Page 55 of Unforgettable
“I’m leaving,” I said to her.
She scurried up the steps behind me, and we managed to make it out into the parking lot without any reporters on our tail.
I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a young lady held out her phone toward me as she pushed off from her car, which was parked in a space close to the stadium’s entrance.
“Haven Hale?” the young brunette asked. “I’m Brandi Brock, a reporter for the university newspaper. Is it true that you’re part of the lineup for the Chelsea House event?”
Kill Ryker James.
My phone buzzed again. If I didn’t answer it, my father would send down his goons to kidnap me.
I held up my hand. “I have to take this.” I would rather hear my father yell than answer the reporter, particularly as mad as I was. I didn’t want the nice woman to endure my wrath. Not only that, she would probably post in the paper how much of a bitch I could be.
Like father, like daughter.
Vicki and Brandi started talking while I walked a good distance away from them. Cars were trying to get out of the lot while some fans were hanging out on the backs of their trucks, drinking and eating.
“Don’t start, Father,” I said harshly.
“How many times do I have to tell you that I can’t have negative media attention?” His tone was grating.
“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not part of any fundraiser. Nor am I involved with Ryker James. And before you say anything else, I can’t control the man and the words that come out of his mouth.”
I swore I wanted to deck both Ryker and my father.
I could hear my father breathing a little heavy. “I’m down in the polls. This isn’t going to help me.”
Polls, media, and elections were the bane of my existence. Ever since my father went into politics, I’d had to watch how I acted, what I said, and give up on being a normal teenager. I was tired of it all.
“Maybe me helping out a good cause would help you,” I said. “If the media sees that I’m doing something good, then it’s in your favor. It’s not like I’m drunk at a bar or caught with my pants down or making a spectacle out of myself. Besides, I can spin this to your advantage.”
“I’m listening,” he said in a softer tone.
Wow!That was a first on two things. He was listening, and I was about to help him.
I wasn’t sure if I could do the latter. After all, my actions had nothing to do with his policies or the bills he supported, and at the end of the day, what my father could do in the senate and for the state was what mattered. However, any media attention, good or bad, did put my father in the spotlight, which could take away from the message he was trying to get out to voters.
“I’ll get back to you.” Before he could protest that he wanted to hear my idea, I hung up and walked back to Vicki and Brandi. They seemed to have become fast friends, giggling and talking.
Brandi regarded me with her big brown eyes. “Vicki tells me that you’re not in the lineup. How come? It’s for a great cause.”
Now she was making me feel like a first-class bitch who didn’t care about others.
Nevertheless, I pinched my eyebrows for nothing more than to do something while I thought about what I was going to say. Still, I wasn’t thrilled to be auctioned off to some guy I didn’t know. In my mind, the event was similar to a blind date, but I didn’t do blind dates. The last one I’d been on was a disaster.
A girlfriend I’d hung out with my junior year at boarding school had hooked me up with her cousin at a wedding she’d had to go to. Her cousin had turned out to be one of those guys who thought his shit didn’t stink. He’d thought that putting me down was giving me a compliment. In the end, I’d understood why he couldn’t get a girl even though he hadn’t been bad looking.
Brandi stuck her phone at me. “Care to comment?”
I rolled back my shoulders and held out my chin. “The charity event is for a good cause, and my father, Senator Hale, and I feel that we can help out. So Iwillbe participating, and my father will also be donating ten thousand dollars to the charity.” My father would probably have a baby when he found out the amount I’d committed on his behalf, but I didn’t care. If he wanted to show voters a side of him that no one hardly saw, then the time was now. Maybe the charitable donation would help him in the polls.
Vicki’s jaw dropped, although the excitement swimming in her eyes said she was more than happy.
I didn’t how I felt, but maybe I would walk away with a night out with some hot guy. Maybe Ryker James.
19
Ryker
