Page 42 of A Private Affair
“Not similar,” her father roared. “It’s the exact same gown! They copied our gown and are offering a sneak peek before the shows so it’ll look like we’re the ones who copied them. Chaz Warren is behind this! He probably stole the sketch while you were sleeping in his bed.”
Riley felt hot all over. Her arms began to shake and for just a second her vision blurred. This could not be happening. Not again.
RJ stepped closer to her. “What did you tell him, Riley? Did you show him the sketches?”
“No!” She could not have said the word more vehemently. “I would never do such a thing.” And Chaz would never ask her something like that.
“You bring work home with you all the time. Was he here? Could you have left him alone with sensitive information? It would have only taken a second. Just like his uncle, dammit!” Her father persisted.
“He is not like his uncle!” The minute the words were out Riley realized her mistake. She saw the concern on RJ’s face and unabashed fury on her father’s.
She turned away and walked toward the window. Tears stung her eyes. They wanted to fall but Riley wouldn’t let them. She almost folded her arms over her chest, to cradle herself and hopefully bring some comfort to the deep slice of hurt that had been opened in her. But she didn’t. Instead she took deep breaths. She was way too upset for the breaths to be slow, as she’d been taught to do when threatened with an anxiety attack, but at least she was breathing. Her hands were shaking and she finally gave in and clasped her fingers together in front of her.
“Riley.”
RJ was right behind her and she prayed he wouldn’t touch her. After the breakup with Walt her family had rallied around her, each of them hugging her and consoling her to the point that all Riley had done for days was cry over a man she’d never loved. Tonight, the tears that burned were for a man she’d just begun to believe she could love. And she was an idiot for giving in to the dream.
“I never left any sensitive materials around him, even though I never believed he was with me just to steal our ideas.” Saying the words aloud meant something. Riley just couldn’t figure out what, not right now, when the pain was so raw.
“That’s how they work. They befriend you and then they stab you in the back. You should have known better. You should have kept a closer eye on him.”
Riley swung around. “You were friends with Tobias King for thirty-four years. The two of you worked side by side at your father’s company. You didn’t just leave sensitive information around him, you shared a business with him. So don’t lecture me about what I should have done differently.”
RJ touched a hand to her shoulder and Riley shrugged it away.
“I don’t know how they got the information. Maybe the reporter is making this up.” She needed to believe there was another explanation.
RJ came close again, this time putting his phone in front of her.
“Here are the pictures of you and Chaz together.” He swiped left. “And these are the pictures of the gown.”
Her chest caved with dread but Riley held it together. She swiped to the right to see the pictures of her and Chaz. It was Friday night when they’d left the party in Lennox Hill. They’d dressed quickly after their tryst and Chaz had suggested they go to his place. He was holding her hand as they walked to the curb to wait for the limo he’d reserved. She could still remember the warmth of his touch and how close he’d sat to her in the back of the limo. Swiping to the next picture, she cringed because it was just as her father had stated: this morning when she’d gotten out of Chaz’s car in front of her building.
“Who would have been following us?” She looked up at RJ. “We hadn’t been at a fashion event and we were far away from either of our offices, so somebody must have intentionally followed us.”
Ron frowned. “Yes, that’s something I absolutely will not tolerate. We have to get ahead of this. I’ll contact the police just to get a complaint started. Also, my guy’s agreed to run the picture of our gown at the same time as the King gown.”
“No!” Riley shook her head. “We don’t give in to the press. We don’t let them get the upper hand. Isn’t that what you’ve always told me?”
“I also told you not to give them ammunition, Riley. Now we don’t have a choice but to play this hand all the way.” Ron looked at RJ.
“Send the picture to him tonight and we’re pulling that gown from the show. Make it known that we’re outraged at Tobias’s duplicity and that we don’t feel King Designs is in any way a threat to us.” Her father spoke in absolute terms so that RJ only nodded.
“But we’re doing the exact opposite. If we’re so sure they’re no competition to us why not show our entire collection on Sunday as planned? So what if theirs is hitting the papers tomorrow? You don’t think people will see the difference and know which is the better product? You don’t trust your clientele?”
“I don’t trust Tobias King or his nephew,” Ron told her. “And you shouldn’t, either. Whatever you were doing with Chaz Warren, you should stop it now. He’s only interested in you because you’re my daughter.”
All the air left Riley’s lungs and she felt light-headed. She rubbed a hand down the back of her neck and sighed. “I need to be alone.”
“Let’s just meet tomorrow,” RJ said when Ron looked as if he was going to say something else. “Be in the office at seven.”
“Fine,” Riley snapped and walked to the door to see them out.
RJ followed her, then leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. “It’s going to be all right.”
Riley closed her eyes and accepted her brother’s words. He loved her and wanted what was best for her—he just didn’t know what that was. And for the record, at this point, neither did Riley.
Ron stepped up to her, looking at her with his big brown eyes, his mouth bent into a frown just before he pulled her into a hug. Riley had to fight every instinct she had. How many times had she cried in his arms when she was a little girl? But Riley wasn’t that girl anymore and she’d cried enough.
