nonsense.”
Lucia narrowed her eyes. “Uncle Cass was there wasn’t he?”
“Why? You think he did it?” Trisha said in shock. She hated to see a family tear itself apart. “He’d sink along with the rest of us. Wasn’t this fake girlfriend thing his idea in the first place?”
Dante agreed. “Let’s not go around pointing fingers. We need a game plan. We might as well call in Uncle Cass in while we’re at it. We’re all in this together.”
Lucia sighed. “You’re right. I’ll think up of a PR statement with our media team. No one talks to the media or even so much as likes a Facebook page until we work out a plan.”
Trisha bit her lower lip before speaking. “What should I do?”
“You don’t worry about a thing,” Dante said, touching her cheek with the back of his hand. She could sense he was just as confused as she was but hid the fact. “I’ll put out this fire. You can stay in my office until then. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Trisha wished she shared his confidence. “Okay…”
“Why don’t you read that Automaniacs article on us?” he asked, trying to defuse the tension. She knew when he was nervous but there was no point in calling him out. Dante would put on a brave face for her even if Armageddon was around the corner. “Make yourself in my office until we figure things out.”
Trisha nodded as she walked to Dante’s office. Due to its relative newness, the biker hadn’t gotten an opportunity to trash it. She would’ve stopped to take in the futuristic looking furnishings if her mind wasn’t going over their meeting with Sam.
He seemed like a kind enough man but looks could be deceiving. Then again, he seemed more interest in the motorcycle company than in her love life. More importantly, the audio quality was faint as if from a distant recording device.
The farm girl used her phone to go to the Automaniacs website. It would help kill time. Using a phone to do… well everything was a bit overwhelming for her. A few months ago, she was using a flip top phone that barely got any reception.
She couldn’t help but browse what the news was saying about her.
Liar.
Cheat.
Whore.
They said all kinds of terrible things about her and Dante. It was to be expected but what hurt the most was that there was a kernel of truth to it. Dante had always protected her from the darker side of the media and now she understood why.
Trisha decided to do something productive with her time. There was no point in reading about the scandal. She didn’t have to wait long for the Automanics article on them to come up.
To her surprise, the editor said the article was an extra-long piece solely on the Black Hounds. There were several sections on topics ranging from the motorcycle club’s origins to Dante himself. One of the sections was called ‘Star Crossed and Motocross Lovers.’ “Oh, crap!”
Her eyeballs were glued to the screen of her phone. She read the article by Sam Maynard. “’Dante Alastair and Trisha Kaplan told me they were one of the most normal, everyday couples I’d ever meet. Nothing could be further from the truth.’”
Trisha gave a nervous giggle. She had told that to him and now millions of people would’ve heard it as well. It was an aspect of the media blitz she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. “’Young, ambitious and a maverick, Alastair is newest in the line of a motorcycle club’s royal family. The controversial Black Hounds Motorcycle Club were infamous for their bloody feud with the Mexico based drug cartel, the Red Aztecs. Now, Alastair wants to prove that not only has his company has grown up but he has changed along with it.’
‘Their venture into motorcycle design and manufacturing is the brainchild of Dante Alastair and his sister, Lucia Alastair. In an