Page 150 of Legally Mine

His new paramour appears to be a new Harvard Law graduate and former intern from Sterling Grove, Skylar Crosby. Their relationship raises several concerns about Sterling's ethics in the context of his rumored run for mayor.

The blood drained from my head all at once, and I was glad there was a sofa under my legs to catch me.

"Oh," I said as I leaned forward to put my head between my knees "Oh, God. Oh, fucking God!"

Brandon didn't say anything, just stared at the screen for a few seconds while his face turned bright red and looked like smoke was about to come whistling from his ear and nose. Then, all at once with an explosive movement, he picked up Cory's empty coffee cup off the table and hurled it the wall, where it shattered with a resounding crash.

"Fuck!" he yelled, tugging his hat off his head and sending it in the same direction as the mug.

He turned to Cory, who had the decency to cower a little bit, his eyes darting at the broken ceramic and coffee staining the white walls. I couldn't have cared less about the mess; I was struggling just to breathe.

"You couldn't have stopped this?" Brandon demanded. "What the fuck do I pay you for, Cory?"

Cory crossed his thin arms and frowned. "I'm not Miranda's keeper, boss. I did my best to hold off the Globe, but no amount of campaign access was going to stop them from running this story."

"They didn't need to bring Skylar into it. You couldn't have kept her name out of it?" Brandon growled, gesturing toward me. "Fuck!"

He sat on the couch next to me and reached a hand to my leg, but I curled inward, pulling my knees up against my chest and resting my forehead on the thin fabric of my leggings. I felt like I was going to throw up. Brandon looked like he wanted to tear apart the entire room. I just focused on breathing.

"I don't think I should go tomorrow night," I mumbled into my kneecaps.

"I agree," Cory said curtly above me.

When I looked up, he was watching me with a hard expression. I couldn't blame him. He was an asshole, but my presence in Brandon's life was making his job incredibly difficult.

"No," Brandon said even more emphatically beside me.

I looked at him. "Brandon. Let's be practical here. Tomorrow's announcement could be a way for you to deflect. You show up, look like your Camelot-looking self, and the whole city will think Miranda is just being desperate. But if I show up with you, I'll be the narrative, and you'll lose your momentum. Bad for you, and I really don't want this kind of attention."

Brandon stared at me with a pained expression, then shook his head. "Skylar, I told you, baby, I'm not doing this without you. If you don't come, Miranda wins. That's exactly what she wants!"

"No, she wins if I show up and pull the focus away from you," I replied. "All the more reason that I should stay away."

"I agree," Cory said again, although he seemed as surprised as I was that we were on the same page. "You have a chance to change the narrative here, boss. You make your announcement tomorrow night, and nobody's going to give a shit that your jealous, soon-to-be ex is throwing around her sob story. She'll just look like a desperate woman trying to hang onto the spotlight."

Then Cory sighed. "Look, I'll be straight. It honestly won't matter that much to you if she goes. You might look a bit like a ladies' man, but that's never stopped voters before." He bit his lip and nodded at me. "But it will matter for her. She'll look like the other woman in a town where half the people here don't believe in divorce. They'll say she's wrecking your marriage. That she only wants you for your money. You want me to go on?"

Brandon pressed his lips together so hard they turned white. I knew what he was thinking. For some reason, any mention of me as an extramarital affair, even though that's technically what I was, really, really pissed him off. He squeezed my hand hard enough that I had to pull it away and shake it out to make the blood return.

"I want to know where the fuck the Globe got a second source to confirm your name," he bit out.

"What the fuck does that matter?" Cory exploded. "The whole fucking world saw you holding her hand at the NECA benefit. This is what I've been telling you from the beginning!"

Brandon's eyes flashed at me. "You don't think Eric or Jane..."

I shook my head vehemently. "Absolutely not. And before you ask, neither would Bubbe or my dad."

Cory snorted, but quieted when I shot him a quick glare.

Finally, Brandon shook his head, and looked back at me, blue eyes pleading. "I still want you there."

"Brandon––" I started.

"Please," he said. "We can go separately, if it makes the two of you feel better. You can come with Cory, and he can bring you around the back of the hotel. There's no pictures of you anywhere yet; no one will know who you are. But I need to know you're there, Red. My family will be there––Ray and Susan are coming. And you're my family now too."

I realized then just how nervous he was about all of this. Brandon, a man who, beneath his confident exterior and many accomplishments, was someone who desperately sought the approval of those he loved. And now he was about to announce his entry into politics, a notoriously loveless industry. He wouldn't admit it in front of Cory, but I could see the truth in his deep blue eyes: he was terrified. He needed to have people who loved him in his corner while he took this huge leap of faith, and I was at the top of that list.

So I ignored what my instincts were telling me. I squeezed his hand.