The Price Of Scandal(10)

“It was a tit for tat,” I began. “Merritt’s father is some big deal hotelier in Vegas. His son is launching some underwear line. The Van Winston publicist reached out to Flawless. I need to stay in the public’s eye leading up to the IPO.”

“You’re already running a national ad campaign, and Flawless is being featured in every business and economic publication known to humanity,” Daisy pointed out.

“But I’m the face,” I said, repeating Lita’s words. “We’re looking to move a billion dollars in stock. A couple of yawn-inducing corporate history profiles aren’t going to do that. Anything I can do to stay at the forefront of the public’s mind will benefit the IPO. Well, almost anything.”

I punched Stop on the treadmill and put my head in my hands. “I don’t even know how badly I’ve fucked up, guys. I haven’t even been able to make myself look at my phone.” It had signaled texts, calls, and emails until I’d put it on vibrate and hidden it under a pillow for most of the night.

“Okay, let’s stop with the self-pity,” Luna insisted briskly. “Focus on the positive. It wasn’t your giant bag of coke—”

“And X,” Daisy added helpfully.

“Seriously?” Merritt Van Winston was a dumbass of the highest honor.

“Just a little baggie,” Daisy said as if that made it better. “At least it wasn’t meth. There’s no way to class that shit up.”

Luna shot her a will you shut up look.

“Thanks, Pollyanna,” Cam snorted.

“Anyway,” Luna said pointedly. “The drugs weren’t yours. You kept it together for the cameras. Your attorney already put out a statement doing damage control about the ‘misunderstanding.’ Everyone is doing all the right things.”

“What are the blogs saying?” I asked, not really wanting to know.

“Let’s focus on what your next steps are,” Cam said evasively as she turned around to lunge back across the gym.

That meant it was bad. Really, really bad.

“Better or worse than Zoey Grace’s leaked three-way sex tape?”

My friends exchanged a glance.

The spark of hope that had been trying to ignite in my chest sputtered out. And my bowels went icy.

“Oh, God.” I buried my face in a sweat towel.

“Look,” Daisy said, wielding her Bloody Mary at me. “Here’s the thing. You’ve never fucked up before. You’ve been squeaky clean. The public hates that. They hate you for being rich and beautiful and smart. And they want you to have to pay the price for being perfect.”

Ouch.

“So because I’ve worked my ass off since college, because I built a company and literally changed the face of women’s skincare, I deserve this?” I was shouting.

Luna took a deep, cleansing breath for me. She was probably doing a mental meditation to change my vibe.

“You should be pissed,” Cam said. “But just because it’s unfair and horrible doesn’t mean it’s not happening. You have to deal with it.”

“And you’re overlooking the platinum lining here,” Daisy pointed out, shaking the ice in her now empty glass. “What’s the one thing the world loves more than a downward spiral?”

I paused my internal rant for a beat. “A comeback,” I breathed.

Luna nodded. “A flawed, vulnerable, real, badass entrepreneur is way more interesting than a perfect rich girl.”

“I’m not supposed to be interesting,” I said, thinking of how many nerve pills my mother had probably downed since last night.

“There’s a lot of things we’re not supposed to be,” Cam said. “Doesn’t mean that we can’t.”

“This can all be salvaged,” Luna said soothingly. “We’re here for you. Whatever you need.”

“Hell yeah,” Cam said, holding up her water bottle in a mock toast.

“Let’s start now,” Daisy said, pulling her phone out of her considerable cleavage.

“We’re not selfie-ing this,” I argued.

“If your company was collapsing on itself and you had a serious drug problem, would you be up at sunrise working out with your beautiful, successful friends?” Daisy asked with a wicked grin.

“Point taken.”

“Okay, ladies. Comeback on three.”

“One. Two. Three.”

“Comeback!”





6





Emily





“Disgraced socialite shares post-arrest workout pic”

“Emily Stanton sweaty and smiling after boyfriend arrested for drugs”

“Billionaire entrepreneur back to business as usual after near-arrest”





After a workout, a meditation led by Luna, and a protein shake, I worked up the nerve to turn my phone back on.

Thirteen messages from my publicist.

Two sobbing voicemails from my mother wondering where she went wrong as a parent. She also sent a text informing me she was visiting her favorite medium today to determine what past-life karma she was being punished for. I was invited to attend the session.

I had half a dozen missed calls from board members. Thank God, my father was in Greece. I didn’t think I could face his disappointment or wrath, whichever weapon he decided to lead with. Byron Stanton II was a shrewd businessman who applied his boardroom tactics at the dining table.