Two

      Teresa St. Claire had spent most of the week hiding out in her office. Once she arrived in the morning, she’d only peeked her head out when it had been absolutely necessary.

      Yes, she was the boss. But she felt like the screwup employee who’d put the entire company in jeopardy.

      Every time she closed her eyes, she could see the ugly headline that had been running for the past week.

       Mogul’s Torrid Affair with Father’s Mistress Ends after Her Surprise Inheritance Revealed.

      She’d been pegged as a home-wrecking gold digger who’d had an affair with the late Linus Christopher and now had her sights set on his heir Liam. The ugly rumors, complete with uncomplimentary videos and photos, lit up the airwaves and seemed to follow her everywhere online.

      Teresa had been hounded by gossip columnists and bloggers. Even a woman she’d always considered a reputable reporter had shown up at her home, inquiring about the nature of Teresa’s relationship with both Christopher men.

      The effect the rumors were having on her business was bad enough. But the additional tension it had created between her and Liam was unbearable. She could only imagine the embarrassment the rumors were causing him.

      Teresa wiped away warm tears when she recalled the expression on Liam’s face when he’d confronted her about the rumors. He’d even had the audacity to imply that she might’ve been behind them. Still, her brain was flooded with the warmth and passion that had been growing steadily between them, despite his constant mistrust of her.

      She sighed. The outer office was uncharacteristically quiet. Other than calls from gossip reporters, the phones barely rang. Her employees spoke in hushed tones with their heads together rather than with the jovial, energetic nature she was accustomed to.

      At this rate, the doors of Limitless Events would be shuttered for good in a few weeks, and it would be her fault.

      A knock at the door startled her from her thoughts.

      Teresa sat ramrod straight in the chair behind her desk. “Come in.”

      Corinne, her personal assistant, stepped inside. The woman dragged a hand through her headful of red corkscrew curls with an exasperated frown.

      “We’ve had another cancellation, haven’t we?” Teresa practically held her breath. That made three this week already. Not to mention the three or four clients who’d gotten nervous about having her plan their parties. It had been all she could do to calm them down so they wouldn’t jump ship. But she realized that any one of them might change their minds at any time.

      Corinne nodded. “Maggie Ellington called to say that she’s sorry, but she just can’t take a chance that the scandal won’t have died down by the time of her daughter’s wedding.”

      “That’s understandable.” Teresa tried to sound unaffected by the latest news. “She wants to make sure her daughter and son-in-law are the center of attention, not me.”

      “You mean she wants to make sure that she’s the center of attention, and she won’t be upstaged by anyone. Not even the bride.” Corinne folded her arms.

      “True.” Teresa laughed and gave her assistant a reassuring smile. “But we’d both do the same if we were in her shoes. I can’t blame her. In fact, I don’t blame any of them for canceling.”

      “Well, I do.” Corinne dropped into the chair in front of Teresa’s desk. “They’re all a bunch of hypocrites. Most of them have done more scandalous things on an average Tuesday than you’re being accused of. Not to mention that the whole story is just a crock of—”

      “I get it, Corinne.” Teresa held up a hand to calm her assistant.

      Corinne was fiercely loyal and feisty as hell. She knew how to get things done and she wasn’t easily deterred. It made her an invaluable assistant. But it also meant that this situation wasn’t sitting well with her.

      “That may be true.” Teresa shrugged. “But we can’t force them to work with us.”

      “So what do we do in the meantime? The phones are barely ringing. If clients keep jumping ship...” Corinne’s cheeks flushed.

      “We won’t let it get to that,” Teresa said firmly. “I’m trying to drum up business with some new clients. The kind who don’t run scared at the first hint of scandal.”

      “Reality stars?” Corinne asked, then rolled her eyes when Teresa confirmed with the nod of her head. “God, they’re the worst.” She heaved a sigh. “But hey, I get it. We have to do what we have to do. For now.”

      “The other key element of weathering this storm is that we hold on to as many current clients as we can. Keep reassuring them that this has all been a big misunderstanding and it’ll blow over soon. Speaking of holding on to the clients we have now, have you heard from Matt Richmond?”

      Limitless Events had planned an elaborate business retreat on behalf of Matt Richmond—the incredibly handsome and fabulously wealthy CEO of Richmond Industries—at The Opulence last week. The hotel was extravagant and luxurious, the food was going to be delectable, and the guest list was to include the rich and powerful. The event was the talk of the town, but for all the wrong reasons.

      Torrential rains caused a mudslide that had knocked out the power and damaged the hotel before the retreat could take place. Matt Richmond’s event should’ve been Limitless Event’s pièce de résistance. Instead, it descended into a chaotic catastrophe for the dozen or so guests who’d arrived early. Though she obviously didn’t control the weather, Teresa felt responsible for the calamitous party.

      Thankfully, Matt Richmond hadn’t blamed her for the disastrous nonevent. Undeterred by the incredible fail, he’d been determined to reschedule the retreat. Yet he hadn’t called, as he’d promised, to initiate the planning.

      Had he not returned her calls because of the scandal hitting the airwaves? Or had Liam, Matt’s best friend, discouraged him from working with her?

      “I haven’t heard from him and whenever I’ve called, his assistant can’t get a hold of him.” Corinne shrugged apologetically. “Maybe we should call Nadia. After all, she does work for you.”

      “As an independent contractor,” Teresa clarified. “And I don’t like the idea of leveraging her marriage to Matt. That isn’t why I asked her to work with me.”

      “Then maybe I should visit his office.”

      “No...don’t.” Teresa waved off the suggestion. She could imagine Corinne’s friendly visit to Matt going wrong six ways to Sunday. “I’ll try him again later. How is the search for a new venue going?”

      Corinne’s frown deepened and she blew a puff of air between her plump lips. “Not well. Not if Richmond is determined to schedule the retreat anytime soon. The venues with openings in the next couple of months don’t meet our standards of elegance and luxury.”

      “I was afraid of that.” Teresa heaved a sigh. “I know it’s a tall order, but keep trying. Ask our top choices to call us first, in the event of a cancellation.”

      “Will do.” Corinne popped up from her seat, her red curls bouncing. “Anything else, chief?”

      “No.” Teresa riffled through papers on her desk, knocking over a small four-by-six photo of her and her brother, Joshua, on a trip to Mexico together a few years ago. She picked up the photo. “Have you heard from my brother? He left me several messages when my phone went dead last week, but I haven’t been