Chapter 5

"What the hell is this?!" I shout, shoving the iPad toward Kimberly. From the tension in Ava’s expression, I’m screwed. Like, really screwed. "What she said has nothing to do with the truth! Responsibility? Emotional dumping ground? What the hell, I’ve never been with anyone who wasn’t fully aware of my intentions!"

"It doesn’t matter. This kind of criticism damages your image," Jared says, clenching his fist under his chin and shooting me a sidelong glance. "With all due respect to everyone here, can you not keep it in your pants?" He raises an eyebrow so high it almost touches his hairline. "It might not seem like a big deal to you, Ashton, but we already have a major problem with Isabella, and continuing your debauchery only strengthens the perception that you’re completely irresponsible."

"With all due respect, too, but why the hell is my sex life anyone else’s business?" I huff, rolling my eyes so hard it makes the back of my head hurt. "It’s sex. Everyone likes sex."

"The issue isn’t liking sex," Avalon interjects, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers, "it’s that a member of our team was fired because you decided you wanted her."

"Because it was impossible to keep working with Bella! She was making my life hell!"

"Then don’t sleep with our team members," Finnick says sarcastically, his blond eyebrows raised. "It’s pretty simple. Keep your dick, your hands, and your mouth away from the women who work with us."

"They’re saying you fired her because Bella didn’t want to keep sleeping with you. She could accuse you of harassment," Camille, our lawyer, explains, twisting her lips. "My suggestion is that we offer her a settlement. It’s safer. We pay her a generous sum, and you release a statement taking responsibility."

"Cami..." I shake my head quickly. "I didn’t harass her!"

"Yes, you did," Jared says, his gaze locking on me, the disappointment in his eyes making their brown color look even darker. "She might have agreed to sleep with you, but who made the first move? You did. Rules exist for a reason." He briefly glances at Chase, and despite the tension, I feel like laughing. I don’t think our manager will ever get over one of us hooking up with his daughter. "We’ll make the settlement. We’ll pay her whatever amount she wants, Camille."

"Got it. I’ll schedule a meeting."

Jared sighs, rubbing his goatee.

"I’m not admitting to anything, damn it. She wanted to be with me!"

"Fact check: you seduced her," Chase teases but exhales afterward, keeping his eyes on me. "It doesn’t matter if she wanted it, man. In your situation, with criticism coming from every direction, trying to defend yourself or hold onto your pride will only make things worse. It’s better to follow Camille’s advice."

"This is ridiculous!" I punch the van door, drawing the attention of everyone in it. "Damn it!" Another punch echoes against the vehicle, and my jaw starts to ache from clenching it so tightly. "This isn’t fair at all. Why should I pay for something I didn’t do?"

"But you did," Aidan says, staring at me, the silver hoop in his ear and the rings on his fingers catching the sunlight streaming through the windows. "You slept with her, dumped her, and then fired her. You shouldn’t have been involved with her in the first place."

"I admit I have a serious problem with relationships, but that doesn’t mean everything I do isn’t consensual. Isabella wanted to go down on me."

I gesture toward my crotch, and Camille has to turn her face away so I don’t see her scorn. But I know our lawyer. Right now, she’d love to throw me out of the window.

"And why should I admit to harassment when we were clearly both having fun? I’ll pay her whatever she wants, but there’s no way I’m making that admission. It goes against my principles. Can I be a womanizing jerk? Sure, but I’m not disrespectful. That’s what the press wants me to admit—that I’m an abuser—and it’s not going to happen. Not even over my dead body!"

"Ashton might have a point," Kimberly says, stepping in to defend me. "If he admits to something like that, his already bad reputation will only get worse, and it won’t just harm him—it’ll harm all of us. From what we know, Isabella is only suing for wrongful termination and accusing him of abuse of power. While she suggested harassment in the past, she publicly admitted it was consensual. We’re jumping to conclusions unnecessarily. What we really need to focus on is clearing your name with the press." She runs her fingers over her forehead, visibly irritated by the situation. "Ravennah doesn’t seem likely to forgive you easily, and if there’s one thing she hates, it’s men who think money is power and use it to treat women as disposable. She’ll keep tarnishing your reputation as a form of rebellion. Ravennah runs the country’s biggest celebrity news site and has the power to destroy you. We need to spend our time finding a quick solution to this."

"Unless Ashton gets married," Bryan jokes, laughing at how absurd "marriage" and "Ashton" sound in the same sentence. When he stops laughing, he wipes the corner of his eyes. "Seriously, you’d have to put a chastity belt on him, Kim. He’s always been like this. Since I’ve known him." He looks at me, holding my deadly glare. "And you’re not going to change. Not even for The Reckless."

"You think I can’t?" I challenge him.

"Are you asking if I think you can’t go without sex? You can’t. It’s obvious it consumes you."

"I’m not addicted to sex," I reply, watching him straighten up and lean toward me. "I can keep my dick out of trouble if I want to."

"Great. Why not start today?" Avalon says, crossing her arms. "Your PR team has enough problems to deal with because you and your buddy can’t control yourselves."

"Fine. But this issue with Ayla could’ve been avoided if my best friends had been with me on my birthday!" I yell, glaring at the four traitors.

"We had other matters to deal with," Bryan replies indifferently. "The world doesn’t revolve around you."

"I’d rather not talk to you guys until we’re back on tour." I turn my face to the opposite side, hiding my scowl of disappointment.

"Does he know we live together?" Aidan pretends to exclude me from the conversation but speaks loudly enough for the whole van to hear.

"He’s just doing his usual routine because he hates being left out," Chase laughs.

The van stops, cutting me off mid-sentence. When I look out the window, I see that the entrance to Reeves Records is swarmed with paparazzi, their cameras ready.

I have no idea how much a good photo of The Reckless is worth, but judging by the attention, it’s a lot.