Read Online Red Hot Liar (9781617738654) by Noire - Free Book Online Page A

day-by-day to say the least. However, I’m so happy to have you as my guest, and on behalf of my entire crew I’m sending your father my prayers and well wishes.”
    â€œThank you, Okrah,” Barron responded, stunned by her warmth and sincerity. “My family appreciates your well wishes and we’ll pass them on to my father. With love and care we’re confident that he’ll be back in great shape in no time.”
    Of course Barron was lying his ass off, but all of America didn’t need to know that the great Viceroy Dominion had locked himself in his suite and was sleeping off a liquored-up rage.
    â€œSo, Barron, you had a pair of pretty big shoes to fill after your father’s tragic accident,” Okrah said. “How did you handle the pressure of suddenly being the CEO of a major company, and how well do you rank your performance?”
    â€œWell, Okrah,” Barron responded truthfully, “I feel as though my father has been grooming me for that position since I was a small child. He taught me the ins and outs of the oil business and when he was injured I gladly accepted the challenge. Of course, I’d already studied his tactics and his moves. As an attorney I learned to be assertive and to think quickly in high-pressure situations. To be honest with you, I’m still a work in progress and my performance could have been better, but I did my best. I didn’t sink the ship and I think I actually helped the company see a lot of progress in many areas.”
    If they were in a studio the audience would have been clapping like crazy. Barron figured he had answered the question the way his father would have expected, and Okrah looked happy, like she appreciated his honesty.
    â€œI’m sure your father was quite proud of you. Now tell me, Barron,” Okrah moved on. “I know it was a long time ago but take me back to that day when you were watching your little sister, Sable. It was the last time you would see her for many, many years.”
    Barron thought he was prepared to the answer the question. He told himself that he would just say it was an accident and that he was young and Okrah would move on. But that’s not how it turned out. Barron felt an emotional tug on his heart as he fought to keep his professional composure in front of Okrah and her cameras.
    â€œWell, it was so long ago . . . I remember . . . I remember I was playing with my little brother Dane while my mom went into the store,” Barron said, his voice dropping lower as the memories flooded his mind. “It was hot. There were a lot of people on the streets. We had walked around for a very long time.”
    The more he talked the more Barron’s mind slipped further and further back to that day. His palms started to sweat and his legs began to shake as he zoned in on his past.
    â€œI just kept playing with Dane, doing what big brothers do . . . annoying him. Then all of a sudden he got mad,” Barron said as his eyes got very wide. “He started crying and I was laughing. But then I . . . I tried to calm him down.”
    It was like he was seven years old again. At that very moment Barron was right there in front of the damn drug store that haunted him for so many years. Everything seemed crystal clear to him.
    â€œI picked Dane up and swung him around a few times,” Barron responded slowly. “Just to stop him from crying. I only took my eyes off of the stroller for a second . . . just . . . a . . . second.”
    Before Barron knew it the flood-gates in his soul opened and tears started streaming down his face. His hands were clenched tightly together in sweaty fists as he remembered the pain on his mother’s face when she came back out the store and realized Sable was gone.
    â€œDo you think you should have been more careful, Barron?” Okrah asked. “Do you believe that had you been more attentive that you could have prevented what happened to your