“You have to do something, Megan,” Penny repeats. The blood has drained from her face, and her dilated pupils darken her blue eyes.

“What’s wrong, Penny? Calm down.” I don’t even know what the problem is, so how am I supposed to do anything?

“They’re going to take me away. I can’t…” Her sentence hangs in the air as she hyperventilates, pumping air into her small lungs.

What could be going on inside Mr. Hunter’s office? All I know is there’s an interview right now, but I have no idea what it’s about, or how it affects Penny.

All I know is it’s important enough for Eliza Dahl from PR to join him today.

She’s this talented, hard-working young woman who always seems to know what to say. She always looks professional in her fashionable blazers, and she can smooth out any difficult situation—it’s like a superpower.

Sometimes, Mr. Hunter does smaller interviews that he doesn’t even prepare for. But for this particular one, he’s been emailing back and forth with Eliza for days.

“Penny, just sit down for a minute. Come on.” I get up and put my hands on her shoulders, intending to gently guide her toward the waiting area, where the couches are.

There’s nothing she or I could do. As much as it sucks, we’re powerless, so we might as well just sit back and relax.

“There’s no time!” Penny insists.

“Penny.” I bend down to level my gaze at her. “What is it that I’m supposed to do? What is going on? I need to know if you want me to help you.”

“They’re going to take me away,” she repeats. She looks so desperate it breaks my heart. “You need to do something.”

“I don’t know how to help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on. Tell me, how am I supposed to help you?” I ask, getting worried and frustrated.

Damn it, I think I might like this kid after all. Why do I even care about her? She’s the daughter of my enemy.

“I don’t know,” Penny snaps. “You’re the adult here. You’re supposed to know what to do. You’re almost twice my age.”

She even remembers what I said in the cab, even in her panicked state. She may be a kid, but she’s smart and perceptive. Maybe something really bad is really going on in there.

But what can I do? I may be an adult, but I’m also just a personal assistant.

Penny stares at the floor. Her eyebrows are taut, her gaze focused. She’s thinking. Concentrating.

“Okay. I know what to do. Just follow my lead,” Penny says.

Before I can react, Penny pushes her dad’s office door open.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

I’m supposed to babysit her. Now she’s entering Mr. Hunter’s office—which is already off-limits, even under normal circumstances—during an important interview.

What do I do?

Penny glances back at me, imploring me to back her up with her eyes.

Damn it, I can’t say no to those eyes.

Besides, I’m already in trouble anyway for letting Penny enter Mr. Hunter’s office. I might as well commit to whatever this is.

“Hi, Dad,” Penny says casually as she enters the office, all traces of panic or uncertainty gone from her demeanor.

Jesus. I have to say I’m impressed. She’s good.

I trail behind her, not sure what’s happening or what I should do. I’m completely out of my depth here.

For the few months that I’ve been working here, I’ve been playing it safe. I’m not supposed to be pulling this kind of stunts.

Mr. Hunter glares at Penny, then at me. I avert my gaze and act like I’m busy with the door, like it takes all my concentration just to push it closed.

“Penny!” Mr. Hunter exclaims. To my surprise, he doesn’t sound angry at all. If anything, he sounds happy to see her, even if his eyes are still shooting darts at her.

I wonder if this father-daughter ruse has to do with the woman sitting on the couch right now.

She looks professional in her beige business suit. Her blonde hair is pulled up into a neat bun. She’s smiling, but her expression remains somewhat stern. She’s probably the interviewer.

I smile at her and Eliza, who is staring at me with her eyebrows raised, as if to ask me, what the fuck is going on?

Even if I could speak freely, I’d still have no answers for Eliza.

“How was your day? It’s nice that they let you off early, huh?” Mr. Hunter asks as he welcomes Penny into his arms.

I slowly, awkwardly approach the sitting area, where everyone is, and stand politely off to the side, right by the couch where Mr. Hunter is sitting. I figure it’s probably best to stay close to Penny.

“Yeah, but I missed you, Dad.” To my surprise, Penny slides onto her dad’s lap. For some reason, I never expected Mr. Hunter to get this affectionate with another human being, even if the human in question was small, adorable, and shared his DNA.

“Aww, I missed you, too, honey.” Mr Hunter kisses Penny’s forehead as she leans back in his chest.

“Hi, Penny. My name is Melanie,” the interviewer says as she shoots Penny a smile.

“Hi, Melanie,” Penny says with the sweetest smile on her face.

To me, though, she looks like she has a plan and is feeling smug about it. I may have only spent a little time with her, but I recognize that look from my own reflection in the mirror.

“How was school today?” Melanie asks.

“Good.”

“That’s good. I’m sorry for keeping your dad busy so he couldn’t pick you up.”

“That’s okay. He picks me up most days.”

“And if he can’t make it, I suppose his assistant is happy to do it?” Melanie briefly glances at me before returning her attention to Penny.

“Huh? Who are you talking about?” Penny asks, putting on a clueless face. What is she planning?

“This nice lady, of course.” Melanie turns to me and smiles.

I return her smile, feeling self-conscious about having her attention on me, knowing I’m not even supposed to be here.

