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He reached into his jacket. “I should inform—”
She grasped his wrist. “Penny’s not a threat.”
“Nevertheless.”
“He’s busy. He stayed in Paris last night.”
“No, he didn’t. I saw him this morning.”
Her hand fell away. “You did?”
The doors opened, and it took her a second to follow him out when her mind was stuck on whether Roth took an early flight or got a room somewhere instead of coming back to the penthouse. She was halfway across the lobby before she remembered the concierge. They were standing at attention and waved in sync. When she responded in kind, she got beaming smiles in return. When they pushed through the doors, she saw Mo at the curb.
“Mrs. Roth.”
“Jasmine,” she corrected automatically.
“Where to?”
She read off the address Penny had sent and eyed his strong profile. Had he given his report to Roth last night or told him in person this morning? Was everything relayed verbally or in writing? She fretted about this until she realized Roth had already received the report, and it hadn’t made a difference to him. And why should it when he was out making deals worth half a billion dollars?
She switched her attention to the articles Colette forwarded to her. There were over two dozen from various media outlets. Colette made it her business to be notified any time their names were mentioned in the press. Today, there was an alarming number of alerts due to their wedding announcement. Seeing her and Roth’s names in headlines gave her nasty flashbacks to their past scandal.
Would the masses accept Roth’s publicity stunt? In most cases, public perception didn’t factor into a marriage like theirs, but due to Roth’s history with her family and his long absence from this particular arena, it was crucial that he returned on the right note. Roth couldn’t have planned a better comeback than to have her on his arm and backing from the family who once denounced him. But she doubted everyone would be so easily convinced, considering he recently became majority shareholder of Hennessy & Co. And would no one think it was odd that he moved back to the States only after her father died?
She opened the first article, blinked, frowned, and moved on to the next. And the next. She was on the fourth when her mouth dropped open in disbelief. The results were in, and she couldn’t fucking believe it. They were being labeled as a love story for the ages. Their scandalous past—the affair, her broken engagement, the estrangement from her family, and their reunion was being hailed as a modern-day fairytale. Her life had been told through the lens of some wannabe romance authors masquerading as reporters and bloggers. She thought most would find it distasteful how quickly they married after her father passed. That had been blatantly ignored, her legendary father a mere footnote in their story, aside from rampant speculation about his role in their divorce and reunion. Most assumed family pressure caused their initial split, with Maximus being the bad guy and Roth the patient, loyal Prince Charming, waiting in the wings for a second chance. If she had a physical copy of the paper, she would have ripped it into confetti.
Roth’s rags-to-riches story was front and center, often accompanied by a long list of his accomplishments that overshadowed details like his recent acquirement of Hennessy & Co. For the handful of articles that did mention this fact, it was accompanied by a statement from Colette about how they were grateful for his input and how well they worked together. Her lip curled. Roth’s Colorado upbringing was briefly mentioned, along with how he had been raised by a single mother. No one mentioned his father or his accident. Were they being respectful or avoiding it for fear of being sued or the backlash that could come from mentioning such a touchy, taboo subject? Roth had invited the media scrutiny and clearly wasn’t worried about reporters digging into his background and past. Whatever safeguards he put in place must be bulletproof if he wasn’t worried about anyone stumbling onto his secret.
Most articles chose to feature the image of her and Roth tangled in her veil on their wedding day. How the photographer managed to capture a moment when they hadn’t been glaring daggers at each other, she would never know. Both Daiyu and the photographer went into great detail about their parts in the hush-hush wedding. When she couldn’t take anymore, she tossed her phone into her purse and stared out the window as her stomach churned.
Roth kept winning. The odds weren’t stacked in his favor, but that didn’t stop him from trying. It was almost as if fate was so impressed with his boldness that it decided to reward him for it. The stars still aligned for him. Her hand balled into a fist. The fact that women all over the world were fawning over photos of them and giving them hashtags like #couplegoals, #HEA, #loveneverquits, #onlyonewomanforthisbillionaire, and comments like,The way helooksat her. OMG, made her insides wither.
The easily bamboozled masses irked her. Everyone had been dazzled by the designer gown, dreamy setting, and eye-popping ring… just as Roth intended. She should be relieved that people were buying their bullshit romance—it meant Roth wouldn’t have to embark on another scheme to quell the gossip, but… Couldn’t anyone see past the glitz and glamor to how calculated it all was? How premeditated? She thought her father was a scheming, master puppeteer, but he had nothing on Roth. Her father used humiliation, intimidation, and one’s own ambitions against them, but Roth used far more dangerous emotions—fear, love, and hope to get what he wanted.
She bowed her head as the painful contractions began in her chest. She fought the nausea and lightheadedness, forcing herself to breathe, and gripping her knees for dear life until the awful sensations passed. When she straightened, she didn’t look into the rearview mirror to see if Mo had picked up on her mini freakout. It didn’t matter anyway.
She rubbed her damp palms on her thighs and found herself staring at her naked left hand as the car slowed and they reached their destination. She reached into her purse for the ring and slipped it on as Johan opened the door for her to step out. Showtime.
She strode in with Johan a pace behind her. Remy’s Castle was a unique mix of café and pub, with high stools around the bartenders who served coffee infused liquor behind a U-shaped bar. As she glanced around the crowded room, a woman leapt to her feet and hurried over. Penelope had waist-length ruby hair, freckles on the bridge of her nose, and hazel eyes. Despite the relaxed setting, Penelope wore a plum-colored skirt suit with black tights and heels.
“Jas!” Penelope gave her an exuberant hug. “I can’t believe you’re here! Shame on you for not letting me know you were in town.” Penelope grabbed her hand. “Come, I ordered you an espresso martini. They’re phenomenal!”
Jasmine glanced at Johan, who fell back before Penelope realized they were together. She followed the much shorter woman to a table and eyed the brown foam in the martini glass skeptically before she picked it up and sipped.
“Eh?”
She looked up and found Penelope watching her avidly. “It’s good.”
“Good? That’s all you can say? This is revolutionary. You’ll understand once you’re on your second. Drink up.”
She obliged and took another sip. “This is going to knock me on my ass, isn't it?”
“Most definitely.”
“Perfect.” She set the glass down and looked around. “I haven’t eaten anything yet. What do they have?”
“They’ll serve us in a bit.” Penelope grasped her hand in both of hers. “Jasmine, I’m sorry about your father.”
