Page 89 of Snapshot

“That’s better.”

He glances over my shoulder at the stairs where the pilot set my luggage. “Is that your only bag?”

“Yes. A lot of last-minute trips. I’ve been washing and wearing the same outfit for a week. God, it’s good to be home.”

Joe hustles to the stairs to grab my luggage. Once he pops it into the trunk, he asks, "What time should I retrieve you for the office tomorrow?”

“No need. I’m going to take tomorrow off. Spend a long weekend with my wife.”

“Good idea,” Joe says as I climb into the back seat. “She’s having a rough day. I think she’ll be happy to see you.”

He shuts the car door behind me before I can ask him what he means. And as soon as I pull out my phone, I don’t need to. An email from my PR team with the subject line:Crisis Management Action Plan, clarifies why Lennox is having a bad day.

The email contains a link to a BuzzLit article that IknowI don’t want to read. It’s the trashiest, sleaziest bullshit gossip publication in the market today. Usually, their interest is in major celebrity scandals. Cheaters are their bread and butter. But I’ve been on flights and in meetings with men in suits for four days straight. Even if news of my recent marriage is circulating, no way they have ammo already to accuse me of infidelity.

I click on the link and nearly choke when I see the article title.

HESSLER GROUP: FROM LEGACY TO LAUGHABLE.

How one Las Vegas hussy swindled American royalty into handing over his billion-dollar fortune and his huge, magic schlong.

Hilarity brought to you by Kat Tearney

Fucking Kat.

I don’t even need to read the article to guess how baseless and cruel her feature is. This woman’s job is humiliating every poor, unsuspecting sap she can get her hands on. She seems to think roasting people and spreading toxicity is a talent.

Her latest victim is apparently my wife, but how the hell did she get her hands on Lennox? Denny told me she arranged a cookie-cutter business interview for Lennox to be released after we announced her as CEO. She didn’t mention BuzzLit, and she most certainly didn’t mention Kat Tearney. I would’ve nipped that shit in the bud.

I click out of the article without reading it and open my contacts. Denny answers on the third ring.

“Dex. I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all day. It hasn’t been going through.”

Why do I highly doubt that?“Denny…start talking. Fast,” I bite out. “What the fuck happened? I take it you saw the article?”

“I scheduled an interview with Business Elite. Not BuzzLit. I have no clue why Kat Tearney was sent. I would’ve never agreed to that. This is what I’ve been telling you, Dex. Sharks in the water. You can’t trust anybody.”

“Why didn’t you run it by PR?”

“I was trying to handle it.What else am I good for?”

I sigh, hating the pleading tone in her voice. “I take it you read it in its entirety?”

“Burned right through my eyeballs. I hate a lot of reporters but Tearney takes the cake, you know? I don’t know how shehas such a huge fan base. She’s the kind of woman that you justknowhas a coat made of real Dalmatian fur.”

“How bad is it?” I ask, my eyes fixed out the window, watching traffic pass by. “I couldn’t bring myself to read it.” Roasting me is one thing. Going after my wife makes me feel a little murderous.

“The stuff they said about her is absolutely ridiculous. Just Kat up to her usual graceless bullshit. She toes that ‘off-the-record’ line like the fucking Riddler. People in the comments are already calling Kat out for her bitchy behavior.”

“Okay. Then it’ll blow over. I’ll just have to do some damage control with the executive team. This isn’t exactly the way I wanted them to find out about their new CEO.”

“Do you want me to call a meeting?”

“No, I’ll handle it. But anyway, where were you? You were supposed to be there with Lennox. Had you seen Kat walk through that door, you would’ve had the good sense to send her right out. You left my wife high and dry when she needed you most. Help me make sense of that.”

“I know…” She takes a few deep, steadying breaths as I wait for her excuse. “My mom passed the night before the interview. I, um…had some things to take care of.”

That effectively shuts me up. The shock paralyzes me for a moment before I force myself to speak. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Denny. I had no idea. Why didn’t you call me?”

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