“Oh, Megan is not my dad’s assistant.”

“She’s not?” Melanie asks.

Thank you, Melanie. I was just about to ask Penny the same question myself.

“No, Megan is my new mom,” Penny says casually.

My jaw drops, and I can only stare at Penny in shock.

What the hell is happening?

I’m not the only one who’s surprised.

Melanie twists toward me so fast I thought her neck was going to snap. She eyes me up and down, sizing me up. Then, she picks up her pen and scribbles furiously on the notepad in her lap.

Meanwhile, both Mr. Hunter and Eliza can’t seem to decide where to look. They stare at me, then at Penny, then at each other, then at Melanie, who’s still busy taking notes.

“Ethan, I had no idea you’d gotten married. This is huge news,” Melanie says as her hand finally stops moving and she raises her head back up to observe Mr. Hunter. “You seem surprised.”

“Oh, no,” Penny says, feigning innocence. “I’m sorry, Dad. I forgot I’m not supposed to tell anyone.”

Eliza is the first one to jump in to save the interview. “I’m sorry, Melanie,” she says with a calm smile. “Mr. Hunter is just surprised because he—well, the whole family—they intended to keep it a secret. Only temporarily, of course.”

“Oh, any reason why the public is to be kept in the dark about this happy news?” Melanie asks. Now that she thinks I’m part of the family, she looks at me, too, when she asks a question.

I finally regain enough composure to return Melanie’s smile, but I still can’t find the right words to say. I’ve never been the focus of a media interview before. I’ve only ever been on the other side.

From what I can tell, even Mr. Hunter gets briefed before an interview. Right now, I’m supposed to come up with answers to a fictional situation that I’m not even aware of. This is like some kind of a weird improv skit.

“Please excuse Miss Jones,” Eliza says. “She’s not used to being in the limelight, as you can probably tell. With the media storm surrounding Hunter Corporation and Mr. Hunter’s family right now, you understand why we’re careful about this.”

“Oh, I understand,” Melanie says. “But, Miss Jones, if I may say something, sooner or later you’re going to be the focus of some huge news articles. I’d try to get used to it if I were you. There’s really no escaping it.”

“Tha—” My voice sounds weird and squeaky, so I pause to clear my throat before I continue. I make a second attempt and say, “Thank you.”

“I notice you just called her Miss Jones, Eliza,” Melanie says. “Is there a reason why? I’d think Mrs. Hunter would be a more appropriate way to address her. Don’t you agree, Ethan?”

Quickly, Eliza answers, “Until we decide how to approach this, we’d like to keep everything exactly the same. We don’t want anybody finding out by accident because of a slip of the tongue, like we just witnessed together,” she says with a small laugh.

“That makes sense. But you understand that, now that I’m aware of this, I can’t just sit on the news,” Melanie says.

“We’d appreciate it if you could omit this part of the conversation for now,” Eliza says. “No other news source is aware of this yet, so you’ll still be the first to break the news. We’ll even give you an exclusive interview if you agree to keep it quiet for as long as you can.”

“An exclusive interview and a photography session with the whole family,” Melanie negotiates.

“Deal.” Eliza smiles. Glancing at her watch, she adds, “Now, I believe we’ve hit the one-hour limit for this interview. Mr. Hunter has another meeting scheduled in a few minutes, so I think we should end this session. We’ll continue on another day, when we’re ready for that exclusive interview and photography session.”

“Oh, I’d like to get a few more details before I go. Like, Miss Jones,” Melanie says as she turns toward me, “What is your first name?”

“Meg—”

“Miss Jones, please, let me.” Eliza cuts me off, her expression friendly but firm. To Melanie, she says, “Miss Jones would like to maintain her anonymity for as long as possible, so I hope you understand if we withhold her full name. Mr. Hunter, Penny, and Miss Jones—they’re just a family like any other family. Privacy is very important to them.”

“Of course. I understand.” Melanie’s face falls, but she forces a smile.

Obviously, the journalist still wants to dig more information. She stares at me, like she’s memorizing the way I look so she can describe my appearance to her readers.

For a second, I consider crouching under Mr. Hunter’s couch, just in case Melanie pulls out her cell phone and starts taking pictures of me. But that would be downright crazy.

In a smooth social maneuver, Eliza gets Melanie to stand up and follow her to the door. She glances back at Mr. Hunter before walking out, seemingly to let him know she’s coming back soon.

I inhale deeply. I realize I’d been holding my breath while Melanie was in here. I still have no idea what’s going on, but at least I don’t have to pretend anymore.

I take a peek at Mr. Hunter and his daughter, who have their backs to me. They have been silent for the past few minutes, letting Eliza handle the interviewer.

I can’t see their expressions from where I’m standing, but the muscles along Mr. Hunter’s neck are tense. Is he angry?

Is he angry…at me?

Shit.

Technically, it was Penny who has put us in this strange and awkward position. But she’s a child and I’m an adult who was supposed to look after her. I was supposed make sure she didn’t pull something like this.

Damn it. I hope I haven’t just ruined my chances of taking revenge on Ethan Hunter.