The Billionaire's Sweet Trouble

05

Sweet

"What the hell did you do?"

Dad approached me like a madman as soon as the entire production crew of the show Good Morning USA left. "You exposed the man; threw his face in the mud in front of the entire world."

"Nah, don't worry about it." I waved my hand, ignoring his wild reaction. "That man deserves it. After what he did to me, I couldn't just sit there and tell myself that it was fine. Because until now it wasn't. I felt disrespected. He had no respect for my time, my effort, or me as a person. I worked so hard for this career, and he just treated me like a joke. He's a douchebag who doesn't deserve respect from anyone."

"I understand, but you should have settled it differently. You're putting yourself into trouble. Sebastian Stavrakos is not an ordinary man. He's powerful. He's rich."

"So?" I shrugged, my lips twisting, uncaring of what Dad said. "I don't care if he has tons of money and thousands of connections. He should know that what he did was wrong. Otherwise, he'll keep on repeating it."

"You should have kept your opinion to yourself. He's a dangerous man to mess with. He could sue you for slander or moral damage."

I snickered, patting my dad's back. "That's not possible. I only told the truth. We may voice our opinions. It's a free country. Every human being has rights."

He looked heavenward and threw his arms in the air. "Did you hear me? The man is powerful! He could destroy you with just a snap of his fingers."

I shook my head. "That man has no balls to sue me in court."

"What makes you so sure?"

"First"—I touched my little finger—"it would only expose all his dirt and add more humiliation. He'd hate it when the media wouldn't stop digging into his past scandals. Second, he wouldn't jeopardize his family's reputation. That would be bad for the business. Third, people would turn against their family. No one would believe in their latest innovation projects—they would be doomed. Imagine, it costs billions, and almost all the rich people in the world are invested in it. And there are a thousand more reasons."

Dad sighed, clasping his arms together. "I hope you're right. I can't help but worry about the outcome."

"There's nothing to worry, dad. Just trust me on this." I tapped his back again, and he nodded.

Colton, who shouted from a distance while walking toward us, interrupted our emotional moment.

"Hey Sweet! You're so cool! You grilled the man. I saw the tweets. You're trending on Twitter with that Stavrakos guy. You're getting very famous now."

"Really? I haven't checked on it yet."

"Your followers are growing on all your social media accounts. Wow, that's amazing!" He grinned widely. "Can you sprinkle a little of your fame? Maybe you can help me grow my followers too."

"Yeah, if you really want your life to be exposed to the public, Colton."

"Hmm...I guess one in the family is enough," he answered.

"Colt, can you transfer those sacks of potatoes from the field to the storage room?" Dad instructed, and he followed without question.

Marie joined me right away when I was alone, holding her iPad. She was a very efficient personal assistant, editor and, most importantly, my best friend.

"You did so well! I'm so proud of you, my bestie. You looked so pretty on camera. White suits you better."

I wore a white pantsuit. The same suit that I wore during what was supposed to be my first meeting with Sebastian Stavrakos.