really bad.”

“What are they saying now? I have mass orgies in the conference room?” This had gone on long enough. As soon as I was done talking to Finley, I was calling Jailene to see what legal recourse I had.

“I wish they were.”

My sleep-deprived brain finally registered the strain and anxiety in Finley’s voice. The jolt of adrenaline that flooded my veins finished waking me up.

“Tell me.”

“There’s stuff in there about Roberta and her ex.”

Shit.

“And it says that Ashlee had been a virgin the first time you two were together.”

Shit.

“There are other…accountsabout the things you two have done. Like what happened at that first party after Zed Hipwood practically assaulted her.”

This wasn’t the sort of thing a father should know about his daughter, even if he hadn’t been the one who’d raised her.

“TheTimescould only report so much,” he continued, “but all the graphic details are online on dozens of gossip sites.”

This couldn’t be happening.

“Everything about Isti is in there too. The nature of yourrelationship.” He paused for a few beats before adding, “Ashlee is listed as the source.”

My heart dropped.

“I don’t believe it,” Finley continued, “but you needed to be aware of what they’re saying because people who don’t know her might not dismiss the claim as easily. It will make her a target.”

“Thank you for letting me know.” My voice sounded strange to my own ears, wooden, dull. “I’ll talk to her now.”

I hung up before he had to tell me more things I didn’t want to hear. I stood up, turning toward Ashlee as she ended her call. Her face was white, and I knew that Roberta had given her the same talk Finley had just given me.

This just kept getting better and better.

“Did she tell you that they’re saying you’re the source of all this new information?” I asked. “I think we could have a case for defamation of character as well as libel. Once we figure out where they really got the information, we can go after them too–”

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