Page 73 of Keeping Kyler
“Do you have anything else for me?”
“Like what?” He crosses his feet at the ankles.
I shrug. “I don’t know. Anything else suspicious in her background?”
He shakes his head. “Not that I’ve discovered so far.”
“Well, damn. I was hoping you might have found out why she has targeted Ky. I thought it was linked to her secret, but maybe I was wrong.” Another thought occurs to me. “Did you discover anything interesting about Courtney?”
“Nothing springs to mind. Why do you ask?”
“Call it a gut instinct.”
“Anything I had I’ve turned over to Mom and Dad’s guy. I can’t think of anything that would be helpful in this situation. I was just looking for evidence of her blackmail.”
“What about the stuff the PI uncovered? Can you get your hands on that?”
“Sure. I can hack into his server and pull his files.” He shrugs. “But is there much point? You heard what my parents said back there. She’s finished after today.”
“Let’s just say I need it for peace of mind.”
He pushes off the desk. “Okay, I’ll get the stuff and glance through it this weekend to see if there’s anything of interest.”
“Thank you.”
“How’s my brother?”
“As well as can be expected.”
“Let me know if I can do anything to help.”
Shouts from down below distract us. I open the door, and find Kal at the bottom of the stairs. “The press conference is starting. Come on.”
We run down to the games room, and I drop onto the couch beside Ky. All the major news channels are covering Alex’s press release. Keaton pulls up the large screen, and everyone quiets to listen as she announces the sale of Kennedy Apparel to the Accardi Company and confirms she has stepped down from the board and from her position as CEO. Shocked gasps emerge from the media crowd when she announces that the brand was built on a lie, and after explaining, she apologizes for any offense.
She speaks eloquently and passionately about why she made that decision and how much the business has meant to her. In stepping down, she acknowledges the error of her ways. She ends her statement on a more personal note.
“I would like to thank all the Kennedy Apparel employees for their dedication to the company over the years, and I can assure them they are in great hands with Accardi. They have ambitious plans to develop the business, and I have no doubt they will grow from strength to strength. I would also like to thank my colleagues on the board who have worked tirelessly this past week to sign off on this deal. Lastly, I would like to thank my husband and my children. They have sacrificed a lot so I could pursue my business ambitions, and I couldn’t have achieved what I achieved without their support.”
She pauses briefly, scanning the large crowd in front of her. “There have been a lot of reports and speculation in the media recently about my family, and that has, in part, contributed to the decision I have made to step away from my career.” She glances over her shoulder at James, standing stoically behind her. “My husband almost single-handedly raised our family, and I can never thank him enough. Certain things I’ve done have hurt him, and I’d like to publicly apologize to him for that. My beautiful sons have become targets lately, and that is the price I have paid for being in the public eye. They have never asked for that, and I want to apologize to them too and let them know that I am going to be there for them every day from this day forth. Finally, I would like to appeal for privacy. We have lived our lives under a spotlight and now we would like to retreat to the shadows. Please give my family that peace and let us resolve our problems in private. Thank you.”
She leaves the stage amid a flurry of questions. Keaton mutes the TV. “Mom did good.”
Kent snorts, and we all raise our eyes to the ceiling. “What?” he yells, scowling.
“Let’s hear it,” Kal says. “Whatever derogatory bullshit you have to say. Get it out of your system before Mom and Dad get back.”
Kent flips him the bird. “You’re an ass.”
“No,you’rean ass,” Keanu ventures. “Do you not get how big of a deal this is?”
Kent harrumphs. “I’m not buying this bull. I’ll believe it when I see it. And I’m not buying the whole “I did it for my family” crap either.” He puts on a pretend whiny voice. “She did it for herself so that slut Courtney wouldn’t get the business or Dad. That’s what she really cares about.”
“You’re wrong,” Ky speaks up. “I believe in what she said earlier, and trust me when I say she still has a long way to go with me, but if I can give her the benefit of the doubt, then I think you should too.”
“Bro,” Keaton says, twisting to face Kent. “Mom barely ever takes a day off work. Now she’s given it all up for us. She’ll be here every day. It’s going to be awesome.”
I grin at Keaton. God, I wish I could bottle his enthusiasm.
