Tell Me You're Mine (The British Billionaires #1) - J. S. Scott Page 0,35

time I let him know he could irritate me.

Lancaster International was one of the largest and most successful corporations in the world, and Damian hadn’t stayed in that position without being a master at manipulation and an excellent game player.

I refused to be one of his pawns, but how could I not take some time to think about something that could mean so much to the future of my mother’s beloved company?

This opportunity wasn’t just about me. If it was, I could have easily told him to go fuck himself. But I had employees, and a business that needed to grow in the future. My decisions directly affected the people who worked for ACM, and their job security.

What if I could use Damian Lancaster to further my business interests?

He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a business card. “Don’t take long to decide,” he suggested. “The situation is out of control already.”

My PR mind kicked in as I asked, “What kind of damage control are you doing right now?”

He shrugged. “The PR department is mostly punting questions at this point, hoping it will die down. We’ve never had something like this happen before.”

I let go of a sigh. “I told you that you needed to get in front of it. If this has really blown up on social media, avoidance is only going to make it worse. Have you made a statement?”

“Not yet.”

“Get on social media and make it clear that you were set up, but take total responsibility for putting yourself in a bad position in the first place. I’m assuming all this started in a bar or a nightclub?”

My heart ached when he nodded slowly.

Part of me still didn’t want to believe that the Damian I’d gotten to know on the plane had been so out of his mind on alcohol that he’d allowed himself to end up in this situation.

My memory went to the single beer he’d consumed before he’d asked for tea.

Was he trying to reform?

“Stay away from the club scene in Los Angeles,” I suggested tersely. “There are usually reporters around who are trying to catch celebrities misbehaving in some of the posher nightclubs.”

He held up a hand. “I’m here on business only. I wasn’t planning on setting Hollywood on fire.”

Honestly, I couldn’t see Damian partying at a swanky club. It just didn’t seem like his style. But what did I know? He’d obviously gotten drunk enough to be set up, if this whole thing had ever really been a trap.

I took his card and tossed it on my desk. “I’ll be in touch. I need to think about this. If you aren’t sincere about wanting to fix this, then it could ruin my company’s reputation.”

I watched as he raked a hand through his hair again. “I do want to fix it. I hate the fact that my family is going to suffer. Reporters are already camping out at my mother’s home in Surrey, trying to get some kind of statement. She doesn’t need this.”

“So most of what you told me on the plane is true? Your mom lives in Surrey at your childhood home?”

“Nothing I said was untrue,” he said. “Although I’m definitely guilty of lying by omission.”

For a moment, I felt bad about his obvious distress over his mother’s treatment by the media. If I could trust nothing else about this man, I was pretty sure his agitation about the press hounding his mom was completely sincere. “They’ll go away eventually,” I said quietly. “There’s always going to be another story more scandalous than yours. It’s just really uncomfortable while you’re in the hot seat.”

He nodded sharply. “Don’t get me wrong. My mum is a strong woman, but she’s been through a lot, and our family reputation means a lot to her. Like I said, nothing I told you on the plane was a lie, really. My mother was born in Spain, and she met my father while he was in her country on business. She came from a humble background, and she turned herself inside out to be accepted by the social elite once she married my father. She said she never wanted him to regret that he’d married beneath himself.”

I surveyed his expression as I asked, “Did he marry beneath himself?”

He shook his head. “Hell, no. My father never felt that way. Ever. He loved my mother, and he didn’t care what the gossips said. It was Mum who always felt like she wasn’t good enough