Too Late For Regrets, Mr. Billionaire (Brianna Meyers and Brandon Levy) novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Scumbag on Trending List

Chapter 4 Scumbag on Trending List

Brandon got home with Kendra a little after 3 a.m.

She’d conked out on his shoulder, so he carefully tucked her into bed before quietly slipping back to the master bedroom. Usually, no matter how late he rolled in, Brianna would hop up to help him strip off his clothes and draw a bath. Tonight? Dead silence. She was probably even more steamed after catching wind of the news.

It was way too late, so out of politeness, he skipped the lights and went straight to the bathroom to freshen up. Only after he was done and slid under the covers did he notice the bed was completely empty.

Brandon didn’t bat an eye and drifted off into a heavy sleep.

Come noon the next day, he dragged himself downstairs. The nanny was keeping Kendra entertained, but there was no sign of Brianna.

“Dad, where’s Mom? Why didn’t she fix me breakfast?” Kendra had gotten up early and figured Brianna was hanging with Brandon, so she hadn’t bothered checking.

Now, with just him showing up, she felt totally slighted.

Brandon shot a look at the butler.

The butler blinked in surprise. “Right after you two left, Mrs. Levy took off the next day. She mentioned you were in the know.”

She thought, ‘What?‘

Brandon thought, ‘What?‘ He shrugged it off, assuming she was just pouting and pulling some new stunt.

“Where’d Mom go?” Kendra turned to the butler.

“I… honestly don’t know.”

“I want Mom! I need her right now!” She threw a full–on tantrum.

Brandon said, “Just give her a call and find out.”

Something about this felt different. Brandon furrowed his brow ever so slightly as he lifted Kendra and plopped her down at

the table.

Kendra hit dial, and it rang for ages before connecting. The fine was chaotic, like she was at a job site.

Kendra said, “Mom, we’re home! Where are you?”

Brianna said, “Oh, back already? Have a blast, baby?”

“Totally! Dad and I picked out a gift for you. When are you heading back?”

“Uh…” Brianna paused, hating the idea of breaking it to Kendra that she wasn’t coming home.

“Mom, it’s super noisy there. Where exactly are you?”

“I am dealing with some stuff right now, so I can’t make it back just yet. Be good for me, okay?”

“No way! I want Mom, now!” Kendra started bawling again.

Brianna’s head pounded. “Fine, fine, I’ll swing by this afternoon. Dry those tears.”

The promise of her return cheered Kendra right up.

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Brandon eavesdropped, a seed of suspicion sprouting. He thought, ‘Trouble with her grandma or uncle? Or is this some cat -and–mouse game?‘

Back in the office, Brandon exuded a bone–chilling vibe that could give anyone frostbite. Two whole days, and [Levy Group CEO: Total Scumbag] was still dominating the trends.

Normally, crap like this got nuked in under thirty minutes. Hell, some scandals even got spun into glowing publicity.

The chief of staff, PR manager, and lead assistant perched in his office, barely breathing.

The PR manager laid out how the storm had brewed.

He said, “It started with those leaked overseas birthday snaps, some traction, but nothing huge. Then outlets ran with [CEO celebrates abroad with wife and kid], and the tone was all positive.

“But soon after, a handful of major influencers hinted the woman wasn’t your wife, and the media jumped in, pulling up Mrs. Levy’s pics for side–by–sides.

Chapter 4 Scumbag on trending list

“And from there… it just exploded “His voice faded to a whisper

Deep down, he felt hard done by He thought, ‘As the married CEO of the group, can’t the guy keep things buttoned up?

“On the bright side, the leaked shots are all profiles or obscured faces, no solid ID on anyone,” the assistant added. Brandon sat there with a poker face, not uttering a word

The chief of staff piped up with fixes, rattling off ideas. “We’ve boiled it down to two plays. One: get Mrs. Levy to go public and confirm it’s her in the photos. Two haul her back in and tap her for a solution,”

Brandon let out a bitter chuckle

More than 48 hours deep, the chaos still swirling, and this was their brainstorm, pie–in–the–sky nonsense.

The chief squirmed inwardly, but with the frenzy still raging, someone had to be stirring the pot.

Brandon’s silence left the three fidgeting like they were on pins and needles, mentally prepping their goodbyes.

Two days in, a clarification from Brianna now would ring hollow. And spotting Darcy in those pics? She might flat–out refuse.

Reeling her back to sort it? Back in the day, she’d leap at it. But no hysterics this round. Brandon couldn’t get a read on her. He said, “This is your grand plan?”

The trio shrank back, eyes glued to the floor, lips sealed.

Right then, Brandon’s phone buzzed.

“Mom.” He took the earful on the line without a peep. “Got it. We’ll come by after work.”

He hung up and leveled them with an arctic stare. “If that crap’s still trending in two hours, drop your resignations on my desk.”

Ultimatum delivered, the three hightailed it out of there.

Brandon thought, ‘Who leaks the information?‘

Brandon had suspected Darcy and her mother, but probably no one would willingly brand themselves as a mistress and broadcast it to the world.

Her goal was to break into show business. Even if she wanted publicity, she wouldn’t promote herself as the other woman.

He was still mulling it over when Darcy called.

Her voice was choked with tears. “Brandon, I’m so sorry. If I’d known it would turn out like this, I never would’ve had that birthday party.”

He said, “It’s okay. Don’t pay attention to those online posts.”

“But… Brianna…” Darcy sounded utterly aggrieved. “What if I go public and clear things up? Say it was me. Don’t let her get the wrong idea about you.”

“No need. Responding would just stir up more chaos.”

“Then Brianna… she already doesn’t like me, and now this… she must hate my guts. It’s all my fault. I’m the one to blame.” “Don’t overthink it. Just enjoy your time in Drokvine. No one’s recognized you online anyway. As for Brianna… she won’t hold it against you.”

“I’ve already flown back. With all this going on, I was worried about you, so I came home.”

Brandon stayed silent.

She continued, “Brandon, where are you right now? Can I see you?”

“Let’s talk about it later. I’ve got stuff to handle this afternoon.”

*****

Brianna left the studio construction site, planning to stop by the building materials market before heading home to see Kendra that afternoon. Then her phone rang.

“My dear Ms. Meyers, where are you?” The president’s office director sounded downright fawning.

She said, “Spit it out. What’s up?”

“Have you seen the trending topic?” the director asked tentatively.

“I have.” Her tone was even.

“So, how should we handle it?”

Chapter 4 Scumbag on trending tist

“I’ve resigned, remember?”

Yes, yes. But with Mr. Levy’s name still dangling out there like this, it doesn’t sit right.” “Let the PR team take care of it. They know the drill.”

A brief silence followed.

“After you left, Ms. Levy shut down the PR department and reassigned everyone.”

The Ms. Levy he meant was Margo.

She said, “Oh.”

It had been dragging on for two days, time to shut it down.

She added, “Set up a press conference. Confirm it’s Brandon: say his daughter was on a study abroad trip, he went along to chaperone, and they dropped by a friend’s birthday party while they were at it.”

The director waited, but when nothing else came, he asked, “That’s all?”

“What more do you want?”

“How do we turn this into positive spin? Like we used to.”

“Just getting it off the trending list would be a win. Right after the conference, you can buy some online buzz to push the coverage up and drown out the ‘scumbag‘ angle.”

The director didn’t dare reply. It sounded an awful lot like she was calling someone out.

He hung up and quickly followed Brianna’s orders, pulling together the old PR staff to manage the crisis.

Sure enough, half an hour after the press conference wrapped, the story rocketed up the trends, and that “scumbag” tag finally vanished.

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