Jo
"What the hell's going on?" I asked, walking through the doors of Dad's house.
Everyone looked so on edge, and I hated that more than anything.
"Is someone going to say something?" I asked, my jaw set in frustration.
"Your uncle's... indiscretion got out into the media."
A very concentrated Victoria answered me, her eyes glued to her laptop screen.
"Which one? Because there's been a few."
"His association with the Moretti family," Victoria, yet again, responded.
I looked between Fred and Dad, who both had their phones pressed against their ears.
"Where'd it come from?" I asked, walking over to Victoria as calmly as I could've.
I braced my elbows on the counter next to her, looking at her laptop screen.
"I have some guys working on it," she said, "but it says the LLC is out of Sacramento?"
She had a questionable tone to her voice, but there wasn't a question for anyone but her.
I looked over at Lena, who looked horrified.
"It could be anyone," I reassured.
"But the laptop's in Seattle. Company's in Sacramento, laptop's in Seattle. Doesn't-"
"It does," Lena quietly said, raking her hand through her hair.
I stood upright, gently grabbing Lena's arm. I led her into one of the quiet spots in the house. "It's not your fault."
"This is what I was afraid of," she said, nodding as she chewed on her bottom lip, "I just ruined your family's entire name."
"Unless you were behind that, no, you didn't," I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "I need to get back to them."
She looked up at me, making me gently stroke her cheek before walking over to Victoria.
"I know who it was," I quietly admitted, looking down at Vic.
She looked up at me finally, pulling off her headset. "Start talking."
"Jackson Jones," I said, "big in Sacramento. Lena's ex-fiancé."
She paused her vigorous typing. "Your ego's huge, King."
I looked over at her, my eyebrows in a furrow.
"Thinking a man wants to chance his rep to ruin yours for taking his f-"
"It's him, Vic," I firmly stated, "I won't say it again."
She clenched her prominent jaw, looking back at her screen. "If you're wrong, this is falling on you."
I walked over to Dad and Fred, cautiously approaching them. The three of us, being as temperamental as we were, were dangerous.
Fred dropped his hands to rest on his hips, his shoulders rising with the deep breath he took.
He spun around and swept everything off of the counter. "Fuck!"
"Hey!" Alexis said, grabbing his arms, "hey."
Everyone stood back. I knew how Fred felt about the business, and it had to always be perfect. He had a meltdown if it wasn't exactly that.
His eyes eventually met mine. "Oh, you look like you're waiting on me to say something to you. Sorry, I was on the phone fixing the shitstorm you've created."
