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“I’m surprised he’s letting you proofread it,” Jarek says as we pull away from the rink. “He’s usually a stickler about doing all that stuff himself. Seems like you can work your magic even on him.”

“I doubt I have any magic.” I look over to find Jarek’s eyes on me.

“I don’t doubt it at all.”

We finish the last couple of errands and head home after a great day. When we get there, Zander and Pascal are both sitting in the study, staring at their phones. They shoot Jarek a silent look that says they want to talk, so I politely excuse myself to go change.

“Thank you for today.” I smile at Jarek before heading upstairs.

“Of course.” He grins. “Seemed only fitting to do something special to celebrate you being nearly halfway through your stay with us.”

On my way up the stairs, it dawns on me that he’s right. We’re closing in on the middle of December, which means this contract is almost half over.

CHAPTER 20

PASCAL

“I wasn’t thinking.” Jarek runs a hand through his hair.

“Clearly.” Zander’s tone doesn’t help matters.

“How did this even hit the tabloids already?” Jarek asks. “Nina and I were at that coffee shop a few hours ago. Don’t they have anything better to do than stalk me on vacation?”

“Apparently not.” I sigh. “Remember where we are. This is a small mountain town, and you’re famous. This is probably the juiciest gossip the local paparazzi have gotten all year. The good news is it hasn’t gone to print yet. Not even online.”

Jarek takes my phone and looks at the photo again. Thankfully, Graham, a guy I grew up with, owns a media company now, and he knows Jarek is one of my best friends. He tipped me off with the photo and the story set to run tomorrow morning.

“We can’t let this get published.” Zander crosses his arms. “Once the press connects Nina’s scandal to a ‘romance’ with Jarek, it’s a problem for his career. And it looks bad for all of us.”

“Agreed.” I set my phone on the table. “We’re all in this house together, and Nina works for all of us. The gala is almost here, and any whiff of scandal will reflect badly on the Beaumont name. If people are whispering at the event, wallets stay closed.”

“Same with my investors,” Zander says. “They steer clear of drama, especially drama that ends up in front of cameras. We need to snuff this out.”

“Can you call your friend and get him to kill the story and bury the photo?” Jarek asks.

“It won’t be that easy. Friend or not, several people are involved who have no loyalty to me. The photographer who caught you kissing Nina, the journalist writing the story, and the supervisor who approved it. My friend is at the top of that ladder, but everyone below him will need to be kept quiet too.”

“I’m usually so careful in public.” Jarek groans, his brow furrowing. “This is terrible timing. My publicist is going to—well, let’s just say the studio won’t be happy.”

We go back and forth for a few minutes, weighing our options. It’s clear I’m in the best position to make this go away.

I call Graham back and put him on speaker while Zander and Jarek sit anxiously by.

“What’s it going to take, Graham?” I get straight to the point as soon as he picks up. “I need the story and the photo to never see the light of day.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Let’s just say juicy gossip right before my family’s charity gala is terrible timing.”

“Alright,” Graham says. “I’ll make sure it gets killed.”

Relief washes through me.

“But it’s going to cost you,” Graham adds.

“How much?”

“You’ll need to pay off the photographer and the journalist, plus their boss. And you’ll want NDAs, so none of them are tempted to talk once the money clears.”