Holy fucking shit.
"What are you fucking talking about, Joyce?" I ask her and sit down. I don't know how much more I can take of this.
Joyce throws a newspaper on my desk.
It's a picture of Penny and I. We're walking down Fifth Avenue. She's looking into a window and I'm holding her from the back.
We look very much in love, which we fucking are.
The headline above it reads, "Just How Much Did The Father Pay To Have Sex With His Daughter?"
Jesus fucking Christ.
This shit ends here.
Don't worry. You don't gotta shake your head at me like I'm a pussy. It's time to man up and fight back. It's obvious just turning the other cheek and letting the newspapers gorge for a few days before moving on isn't going to work. Not this time. They're not going to stop until I'm dead or they're broken.
And I sure as fuck am not dying anytime soon.
But I gotta do this smart.
"The article goes on to insinuate you pimped Penny as well as used her for sex yourself," Joyce says and I roll my eyes. "If nothing else, the District Attorney could make trouble for you just for the hell of it."
No. The DA isn't going to do shit to me.
Because I'm going to put a stop to it.
I stand up. "This fucking ends now," I tell Joyce. She looks at me for a long second. I think she sees the resolve in my eyes or something because all she does is nod.
"Okay, boss, sure thing," she says with a bit of smile. Is it one of relief? Reassurance? "What do we do then?"
I pause for a second. That's a pretty fucking good question.
"Call a press conference," I tell Joyce. "Make sure the New York Daily Journal has as many seats for as many reporters as they want. I want them front and fucking center."
Joyce nods to me. "Okay," she says as she takes notes. "What should I tell them the conference is about?"
I smile.
Now I can see exactly how I'm going to fucking beat them.
I'm going to wear them the fuck down. Take their questions and throw them right back at them until they realize just how stupid and nonsensical they are.
"Tell them," I say and think for a moment before it comes to me. "Tell them it's about my feelings for my stepdaughter, Penny."
Joyce looks at me with a flash of concern.
I nod to her to tell her that she heard correctly.
She shakes her head as she walks away to go make the arrangements.
She probably thinks I've gone insane.
Maybe I have. Maybe I'm going to fucking explode.
But before I do, I swear to fucking God I'm grabbing some of those motherfuckers and taking them down with me.
Penny