Filthy Rich Alpha - Virna DePaul Page 0,21
I think,” Iris began. “And I do have some media experience. That’s professional lighting. No harsh shadows, no glare reflections. Branden didn’t film this.”
Cara laughed bitterly. “Duh. He’s got his hands full.”
Iris snorted. “That’s one way of putting it. But this is definitely not a set-the-timer-and-hump amateur production. “
“If you say so.” Cara couldn’t take her eyes off her big, strong, bare-chested boss.
“And note how she stays at the edge of the shot.”
“She’s teasing him.”
“Exactly. It’s like she’s there to liven him up, get a reaction, make him less nervous—take your pick.”
“So what? You think Branden Duke shot soft core porn in another life?” she asked, unable to believe it, yet she couldn’t deny what she was looking at either. “And now someone is out to destroy his reputation? Maybe even mine?”
“It seems far fetched, I know, but…”
“But like you said, the women could be mistaken for me, if that’s what people wanted to believe,” Cara said softly. She covered her face with her hands, letting out a muffled groan. “If word gets around and anyone thinks that anonymous female is me, my financial career is toast. I’ll fight the good fight, of course I will, but I don’t want to. And even if I do, what if it doesn’t make a difference. What if I lose everything, Iris?”
Iris put a comforting hand on her arm. “HotnSaucey is mostly for freaks. You work with normal people, right?”
Cara let her hands drop into her lap. “I don’t know where you got that idea. If my co-workers see this”—Cara thought of Greg Johnson, specifically—“They’ll just scorch the servers forwarding it over and over.”
Iris did her best to comfort her, telling her that wouldn’t happen. She also told Cara not to follow the link to additional content that was underneath the video. “You’ll get a computer virus or worse. Just try to let it go for now and we’ll do more research tomorrow.” Cara told her she’d leave it alone, gave her friend a huge hug then was once again alone.
What the hell was she going to do? Should she even tell Branden about the video and her fear that it would be connected to her? Given the last thing they’d talked about was their mutual attraction, it would be so much better if she stayed away from him, but…
Shaking her head, Cara booted up her own laptop and brought up the HotnSaucey website. She wasn’t going to click on the additional content, but she’d copy the URL and email it to Branden. Despite the way they’d met and not knowing him very long, she couldn’t let him be blindsided.
The website loaded slowly in fits and starts. And no matter how she searched, she saw no sign of the clip.
It was gone.
Chapter 8
“Is it done?” Branden was talking to one of his PR guys, an expert when it came to information online. The man could make things appear and disappear. He’d worked his magic with the photograph of Cara outside the mansion, and now he’d damn well do the same thing to that video.
After being assured that the video was as good as gone, Branden hung up the phone then slammed his laptop shut. Going outside and throwing it off the penthouse terrace was not an option, but it was a thought. He’d watched the clip several times, then downloaded it just in case his lawyers would want to have a look. Let them decide what to do. There’d be follow-up snark, but he wasn’t anticipating much of that.
It was him and it had happened, despite his protests to the contrary to Deena. He hadn’t instantly remembered doing it, but then he’d never seen the tape of the jeans-ad audition back in college. Nothing came of it. A check and a handshake, then thanks for your time, we’ll call you, next. Over and done with and forgotten long ago.
No telling who owned the rights to the footage by this time. He dimly remembered signing a release after it was all over. Someone had stumbled across the tape somehow and, by his guess, was looking to cash in, but how much could they make? He wasn’t that well known outside of New York, and as far as blackmail, forget it. There was no actual sex.
The sight of himself at that age, in that situation, took him back. He’d been young and hungry, that was for damn sure. He hadn’t modeled for long, never took it seriously, just did it on occasion for the money.