Closing the folder, Talon folded his hands together over it. “Now, they’ll interview you and your parents separately, then bring you out together toward the end of the segment. From the clips I’ve seen of your mother’s interviews, you should be prepared for a lot of tears.”
Of that, Asher had no doubt. She was becoming quite the actress, able to turn on the waterworks like a kitchen faucet.
“She’ll probably try to hug you as well,” Talon added, “because that would look great for the cameras.”
An involuntary shudder vibrated through Asher. “No.”
“I thought as much.” Talon offered him one of his rare smiles. “In that case, your best bet to avoid that kind of situation is to remain seated and keep her eyes averted. Ideally, they’ll have you separated on either side of Meredith, but I can’t make any promises.”
Not for the first time, Asher considered if he was really doing the right thing by agreeing to the interview with his parents. He knew Cameron had reservations about the situation, and they weren’t completely unfounded. Confronting his parents on live television had the potential to backfire and blow up in his face.
Talon was right in thinking his mother would cry, but would the audience believe her tears? Asher sure as hell didn’t. Could he sit silently while his father told lie after lie about him? He had his doubts.
Still, it was his best chance to get the truth out there. Whether the public would support him was out of his hands, but it was a chance to finally face his fears and put the past behind him. He wasn’t that fourteen-year-old boy anymore. He was a grown man, a successful author, and a lot less fucked up than he probably should have been given the circumstances.
As Luke had so sagely reminded him, the only power Suzanne and Lawrence Derringer had over him was the power he gave them.
Chapter Seventeen
“Damn.” Eyes wide, mouthinghanging open, Riley Preston looked like a kid at Disneyland as he crossed the threshold into Asher’s foyer. “You’re telling me that someone actually lives here? It looks like a museum.”
Cameron dropped his head and chuckled. He understood the reaction. It was exactly how he’d felt the first time he’d walked into the mansion. Although, he’d always compared the place to some swanky hotel rather than a museum.
Riley was still staring up at the crystal chandelier in starry-eyed wonder when Tyler and Derek shuffled through the front door. Since it wasn’t their first visit to the house, they weren’t quite as amazed as Riley. Still, there was a moment of shocked hesitation before they removed their jackets and hung them on the coatrack beside the staircase.
Cameron closed the door behind them, waiting until he heard the deadbolt automatically engage, then turned back to his friends. “Hey, guys, thanks for coming. Everyone is downstairs.”
Riley slid off his black, lightweight jacket and passed it to his brother without looking at him. “There’s a downstairs, too?”
Tyler snorted as he hung up the coat with the others. “Haven’t you ever heard of a basement, dumbass?”
Poor Riley. When it came to academics, he was leagues beyond any of them. Common sense and social interactions, not so much. Where Cameron found it oddly endearing, Tyler was kind of an asshole about it. He especially sounded like a dick this time since Riley was a lot closer to the reality than his brother.
“Yes, there’s a downstairs,” Cameron answered, glaring at the back of Tyler’s head. “Follow me.”
They clustered around him eagerly, and Riley continued his commentary on their lavish surroundings as Cameron led them along the corridor toward the back of the house.
“This leads to the basement?” Riley asked skeptically when they approached the wide, carpeted staircase that descended to the lower level.
His confusion was understandable. The steps weren’t narrow, dark, or creepy like most basement stairwells. Covered in rich, emerald green carpet and wide enough to fit at least four people if they stood shoulder to shoulder, the stairs were open and airy with a high ceiling and polished handrails. Golden sconces lined the walls, making the space feel bright and cheerful instead of dank and eerie.
“Sort of,” Cameron answered as they started down the steps. “You’ll see.”
The sound of music and conversation greeted them at the bottom of the stairs, and a delicious combination of sweet and savory scents wafted to them on the warm air. Cameron grinned, reminded fondly of the county fair his parents had dragged him to every year as a kid.
“Oh, my god,” Derek breathed when they entered the main part of the entertainment room. “Is that a bowling alley?”
“That is totally a fucking bowling alley,” Tyler confirmed, his honey-brown eyes so wide they dominated his angular face.
Riley’s mouth hung open, and he looked too shocked to say anything.
Asher did indeed have his own private, blacklight bowling alley, consisting of four lanes with digital scoreboards and comfortable seating areas. There were also old-school arcade games line up along the back wall, two Skee-Ball machines, and some basketball game where the players had to make the ball into a moving hoop.
“Food and drinks are over there if you’re hungry.” He pointed to the right, indicating the full-sized kitchen complete with an indoor grill. “Help yourselves to whatever you want, but I think Natalie has already confiscated all the chocolate.”
Sure enough, when he looked over, he found his sister standing at one of the counters with a tray of fudge brownies in front of her. Apparently, the cravings hadalready started, and with her hormones creating wild and unpredictable mood swings, Cameron wasn’t of a mind to tell her no when it came to something she wanted.
While the trio headed to the kitchen for burgers and beers, Cameron made his way over to the lounge area at the end of one of the bowling lanes. Instead of hard, plastic chairs or vinyl-covered booths, Asher had gone all out with comfortable, overstuffed armchairs and loveseats with deep, plush cushions.
