As much as he liked her positive attitude, he was beginning to wonder about her naivety at the same time.
Granted, he also liked that he was out of the hot seat for the time being. Being the lawyer, everyone generally looked to him to fix the problem. He didn’t have a quick fix for this one, and if he had to guess, although no one had mentioned it yet, Tag was almost certain he was in those pictures, as well.
That thought gave him pause. He wasn’t sure whether anyone intended to show McKenna those photos, but he was suddenly worried that they would. The relationship he shared previously with Samantha and Logan was between the three of them, and he didn’t regret a single minute he spent with them, but he wasn’t sure McKenna would be as open minded as he was if she saw them. He remembered the way she had run out of the meeting room after speaking to Sam for the first time. However she had learned about his relationship with them, she hadn’t been happy about it.
Several minutes later, they were seated at a table in one of the sectioned off areas at Sam’s favorite restaurant. They had a private room, which was definitely a plus because the conversation he was sure would be had shouldn’t be heard by others. Considering there were more than just a few people at the table, it was guaranteed not to be a quiet conversation either.
Tag waited for McKenna to take a seat before sitting in the chair beside her. As expected, the entire clan was there: Sam, Logan, Luke, Sierra, Cole, Alex, and Ashleigh; pretty much everyone who had something to lose if Stephen and Susan followed through on their threats.
“Thanks for meeting with us,” Sam greeted. “The least we could do was buy you both lunch.”
Tag noticed the misery shining in both Logan’s and Luke’s eyes.
“No need,” McKenna responded, pulling her napkin from the table and into her lap.
Tag fully expected to see her squirm under the scrutiny of the fourteen eyes that were resting on her at the moment, but she wasn’t. She was as poised and calm as he’d ever seen her.
“I’m going to start out by apologizing to everyone at this table,” Sam said in a desperate tone. “Had I known about this, I can assure you, I would’ve tried to come up with a way where no one else could’ve gotten hurt by my actions.”
Sierra immediately reached over and took Sam’s hand. “Honey, I think I should be apologizing. I’m the one Susan retaliated against. I’m just so sorry you had to get dragged into this mess.”
Tag fought the urge to roll his eyes. He knew how close these women were and how overprotective Luke and Logan were, but shit, they could sit here all day and wish this away, but it wasn’t going to make a damn bit of difference.
There was a brief lull in conversation as the waitress took their orders before disappearing once more and shutting the door behind her.
“I’m sure I don’t need to fill anyone in on what we’re looking at, although I’m still disappointed that my husband felt the need to keep me in the dark,” Sam said, addressing the entire table.
Logan didn’t move, nor did he look at Sam. The hard line of his mouth said it all. He wasn’t at all sorry he’d kept this from her, and if Tag had to guess, he wished at this point he’d never said anything.
“Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can fix this?” Alex asked, looking none too happy about being there.
Although Alex wouldn’t be directly affected, his company would. Not to mention, XTX was going to get a lot of heat should this hit the front page headlines. Xavier Thomas was not going to be a happy man, nor would any of the other clients who had originally been looking to hire Sam in the future. And that meant Alex and Ashleigh both would be in the line of fire, even if inadvertently.
“I’m sure Logan and Luke informed you that we addressed the members, but we got nowhere with them. They aren’t willing to help even though this is going to affect them just as much as it will you,” McKenna spoke up. “I’m not sure that really sank in with them at the time.”
“Oh, they knew exactly what the hell we were talking about,” Luke barked. “They’re just a bunch of selfish bastards that think they’re above everyone else.” Luke’s anger was palpable.
“Were you able to find anything on the videos that might help?” McKenna asked Alex.
“Nothing that we didn’t already know and nothing the media wouldn’t expect from a lowlife playboy like Stephen Crawford.”
“His credibility is highly questionable,” Logan said. “But that isn’t going to make a difference once this gets out. The press will forget him and Susan in an instant, but they’ll be all over us immediately.”