Chapter 105: The New Face of Kingsley & Co

Ivy’s pov

The new face of Kingsley and co.

No way. This had to be some kind of trick with the universe.

My father-in-law, Anthony Braddock, was at the head of the long mahogany table, his voice booming as he sang the praises of the woman seated to his right.

"...and Miss Tatiana Snook also featured in the top fashion week shows in Milan, Paris, and New York as their star runway model. She has an Instagram following of over twelve million, a TikTok with another eight million devoted followers, and a brand engagement that is frankly, unparalleled in this market. She is the face, and the future, of luxury branding."

I could hardly believe my eyes.

Tatiana.

The same woman who had been draped all over Gideon and had called me names two days ago was the new face of my father’s company? No fucking way. This had to be a nightmare.

Or better still, I was transported to the matrix or some shit like that. This had to be the most ironical thing ever. The client Dad wanted me to manage was the ex mistress of my employees? Did Dad even know?

"Who’s the statue by the door?" Tatiana’s voice was laced with bored disdain as it cut through Anthony’s monologue.

He paused, blinking, and followed her gaze to me. A fond smile curled his lips. "Ah, that is my daughter-in-law, and Felix’s daughter. Harper Kingsley."

"Welcome, sister. So glad you could finally join us." I glanced in the direction of the sarcastic voice to see my brother grinning triumphantly at me. The asshole hadn’t told me about the meeting on purpose and had even called dad to tell him I wasn’t attending. Petty as fuck.

Beside him, Angel the demon, glared at me, his eyes cold and accusing. They were both here, of course. I hadn’t gone back to the penthouse since he moved his precious Pamela into my room and he had been blowing up my phone with stupid messages.

I could hardly give a shit. If all went well, I would just bide my time until I got the company then I could kiss our marriage goodbye.

Several other executives and employees from the marketing department were scattered around the table, but my father was absent. Where was he?

I mumbled a clipped, non-committal greeting, my eyes dropping to the polished surface of the table as I took my seat. I glanced up then quickly looked away when I saw Tatiana’s narrowed gaze on me.

"Have we met before?" she asked, her head cocked to the side.

My blood ran cold. "I don’t believe so," I replied tightly. "I have one of those faces. People tend to think they’ve seen me everywhere."

My head was ringing with deafening panic.

This was bad. This was catastrophically, world-endingly bad.

My saving grace, my one and only shield, was that no one from the Knight family knew who I really was or what I looked like. Only Milo had known, and he was... dealt with.

But Tatiana. She had seen me. She had seen me in Gideon’s study, on his lap, his hands on my body. She definitely hated me. She could recognize me, It was only a matter of time.

"I didn’t know Felix Kingsley had a daughter," Tatiana drawled, interrupting Anthony again as he tried to steer the conversation back to marketing metrics.

"Not many people do," Jake chimed in, his eyes glinting with malicious amusement as he looked at me. "My father likes to protect his little girl."

He blew me a mocking kiss, and I fought the urge to lunge across the table and wipe that smug look off his face. I spent the rest of the meeting trying to hide my face behind a curtain of my hair, avoiding any and all eye contact with Tatiana.

My heart beat so fast I thought it might explode right out of my chest. I couldn’t keep doing this. I couldn’t keep living this double life. I had to take control.

Since Jake had already stolen my Berlin project, one way back in, one way to be seen by the board before the final decision, was to manage this new, high-profile asset.

Titty-fucking-ana.

So when the issue of managing Miss Snook’s schedule and PR came up, I immediately spoke up.

"I’ll oversee it," I announced. "I’ll personally manage Miss Snook’s portfolio and ensure all her needs are met."

Tatiana scoffed.. "Please. I’m not some cheap catalog model or some fool begging for attention. It’s either Kingsley & Co. devotes top-tier, A-list attention to me, or I go elsewhere. I have offers from LVMH and Calloway, you know."

I forced a tight, professional smile. "Of course. We have several projects that require our full attention, but I assure you, we will do our absolute best to give Miss Snook all the attention she needs and deserves."

Tatiana leaned forward, her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing my face. "Seriously. Where do I know you from? You look so familiar."

Alarmed, I rose on my feet, taking a step back, keeping that pasted-on smile firmly in place. "I really just have one of those faces," I repeated, my voice strained. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, Miss Snook, I have to report to my father. My assistant, Jenny, will see you out."

I didn’t wait for a reply. I turned and walked out of the conference room, briskly towards the elevator, panicking like crazy.

Holy shit. How was I supposed to manage this... this viper, while still working at the Knights’ mansion? While still sleeping with the brothers?

The ride up to my father’s floor was silent but my mind certainly wasn’t. It was chaotic like crazy. When I arrived, Dad’s receptionist’s desk was empty.

"Weird," I mumbled, eyeing her desk warily before heading straight to his office. A knot of unease tightened in my stomach as I pushed open the heavy oak door to his office.

And I almost had a heart attack.

"Dad?!" I gasped, stumbling back a step.