Chapter 29 · Jae Takes the Hit

"Twelve million views." Corazon Tan-Velasco dropped the tablet on the boardroom table so hard the glass cracked at the corner. "Twelve million people watching an American buy his way out of a scandal my hotel caused."

On the screen, frozen mid-frame, Grant Whitfield had his hand under my elbow, steering me away from the lobby cameras like I was something breakable. The caption underneath read: MR. WHITFIELD DEFENDS HOTEL MAID. Someone had slapped a heart emoji on it.

"That's not what happened," I said.

"I don't care what happened." Corazon didn't even look at me. She looked at Bianca, standing by the window in a blazer that cost more than my rent, arms crossed like she'd done nothing wrong. "I care that my own ambassador dumped sheets on a housekeeper on camera, and now a foreign investor gets to play hero on my property."

"Auntie, it was a joke that went wrong—"

"It went viral, Bianca. There's a difference."

Bianca's jaw tightened. "So blame the girl who filmed it. Not me."

"Nobody filmed it," I snapped.