Page 88 of Payback
Niall narrows his eyes, obviously annoyed by my reaction. “Yes, Roan. Of course she was fired. We can’t have a PR nightmare working at a PR firm.” He grabs the paper and places it on Vaughn’s desk, jamming his pointer finger on it. “This statement is your ticket out. This statement turns Roan DeWalt into the martyr everyone wants to feel sorry for.”
“I don’t want to be a fucking martyr,” I snap and grip the back of my neck, my mind swirling with an array of emotions I can’t fully comprehend right now. “And I’m not letting Allie take the blame for this. Hell no.”
Niall scoffs and looks pointedly at Vaughn to take over.
Vaughn splays his hands out on the desk, looking pained as he states, “Allie very willingly signed the statement, admitting that you had nothing to do with the video and were completely innocent. I know you want to protect her, but she has a lot less to lose here. You have your entire career to think about. And Adidas.”
“Adidas is still on the table?” I ask, jerking my head toward Niall.
Niall gets a wormy look on his face, like he’s pleased with his mad skills. It makes me want to punch him. “Yes. They can’t blame you for the illegal actions of others.” He straightens his tie. “We throw this scandal all on Allie and label her the black sheep cousin of the Harris family. You put it all on her and we’ll get you back on track with Adidas for your endorsement deal.”
I blink at him, shocked and somewhat amazed that I came in here today expecting to lose my job and my endorsement deal. Instead I’m being told that I have a chance to save them both. But at what cost? Does Allie deserve my loyalty? Why am I so resistant to letting her take the blame? It is entirely her fault. She kept this monumental secret from me the whole time I was falling in love with her. Doesn’t she have this coming?
Niall grabs a pen, shoving it in my hand and straightening the paper on Vaughn’s desk. “Sign here and get your dreams back, DeWalt.”
My eyes swerve to Vaughn, who looks positively ill. “Sir, you’re actually okay with this?”
Vaughn exhales heavily, and he looks like he’s aged ten years in the past ten minutes. “I’m not happy about it, but Allie was adamant about this and I’m supporting her. And despite our family connection, this is my club and you are my responsibility.”
I shake my head, still not convinced. “So I sign this and I get my life back?”
“Yes,” Niall states, his eyes widening with urgency. “What are you waiting for?”
“Unemployment does not suit me,” I state aloud as I kneel down in front of Camden and Indie’s fishbowl and prop my chin on the edge of the table. “Hello, Snowflake. How’s life inside a bowl?”
The betta barely even moves. His tiny, fluttering gills are the only indication that the thing is even alive. I tap on the glass and beg for him to show me some sort of attention, anything to make me feel less lonely.
“It looks pretty nice to me.” I glance at the tiny sprig of ceramic coral nestled amongst the red rocks lining the bottom. “I bet it’s quiet in there. Peaceful. You don’t have any sociopathic family members in there, trying to ruin your life.”
“Sociopathic seems a bit harsh,” Camden says, and my head snaps to the front door that I didn’t even hear open. “I’d call us charmingly dysfunctional.”
I stand up and my eyes fly wide as I see it’s not only Camden. Indie strolls in behind him with Tanner and Belle. Through the door next is Booker and Poppy, each with a twin on one hip. Behind them is Gareth carrying Milo in a car seat carrier with Sloan and Sophia beside him. Vi, Hayden, and Rocky bring up the rear.
“I, um, wasn’t referring to you guys,” I state, my eyes blinking uncomfortably because they’re all chattering away at each other like it’s completely normal for them to hang out at Camden and Indie’s house on a Thursday night.
I watch in amazement as everyone hunkers down in the living room. Booker and Poppy each grapple with a one-year-old while Sloan prepares a bottle for Milo. Little Rocky has broken loose from her mother’s arms and is currently working hard at pulling all of Camden’s James Patterson novels off the book shelf.
Camden wrinkles his nose at the horrific scene. “It’s fine…It’s totally fine. They’re all just sorted based on my favourite puns, and it only took me an entire weekend to get them exactly how I like them. But look, she seems to be using them for a dance floor, so there’s the silver lining to my agony.”
Vi’s brows lift as she doesn’t even attempt to hide her amusement. “Let’s call it preparation for your own little one, shall we?”
Camden deadpans, “Oh, joy. Maybe our newborn will be an overachiever and wreak havoc on the Dewey Decimal System.”
The two of them begin arguing and I start to feel a bit like an outsider who wasn’t invited. I move past Vi and Camden to make my way toward the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Vi asks, holding a hand in front of Camden so he’ll stop complaining about the books. “This family meeting is for you, so it would be good if you stayed.”
“For me?” I ask, my brows furrowing.
“Yes, we need to talk. Where are you trying to go?” she asks.
I point to the steps. “I was just heading upstairs to finish packing. My flight leaves tomorrow morning.”
“You’re still going to your stepsister’s wedding?” Vi asks innocently enough.
I shake my head. None of them know that it was Rosalie who released the video. Vaughn knows because I had meetings with him and his lawyer a few times this week, but he swore he wouldn’t say a word to anyone until I was ready. So far, I haven’t been ready. So far, I’ve just been doing everything I can to not fall apart.
My eyes divert to the floor. “My dad has a couple of interviews set up for me.”
