Page 43 of A Private Affair
“I’ll see you in the morning,” she said when he pulled away because she couldn’t say anything else.
After the breakup with Walt she’d apologized to her parents and brothers profusely for how she’d messed up. Tonight, she couldn’t say those words. She’d trusted and she’d believed and a part of her knew she wasn’t wrong for doing either of those things. The other part... Well, once she closed and locked the door, Riley fell back against it. She closed her eyes and whispered, “Oh, Chaz, what have you done?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ITWASEIGHTTHIRTYin the morning when Chaz walked into his office at King Designs. He felt like he’d just left this place and now he was back again.
Yesterday had been hectic with Tobias calling Chaz into a meeting with Lenzo fifteen minutes after Chaz had arrived at the office. Chaz was still riding on the high of the weekend with Riley until he’d stood in a room with a designer who apparently hated him.
“He’s not a designer. You brought him in because he’s your relative, not because he has an ounce of experience in this industry. And then you expect me to stand on my head to please him. Hell no, Tobias! I’ve been with you for ten years and this is how you treat me!”
Lenzo’s fists were clenched at his sides while Chaz stood next to his uncle’s desk.
“This is my company, Lenzo. I call the shots. Whether you like my calls or not. And if you had a problem with Chaz you should have come to me and perhaps we could have worked it out. But as it stands now I’m letting you go.”
“You’re what?” Lenzo’s eyes almost bulged from his face. “You’re firing me because I wouldn’t listen to this playboy’s advice?”
Chaz had been called worse than a playboy.
“It’s not about my advice,” he’d said. “You were instructed six months ago to follow my rebranding plan. You chose not to do that.”
“Security will escort you out,” Tobias told him.
When that scene was over, Chaz had returned to his office, where one issue after another plagued him, including a press sheet he received from his marketing team about ChatMe. Juggling two major business events in one week wasn’t the smartest plan, but he was determined to make it all work. Before long the day and night had gotten away from him. Chaz didn’t get a moment to look at his phone until he’d walked into his apartment at a little after midnight.
Riley’s message immediately warmed him and he’d smiled.
Missed you so much today.
He’d typed his response seconds before falling face-first onto his bed and into a deep slumber.
Now he checked his phone for the fourth time since leaving his apartment this morning. There was no response from Riley.
After dropping his briefcase onto the floor beside his desk, Chaz plugged his phone into the charger and set it near his laptop. Easing down into his chair, he tried to focus on what he needed to tackle first. He definitely wanted to go over the press sheet for the ChatMe launch one more time. Valeria wasn’t publishing his interview on her blog, nor was there going to be any type of advertising on her YouTube show. He chuckled at how petty she was being but decided to move on.
His fingers moved quickly over the keyboard as he pulled up his Conversation Media account. He was about to send a message to his team when the door to his office opened.
“What the hell is this?” Tobias stormed into the office.
He dropped not one but three tabloid papers onto Chaz’s desk.
“What were you thinking? We never,everallow items from our collection to be photographed and printed before the show!”
The look on Tobias’s face, his tone and the headlines on the tabloids all brought Chaz to a full stop.
“First, I never gave permission for anything to be printed.” Especially not the pictures of him and Riley, which were staring back at him in full color.
Tobias didn’t seem to hear a word he said as his rant continued. “And you’re sleeping with Ron’s daughter? I told you to watch out for that one and you jump into bed with her? What the hell is wrong with you?”
Chaz stood and looked his uncle in the eye. “I did not approve any of these pictures and who I sleep with is my business. Always has been and always will be.”
“She’s the enemy’s daughter!”
“She’syourenemy’s daughter. To me she’s just a woman that I lo—have grown very fond of in the past weeks. And I don’t appreciate someone following us around and printing malicious lies about us.” Chaz really had no idea what the articles said. All he knew was that there were pictures of him and Riley and that was enough.
Tobias pointed at the picture of a dress. “This dress right here is one of the ones you pulled from the show. How did someone get it? Was it Riley? Did you show her our collection?”
Chaz looked closer at the papers. He lined them up next to each other and stared at the pictures, thinking. “We said no bridal couture this season. That’s why I took the dress out of the show.”
