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My face burns with shame as I counter, “I told you to let it go, I told you to choose peace over war.”
Now Dad stands, and my heart races as he towers over me. “I trusted you to report to me anything going on, but what did you do? Nothing!” he continues to shout, his voice echoing through the room. “You’re such a disappointment, Elise.”
Fury whips through me like cleansing fire, and I feel my fists clenching, chin tilting up stubbornly. “Oh, am I? Well, you too Dad.”
The last thing I register as I storm out of the room is the disgust on my father’s face, and it makes my insides feel like they’re twisting. There’s nothing else to do right now. I can’t change what’s been done.
As I walk through the hallway, the PR director––who had clearly been waiting on me––steps into my path and says, “Elise, we need to talk. We need to come up with a solution to fix this mess.”
I push past him and keep walking, but he moves ahead of me swiftly and opens the door to an empty office, jerking his head to indicate that I should follow him inside. Against my better judgment, I do so, not wanting to deal with this confrontation in front of my coworkers.
I blow out a breath, stirring the little pieces of hair that hang in front my face. “You are aware that I’m not any of the guilty parties in this situation, right? I’m not the one marrying a former escort, and I’m certainly not the one paying Karl to bribe a dancer. So what exactly is it that you want from me?”
The PR director sighs, rubbing his temples. “All of that is the exact reason why I’m asking you what to do. It’s clear that you hold sway over your father and your brother, so you might be the only one that can help. You have to.”
I take a deep breath and reply, "The only solution is for Dad to make an official statement saying he conducted an internal investigation within the company and discovered Karl was behind all of it and then fire him. That would clean up his image once and for all and would leave Karl to take the fall for it all. Like he deserves.”
The PR director looks at me with a shocked expression and asks, “You want your dad to throw Karl under the bus?”
I nod my head and say, “Absolutely I do. He's the one who bribed the dancer. Dad told me so.”
The director opens his mouth to say something, but before he can a tall silhouette darkens the doorway. Suddenly, Karl appears out of nowhere and says, “And what are you going to do with that information, Elise? Are you going to surprise us with a lovely admission on TV, just like your brother did?” He chuckles, shaking his head. “I guess being a snake runs in the family.”
I hold his gaze, unafraid and crossing my arms. “Depends on what my dad intends to do. If he decides to be reasonable, then it doesn’t have to come to that.”
Karl sneers. “Don't play games with me. You know as well as I do that your father will do whatever it takes to protect his image and his company. He'll do anything if it means saving his own skin.”
I shrug, unphased. Nothing he is saying is news to me. “Maybe. But I also know that he's not stupid. He'll see that this is the only way to salvage his reputation and the reputation of the company, and I promise you that he doesn't care enough about you to put his own neck out for your sake.”
Karl laughs, but I can tell that last line got to him some. “And what makes you think he'll listen to you? What could you possibly know about PR and damage control?”
I stand up straighter. “I know him better than anyone.” I raise my eyebrows, looking Karl over. “I know what he's capable of and I know what he's willing to do to protect what's important to him, and guess what?I’mimportant to him,this companyis important to him, and no matter what he says,Andriesis important to him, too. Not you, Karl.”
Karl's expression turns serious. “You're playing a dangerous game, and you’re losing points with daddy dearest by the minute. You're not just risking your job, you're risking everything. Are you really willing to lose all of that just to take me down?”
I look him in the eye, my voice steady and firm. “I'm not just doing this to take you down. I'm doing this to protect my father, the company that will one day be mine, and my brother. If that means going up against you and anyone else who tries to stand in my way, then so be it.”
Karl nods slowly, a hint of grudging respect in his eyes. “Alright then. It's your funeral.” He shakes his head and laughs sardonically. “So young and so naive.” With that, he turns and walks away, leaving me standing there, feeling a mix of fear and determination, pulse pounding.
The poor PR director has been silent this whole time, looking between the two of us as we argued. When I turn to him now he just shrugs. “I’ll be in contact, but this is clearly more complex than I thought. I need some time to gather information and look things over.”
I give him a single nod and leave the empty room, keeping my eyes straight ahead as I head for my desk, grabbing my bag while avoiding the eyes of everyone else who is currently working. I know they are all staring, but at this point my popularity among my coworkers is the least of my worries. Let them look, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest right now.
I breathe a sigh of relief when my feet hit the sidewalk as I walk out of the building. I need to talk to someone, and the obvious choice would be Andries––since he has the biggest stake in what is going on with my father––but considering how strenuous the interview must have been for him and Roxanne, I decide that talking to Dan will be the better choice. Plus… I miss him, and this is a good excuse to hear his voice.
I pull out my phone and select Dan's contact. He picks up on the second ring. "Elise? What's going on? I thought you’d still be at work.”
“Yeah, well… I just left. Dad understandably freaked out about the interview, but he really took it out on me more than I expected,” I tell him, my voice still shaking slightly from the confrontation.
“Was he rude to you?” Dan asks, sounding surprised.
“Somewhat, yeah,” I answer, swallowing hard when I remember how he called me a disappointment. “He had Karl and the company’s PR director there too, and they are all pissed at me. I guess because I’m the only one around that they can be mad at, besides themselves.”
“Well, what about Karl? How did he react?”
“He didn't take it well. He tried to intimidate me… cornered me in an empty office like the creep he is, but luckily, the PR director was in there with us.” I frown, thinking back to all of it, and how nerve-wracking it had been. “He told me over and over again that I was risking everything, but I stood my ground. I know this isn’t going to be easy, but I'm in this fight whole-heartedly.”
“I'm proud of you, Elise. You're doing so well,” Dan says, his voice filled with support.
