She looked to Vuk for confirmation. His chin dipped, and though I’d been expecting it, asking for it, her next words still punched a hole in my gut.
“Isabella, you’re fired.”
CHAPTER 26
Kai
I didn’t follow Isabella after she left. Instinct screamed at me to comfort her, but reason stayed my hand. There were too many eyes on us right now; I didn’t want to risk dragging her deeper into this mess.
Plus, I had about a hundred other people to placate before I could focus on my personal life.
Reporters, board members, company execs, friends and family…my phone had been ringing off the hook since the photos exploded across the internet that morning. I wasn’t a movie star or rock star, but there were still plenty of people interested in the lives of the rich and scandalous. Bonus points if the scandal affected the future of one of the world’s largest and most famous corporations.
“What were you thinking?” My mother’s fury roared across the line, undeterred by the thousands of miles separating New York and London. “Do you understand what you’ve done? We’re weeks out from the vote. This could destroy everything.”
A migraine crawled over my skull and squeezed. I stared out the window of Valhalla’s conference room, my stomach churning with a cocktail of emotions.
I had no doubt Victor Black was behind this mess. The National Star was his publication, and the bastard was petty and vindictive enough to send someone to tail me after I bruised his ego.
“They’re innocent photos,” I said. “And it’s the National Star. No one takes the Star seriously.”
It was the same excuse I’d used earlier. Unfortunately, my mother wasn’t as easily swayed as Parker.
“Innocent would be photos of you reading to children on World Book Day, not cavorting around New York with that woman,” my mother said coldly. “A bartender? Really, Kai? I set you up with someone like Clarissa and you choose a run-of-the-mill gold digger? She has purple hair, for heaven’s sake. And tattoos.”
Anger chased behind my shame, incinerating it in one fiery burst. “Don’t talk about her like that,” I said, my voice lethally quiet.
My mother fell silent for a moment. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for her.” A hint of derision tainted her words.
Of course not.
The denial sat on the tip of my tongue, but no matter how hard I pushed, it wouldn’t budge.
I liked Isabella. I liked her more than anyone I could remember. But there was a vast ocean of difference between like and fallen. The former was a safe, clearly marked path. The latter was an abrupt, potentially fatal crash off the side of a cliff, and I wasn’t ready to take that leap.
I didn’t know how to categorize my feelings for Isabella. All I knew was the thought of never seeing her again felt like a serrated blade slicing through my chest.
“We can still salvage this. Like you said, it’s the Star.” My mother moved on from her original line of questioning. She didn’t press the Isabella issue, likely because she was afraid she’d get an answer she wouldn’t like. “Lean in on its unreliability. Reassure the board. And, for God’s sake, stop seeing that woman.”
My grip strangled my phone. “I’m not breaking up with her.”
The past few months had been a shitshow. Isabella was the only bright spot in my life right now.
Remove her, and…
Fuck.
I loosened my tie, trying to ease the sudden pressure in my chest.
“Be serious.” My mother switched from English to Cantonese, a sure sign she was pissed. “You’re willing to throw your future away over a girl? Everything you’ve worked for. Your career, your family, your legacy.”
My teeth clenched. “You’re blowing this out of proportion. They’re just photos.” Not even risqué ones, at that.
Dammit, I should’ve taken more precautions. I’d been arrogant, careless. So sure no one would ever catch on.
What had I been thinking?
That’s the problem. You weren’t.
I’d been too distracted by Isabella, and it’d come back to bite us both in the ass.
My mind flashed back to the note I’d received at the Saxon Gallery. I’d brushed it off as a prank, but perhaps there was more to it than I originally thought. The timing seemed awfully suspicious.
Be careful. Not everyone is who they seem.
Who could they be talking about? Victor? Clarissa? Someone else at the gallery?
“They’re just photos now,” my mother said, drawing my attention back to her. “Who knows what else will come out? It only takes a spark to start a fire, and any scandal, no matter how small, could lose you crucial votes.”
The pressure expanded, dimming my vision. I couldn’t focus. My usual cold clarity had vanished, leaving a whirlwind of tumult in its wake. There were a thousand voices in my head, clamoring to edge the others out like commuters shoving their way onto a rush-hour train.
Keep her. Leave her.
“I’ll fix it.”
“You only have—”
“I know how much time I have.” I rarely snapped at family. Asian children simply did not talk back to their parents, no matter how grown up or successful they were. But if I didn’t get off the phone in the next five minutes, I would explode. “Like I said, I’ll fix it. In two weeks, the photos will be a mere memory and I’ll be voted in as CEO.”
The other option was too awful to contemplate.
Losing. Taking orders from Tobias. Becoming a laughingstock. The taste of ashes filled my mouth.
“I hope so.” My mother didn’t acknowledge my rare loss of temper; there were bigger things at stake. “Or you’ll go down in history as the Young who lost control of his family’s empire. Remember that the next time you feel like running around town with your new girlfriend.”
After I hung up, I sent the rest of my calls to voicemail and took a car to Isabella’s house. I had the driver follow a winding route in case I was still being tailed, but it didn’t matter much if I was. The photos had done their damage.
Isabella looked remarkably calm when she opened the door.
“I’m okay,” she said before I could ask. If it weren’t for the redness tipping her nose and rimming her eyes, I might’ve believed her. “It’s just a job. I’ll find another one. See? I’ve already started looking.” She gestured at the job search site pulled up on her computer. “I’m thinking about adding photogenic even in candid photos in the special skills section.” A small wobble betrayed her joke.
I didn’t smile. “Isa.”
“I’ve been fired before. Not as many times as I’ve quit but, you know, the end result is the same.”
A semblance of a smile strained across her face. “What’s one more failure on the books? It doesn’t —”
“Isa.”
“It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The only shitty part is if Parker blacklists me with other bars. She knows everyone in the New York nightlife industry. I don’t think she will—”
“Isabella.” I opened my arms. “Come here, love.”
She fell silent, her eyes glassy. Her chest heaved from her rapid-fire rambling, and she didn’t move for a long, drawn-out second.