Page 80 of Delicious Surrender
“Courvoisier XO?”
“Perfect. Will you pour me one?”
Gage was never more thankful to have Garrick running the club with him. He was a solid manager, always fair and hard as nails when needed. In all the years they’d known each other, he’d never seen him lose his cool, even with the assholes.
Garrick handed him the tumbler of cognac and clinked it with his own glass. “Slàinte.”
Gage looked at him, his eyes solemn. “Slàinte Mhath, mate. I could not have survived today without you.”
“I’ve always got your back, man. On that score, you never have to worry. Now, tell me what your mother had to say about today’s fiasco?”
Gage rolled his eyes and took a swig of the amber liquid. “I put her off for now. Nobody has figured out my real name, so they cannot link her to the scandal. Thank god I revealed nothing else to that little bitch. I’m glad she wasn’t around long enough to do more damage.”
Garrick sat back and rubbed his chin. “I don’t know, man. Why would she do this? I’m an excellent judge of character. How could I be so far off?”
“You are not the only one she fooled, Garrick. It seems Tink is quite an actress in her own right.”
“She emailed me and insists she didn’t write the article. However, from what we know, no one else had the access to get that story into print.”
“Exactly. She had the means and the motive.” He shook his head, his jaw set. “Enough pondering the why, I will not waste another second on her. I think we should remain closed this weekend and see what our campaign nets. The best-case scenario is we have a retraction on Monday. If not, we go to Plan B.”
“What’s Plan B, boss?”
Gage smirked. “I have no fucking idea.”
20
Starting Over
Brynne opened her eyes and groaned, “Oh. Wow.”
The hairdresser’s smile faltered when she saw her face. “Please say you like it. I think it looks amazing. You suit a pixie cut!”
Brynne forced herself to smile at the girl. After all, she got what she asked for.
Cut it all off.Those words came back to bite her.
“I like it, really, I do. It’s just a bit of a shock, that’s all.” Brynne examined her new look and took a deep breath.Okay, it’s not so bad. I can style it a few ways, and it’ll be easy to care for.
The girl had a mirror in her hand, but she stood there biting her lip nervously. “It’s always an adjustment when you do a big change like this.”
“You’re right. You did a great job. I needed this. Thank you.” She smiled fully to put her at ease. “I love it.”
She headed into the grocery store, feeling lighter than she had in days. She loaded the cart with all her favorite comfort foods and a few vegetables because her conscience told her to. At the checkout line, she was debating a chocolate bar when a headline stabbed her between the eyes.
Who is the Real Owner of Club Dominus?
Her stomach dropped. The hounds were out for blood. It was obvious that this disreputable excuse for a paper wanted to keep the story front and center. They were capitalizing on the mystery surrounding Gage. She hated to give that gossip rag any money but added it to her order, then hurried to the car with her bags.
We have not yet uncovered the identity of the elusive owner of London’s poshest BDSM club. It’s buried in several numbered companies.
Her head fell back to the headrest in relief. They hadn’t uncovered any information on Gage. He might hate her right now, but she hoped to one day exonerate herself and have his forgiveness.Fat chance.
They also speculated that Russian mafia money backed him. That was a ridiculous way to sell papers. Then her eyes zeroed in on her own name near the end of the page.Fuck!
Brynne Larimore, a lowly copyeditor who worked at the paper, allegedly wrote the article to punish MacLeod for dumping her. TheMirrorfired her, and she has not responded to requests for an interview.
“You have got to be kidding me!” Her screech was loudenough to draw the attention of two people walking by.Gage had to be the source of that made up shit!