Chapter 257 Crisis PR
The clothes they dropped off fit Ashley like a glove—a two-piece set with wide-leg pants that covered her bandaged calves. The simple beige color looked like it was made just for her.
While she was changing in the suite, Damian was busy.
Christian had been hounded by reporters and caught up in a scandal. He didn't want to get involved, but now that Ashley got dragged into it and almost suffocated in the elevator, there was no way he was letting it slide.
Damian barked, "Find out who tipped off the reporters tonight and report back ASAP. Also, round up all the reporters who showed up at the hotel tonight, check their cameras, and make sure no hotel info gets leaked."
Thomas was already knee-deep in figuring out how the reporters got in that night. Just as he was making headway, he got Damian's orders. Sensing this was bigger than just Christian's scandal, he told the tech team to speed things up and find the culprit by the end of the night.
Thomas replied, "Got it, Mr. Hearst!"
While combing through the surveillance footage, Thomas saw Ulysses' assistant rushing into the elevator on the hallway camera. Not long after, Christian, in a change of clothes, came out.
The security team had prepped in advance, cleared the corridor, and the group passed through smoothly and got into the car.
Christian still looked out of it.
Then, Trinity's assistant went in, and shortly after, Trinity, wearing a coat, mask, and sunglasses, hurried out.
A staff member reviewing the footage whispered, "Is this for real?"
Thomas snapped, "Don't ask questions you shouldn't."
The staff clammed up.
Soon, the security team Thomas sent out rounded up all the disguised reporters lurking in the underground garage and various corners, checking their cameras and phones one by one.
When Thomas saw a few blurry photos on a reporter's camera, he got why Damian was so pissed.
The shots were skewed, and the figures were out of focus, but he recognized Damian right away, with Ashley hiding behind him.
If these pics hit the internet, even if netizens didn't freak out, the Hearst family would definitely be on high alert.
Thomas ordered, "Hurry up! We need to find out who's behind this before midnight!" At the same time, he reached out to KM Group's tech team to check for any leaked photos online and make sure all Damian-related content was wiped clean.
The KM Group tech team jumped on it, scanning all major websites. Several social media platforms got the same order and scrubbed and blocked the photos.
Within ten minutes, no trace of those blurry images linked to Damian was left online, unbeknownst to the reporters who had unknowingly snapped him.
When Ashley came out again, she looked totally refreshed. Her hair, now styled in a low ponytail, framed her still somewhat pale face.
She asked, "Mr. Hearst, what's the situation outside now?"
Damian's eyes lingered on her new look for a moment. Unlike the stunning evening gown, the soft color scheme made her look particularly gentle and homely, and the slight fatigue on her face made her even more endearing.
"The reporters are still downstairs. Let's wait a bit," he paused and asked, "Are you tired?"
Ashley had already calmed down and shook her head, plopping down on the sofa across from him. "About tonight..."
She was racking her brain for a decent excuse to fool Damian.
Damian cut her off, "It's easy to break down under high stress. No need to explain, I get it."
He didn't want to push her to spill what she was clearly trying to hide. He could wait until she was ready to come clean.
Besides, if he really wanted to know, he didn't need her to say it herself.
Ashley was taken aback. Wasn't he pressing her? And no snarky comments?
Well, that saved her the trouble of coming up with a lie. "Those reporters might've snapped pics of you. Shouldn't you be handling the crisis PR right now?"
"Are you worried my photos will go viral?"
Ashley said, "Most people don't know what you look like, but if the pics spread, you might get unwanted attention when you go out. Don't you hate being stared at?"
Given Damian's striking looks, he stood out in any crowd, and he especially hated those dumbfounded stares.
Damian smirked, "Depends on who's staring."
Ashley was speechless.
The awkward moment was cut short by her phone ringing.
Seeing the caller ID, she flipped her phone over. "I'll take this call."
She walked into the bathroom and shut the door. "Paula, what's up?"
Paula sounded frantic. "Ashley, it's bad. A group is checking Christian and Trinity's room. They might find the camera I hid. With the crowd around, I can't slip in. Any ideas?"
Such a big commotion?
It didn't make sense. Christian was already drunk. Could he still manage to have someone check the hotel?
Rubbing her temples, Ashley took a deep breath. "Don't panic. Even if they find the camera, they might not know who planted it. Leave the hotel now; I'll handle the rest."
Paula, relieved to hear Ashley would take care of it, said, "Alright, be careful. By the way, where are you?"
"I'm still at the hotel. Don't worry about me. You've done your part. Thanks."
After hanging up, Ashley bit her lip, deep in thought.
She had to find a way to dismantle the camera before they found it. But how could she get there?
The only person she could use was Damian.
"Mr. Hearst, aren't you going to check on Mr. Young? He must be pretty stressed."
Damian leaned back in his chair, not budging. "It's not the right time for me to go."
Ashley said, "With all this chaos, do you think he has the mind to do anything else? He's probably scrambling to clean up the mess. In my opinion, you should go take a look and find out the truth, since it involves your reputation, right?"
Damian raised an eyebrow, trying to read her thoughts. "If you want to go, I can go with you."
Ashley said, "Why would I want to go?"
Damian smiled knowingly. "The netizens are roasting Trinity. I bet the last person she wants to see right now is you."
Too bad Trinity had already left the hotel, so Ashley couldn't mock her face-to-face.
Ashley shrugged. "Sounds like a plan."
Damian nodded. "Let's go check out the scene."
Ashley quickly followed him.
Two security guards stood ready outside the suite, and three people inside were carefully searching for evidence. Christian and Trinity were nowhere to be seen.
As soon as Damian arrived, the staff stopped searching and nodded. "Mr. Hearst."
Ashley was stunned. Were these all Damian's people?
