Page 71 of The First Taste
There is a pause. “Daddy, Joy says she feels fine.”
“She’s not fine!” he yells. “She needs you to care for her. Should I go tell her right now that she’s probably going to?—”
“No, Daddy,” Ella interjects. “I misspoke.”
“You’re damn right you misspoke. Talking about how she’s fine. I’ll tell you what, Joy better not get any worse while we are waiting on you to come through for us.”
Ella’s voice sounds deflated. “Yes, Daddy. You know I’m trying.”
“Do I know that? I can only judge by actions, Ella. It seems like you don’t even care about your family from where I’m sitting.”
When she next speaks, her voice sounds tearful. “I know. I’m working on it, Daddy. I promise.”
“Don’t tell me. Tell your little sister. She’s counting on you, Ella.”
“Okay.” Her voice wavers.
“All right. We are expecting an update sooner rather than later. Ask about his exes. His assistants. Anyone close to him. Bring me some news that I can really sink my teeth into.”
She replies after a long, nearly silent sigh. “Yes, Daddy.”
“All right. Goodbye.”
Silence fills the air. For several long seconds, I strain to hear anything at all. But all I catch is her muttered, “God damn it all.”
I head down the stairs, intentionally clattering and making as much noise as possible. When I hit the landing and come around the stairwell, Ella is wiping at her eyes and straightening her posture.
Eyeing her, I arch a brow. “Everything okay?”
She swallows and nods. “I just tripped and stubbed my toe. It’s stupid.”
The lie rolls easily off her tongue. I’m a little taken aback; I don’t read any guilt in her expression, just a light smattering of hurt echoing back at me.
What the fuck was that phone call all about? What did her father mean when he pressed Ella to check with my exes and my assistants?
As much as I want to ask, I bite my tongue. As the head of NewsCorp, I know exactly how much the truth is worth. There is more to gain from holding back information in this case than in confronting her with her lie.
For now, anyway.
Ella turns, a frown on her face. “What do you know about Wendy?”
I blink, running my hand down my white button up. If I’m honest, I forgot about the fact that Ella and I had such an ugly little run-in with Wendy, the current bane of my existence.
“Not much, other than her name. I have asked my private investigation team to look into her, though.”
Ella squints at me. “When?”
“When what?”
She looks impatient. “When do you expect to hear back from…” She waves a hand. “Your team, I guess?”
“Oh.” I check my watch, then shrug a shoulder. “They should have something by now.”
“Well… can I listen in to the report when your team fills you in?”
I scrunch my face up. She’s asking for access to a report from my PI team. Under normal circumstances, I keep those kinds of documents very close to my vest. But Ella is looking at me with a pleading expression and I’m having the hardest time adding it to the conversation that I just overheard.
“Why do you want to know?” I ask at last.
