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When my eyes adjust, I’m shocked to see that it’s none other than Karl himself and his assistant that have interrupted, Karl looking both harried and apologetic.
“Sorry for the delay,” he says, giving the room a quick wave. “I was on the phone with my lawyer hammering out some details and he tends to be very long-winded. I’m sure you are all familiar.”
People in the room murmur in amused agreement as Karl moves to find his own seat. I blink a few times to make sure that I’m not hallucinating, because Karl Townsend was supposed to be in jail right now. How he is walking free––free enough to attend a PR meeting––is beyond me. I watch him, goggle-eyed, before turning to Dad and whispering, “What is he doing here?”
He sends me a sharp look, but some of the younger board members at the table are clearly feeling similar, looking both mildly alarmed and uncomfortable at Karl’s entrance. After aquick scan of the room, Dad sighs, and whispers back, “I guess I have to address this, then.”
He clears his throat to get everyone’s attention, and when he has it, begins to explain why Karl has suddenly reappeared when he was supposed to be absent. What disturbs me most, though, is how so many of the attendees just accepted his return without even a question. This man has been accused of heinous things. Shouldn’t everyone want some more perspective on everything before just blindly welcoming him home?
“Karl won’t be taking leave like we expected and will be in the office like normal. His lawyer filed an appeal on his case, so his sentence has been suspended until it’s been reviewed, which means everything is above board and perfectly legal. I expect no one to allow idle gossip about Mr. Townsend's case to affect work or their professional relationship with Karl. If all goes well, our colleague will simply have to pay the ten thousand euro fine and there will be no prison time. Again, let me reiterate, after this we won’t speak of the case in the office at all, and Mr. Townsend will be treated with respect.”
Everyone, including the few that had looked hesitant in the beginning, nodded and seemed satisfied. I can’t keep the surprise off my face that we are just going to sweep this under the rug, but I’m obviously in the minority, considering how the friendly conversation with Karl commences as soon as Dad finishes his spiel.
Greg shrugs and finishes his presentation, taking his seat once he clears the screen. Dad looks down at me afterward, and the pride in his smile sends me reeling. It looks as if he’s happy I’m here with him, even at this boring, mundane meeting, and at that moment I feel impulsive.
“I’ve got some news,” I tell him, his attention piqued, and he raises his eyebrows.
“Oh? For the meeting, not just me?” Dad asks.
I look anxiously at Karl, wishing I could just send him away. Knowing that he might play a big part in Roxanne’s memoir makes things even more awkward, but I don’t have a choice. Plus, it isn’t like I care what he thinks. I just wish I wasn’t the one informing Dad of it.
I nod, and Dad gets the table’s attention again. Everyone is getting restless, ready to leave and move on with their day, but I’m confident this will keep them engaged once they realize what I’m revealing.
“Roxanne Feng will be releasing a tell-all memoir that is already garnering attention in a lot of publishing houses, and it’ll be about her time as an escort and madam.”
Everyone in the room seems taken aback by the news, including Dad. I explain everything in as much detail as I can. Once Dan had spilled the secret to me, he had become more tight-lipped than I’d have preferred, but I still knew enough to hopefully give the company time to do damage control.
When I get into how detailed the book will be, the PR Director, Greg, holds up a hand to stop me.
“Do you know if this memoir will use real names and information, or will she use pseudonyms to protect her former clients’ identities?” he asks.
All eyes shift slowly to Karl, who looks uneasy, but stoic.
“As far as I know, she’snotusing a pen name for herself, but I don’t know about pseudonyms for anyone else. I’m not sure about any other details at the moment…”
Greg looks ill, but Dad is clearly pissed. “I’m sure she’ll hire that tabloid trash reporter Kenneth to do one of his famous sensationalist interviews, too.”
I lace my fingers on the table in front of me, hating that I don’t have anything else to give. “I’m not sure…”
“Just try and see if you can get some inside information on whether she’ll be using pseudonyms or not. Hopefully, she will,just to avoid potential lawsuits, but that woman never seems to do anything the easy or smart way, so who knows.”
Nodding, I tell Dad, “I’ll try my best to find out.”
“Quickly,” he adds, voice tight.
Once the meeting is over, Dad walks me to my desk, looking grim. Still, even if I feel a bit guilty, I’m glad that I have tried my best to help him and the company.
“You did well,” he tells me as we reach the entrance to the open layout. “Knowing about Feng’s book is going to give us a great head-start on spinning our version of the story first if she decides to call Karl out.”
I shuffle my feet, feeling weird about the subject, but having no choice but to speak about my concerns. “Dad… don’t you think other employees here may have utilized Roxanne’s escort service?”
“It’s a possibility, but indulging in those services is perfectly legal, so I’m not concerned too much about that. Karl, on the other hand––”
“I wanted to ask you about that, too,” I say, cutting him off. “I get that he’s awaiting appeal, but did I understand correctly that he will be coming to the shareholders’ meeting?”
“Yes,” Dad confirms. “He is legally allowed to live his life normally at this time, and he has a great relationship with a lot of those shareholders. They expect to see him there.”
“Don’t you think it might look bad for the company, though? To have him there when he’s basically in limbo on whether he’s going to prison or not?”
