Chapter 144: Press conference

Ivy

"Miss Kingsley? Over here! What do you have to say about this recent development at Kingsley & Co.?"

The cameras started flashing the moment we stepped onto the podium. Lenses, lights and microphones were thrust forward, all pointed at me.

My father had always kept me out of the spotlight even though I was media trained, but now every light in the room was on me. A month had passed since the Winslow Estate, thirty days of hotel rooms and silence, and this was how my father chose to end my hiding.

There was a rolling feeling of guilt and disgust in my stomach, but I kept my spine straight and pressed my lips into a professional line. "It is, of course, an unprecedented development, but I am happy to step into the shoes my father has prepared for me."

My father stood at my right shoulder, nodding proudly. Behind us, the Kingsley & Co. banner stretched across the wall of the conference room, and the flashes made its silver letters burn white.

"Mr. Kingsley!" A reporter in the front row shot to her feet. "What prompted this announcement? We’re all curious why now. It seemed a no brainer that your son Jacob Kingsley would be named heir."

My father leaned into the microphone with a warm smile. "A father’s pride and a company’s future. Harper has been preparing for this her whole life. She has the mind, the discipline and the heart for it. The timing simply felt right."

Yeah, the timing felt right because his accounts were frozen, his investors were running away, and he needed a pretty face beside him while the FBI investigated him.

I was the only card my father had left to play. Gee, how special I felt.

"Miss Kingsley!" Another reporter called. "Is it true you’ve been moving around under a different name? Many people recognize you as Ivy. The orphanage you visit, for example."

My eyes twitched and the urge to dig my nails into my palm was strong. I laughed softly and shook my head. "My name is also Ivy. It’s my third name, given to me by my mother. I sometimes go by it as a way to honor her memory."

A murmur rippled through the crowd of reporters. Would they be watching? It had been a whole month since I’d heard from them, aside from whatever the tabloids posted.

It was so odd. For three months I had grown used to seeing them and being around them, and now I couldn’t even get a glimpse.

My face was public now, so everywhere I went someone would be watching me. I couldn’t steal a drive to the Winslow estate without raising questions, no matter how badly I missed them.

"What about the lawsuits?" Another reporter demanded. "We heard Knight Industries is suing Kingsley & Co. for corporate espionage. They claim you stole information. How do you respond?"

It took everything in me to keep my smile from wavering, even as a shudder swept down my spine. "This is a matter between two private companies. We will handle it professionally, as we always do. Knight Industries and Kingsley & Co. have coexisted in this city for decades, and we will continue to."

Coexisted. Such a hypocritical word.

Don’t think about them. Not here, and definitely not now.

"Miss Kingsley!" A third reporter chirped. "What does this mean for the company’s direction? Are there changes coming?"

"There will be growth." I had practiced that answer a thousand times. "Kingsley & Co. is aiming for greater heights. New markets, partnerships and broader horizons. My father built something remarkable, and I intend to build on it."

My father laughed and patted my shoulder.

"Isn’t she wonderful?" he said into the microphone, and the room laughed with him.

"You can see why I want her as my heir. I am proud of the woman she has become."

He had never said he was proud of me before. Not once, not when I graduated top of my class and not when I closed my first deal. But today, in front of the cameras, I was wonderful, and it turned my stomach.

I kept that fake smile until the conference was over and we were in the elevator riding up toward the executive floors.

I stood in the corner of the car with my bag clutched against my chest, my fingers wrapped so tightly around the leather strap that my knuckles had gone white.

My assistant, Jenny, stood beside me while Father stood at the front, facing the doors, his reflection in the polished steel watching me.

"That went well."

"Yes, Father."

"Better than I expected, actually. You have a natural presence."

"Yes, Father."

He glanced at me, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "You can drop the act now, Harper. There’s no one to impress."

There’s always someone to impress, I thought. There’s always you.

The elevator rose, and all I could think about was asking him what he wanted. He had pretty much blackmailed me into doing this.

The elevator stopped at the eighteenth floor, where my office was, and Father would ride on to the twentieth. The doors slid open.

"I’ll be going now," I mumbled, bowing slightly.

"We should have dinner tonight. Lawyer Parker will brief us on how to handle the lawsuits."

"Yes, Father," I droned like a freaking robot and walked out of the elevator with Jenny. Knight Industries was suing us for the information we had stolen from them, the information I had stolen from them.

The corner of my eye burned as their words burned hotly in my mind.

Don’t ever show your face in front of me. Ever.

My lips trembled, and I took a deep breath and let my heels click rapidly down the hallway. I had to reach my office soon.

The carpet muffled most of the sound, the lights hummed, and I counted my steps to keep from counting everything I had lost.

I had barely gone a few steps when an annoying voice stopped me in my tracks, and a woman’s laughter joined it, one I had last heard calling me a slut in Gideon’s study.