Karen was staring at the newspaper that was lying on her desk in front of her; her mind already in overdrive trying to work out how she was going to smooth over this problem. Now she realised what her daughter had been doing while the latest catastrophic dinner had been taking place. She had been getting drunk with some new musician and stumbling out of the newest nightclub in New York at three in the morning.
Her cell phone rung and as she checked the number flashing she took a deep breath. This was what she had been dreading ever since the paper landed on her desk that morning.
"Hello." She answered the phone carefully.
"Have you seen the paper?" Dan was shouting and Karen moved the phone away from her ear until he calmed down.
"Yes Dan, I'm looking at it now."
"What are we going to do? I can't make a deal if everyone thinks this family is a liability." His voice was harsh.
"I will fix it Dan." Karen promised. She didn't know how she was going to do it at this point but she'd work it out somehow. Dan slammed the phone down in response and left Karen wondering how she would work her way out of this one.

Dan was leaning back in his chair trying to calm himself down. He had a conference call with Bryon Publications in five minutes to secure a deal and the deal wouldn't go ahead if he wasn't able to calm himself down.
"I don't know Dan…" Twenty minutes later and Dan was trying to convince Richard Bryon that his daughter wouldn't be a problem. "It seems like a big risk."
"That problem is being fixed at this very moment Richard. Peyton won't be a problem in this deal."
"What about the rest of the family?" Richard Bryon didn't know how to deal with something as public as the Scott Family.
"None of them will be a problem…" It came out almost as a hiss.

In her office Karen had come up with the perfect solution. She was on the phone to the man that could make this happen; that would make this happen.
"I don't know if she would agree…" The voice drifted through the phone hesitant. Now, Karen wasn't normally a cold or harsh person. She saved that for her husband but right now she was ice.
"Make her see reason. Your job depends on it." As she hung up the phone she felt slightly sick. She had never solved a family problem with threatening an employee's job; especially an employee that played an important role in the business and in the family, but at this point she had no choice.

.:.:.:.:.

Edward Davis entered his North Carolina home and was greeted by the smell of dinner. As he sat down with his wife and two daughters he felt at ease. He loved coming home to this family every night. He and his wife Victoria had raised their two children on the idea that meant every thing. He felt ill when he thought about what he was going to have to do after dinner.
His wife kept shooting him secret looks throughout the entire dinner conversation. She knew what Edward was going through because he had called her that afternoon. She had violently protested the idea but he still had no choice.
Once the dishes were done he found his oldest daughter, nineteen year old Brooke in her room.
"Brooke, sweetheart." He knocked on her door. "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course Dad." She smiled and put down the book she was reading. "What about?"
Edward faltered before he even started. "Let's going into the living room. Your mother needs to be there as well."
Brooke looked at her father suspiciously but followed him. Surely it couldn't be that bad.

"What do you think about the Scott family?" He asked once they were in the living room. Victoria had grasped one of Brooke's arms and they were starting to worry the teenager. She raised one eyebrow. Her father was the Scott's lawyer. She knew a lot about the Scott family and everything she knew was negative.
"I think they're all trouble." Brooke replied honestly. She had seen the papers that morning. In her opinion Peyton was the worst. "Why?" She looked between her parents.
"Well…Aah…" Edward was having trouble doing this to his daughter.
"Your father's job relies on this honey." Victoria butted in before Brooke knew what was going on.
"What is going on dad?" Brooke looked straight into his eyes. "Why does my opinion of the Scott family determine what happens in your job."
"We need you to marry Lucas Scott."
Brooke stared at them both for a second before laughing. When her parents didn't laugh she started to panic.
"Please tell me you're joking." She begged. "Please."
Edward shook his head. "Brooke, honey, I'm really sorry…"
"What if I say no?" Brooke asked. "What happens to your job then?"
"I lose it and it's possible the Scott family loses everything they own." He explained. Brooke thought about it for a second.
"Saying no is not an option." Victoria Davis had always been so loving and caring towards her daughters but her tone at that point was as harsh as Karen had been when talking to Edward that morning.

As she reluctantly nodded, Brooke felt like throwing up.

.:.:.:.:.

In the Scott's New York mansion, Luke wasn't taking the news much better.
"You have to be kidding." He roared. Karen and Dan had cornered him after Edward had called saying that Brooke would do it.
"No." Dan stood up and gained a lot of height on his son. It didn't stop Luke though.
"You will marry this girl. You will not ruin the family name."
"The name was ruined a long time ago." He pointed out.
"Please Luke." Karen smiled slightly looking at her son. "She is a sweet girl who doesn't want to do this either. This is the best for the company. Without this everything is lost, we will have nothing."
There was a tone in Karen's voice that made Luke speak. He may hate his father but he still respected his mother.

Like Brooke, Luke found himself reluctantly agreeing to this marriage.

A/N: A longer chapter!! Thank you to those who reviewed and ChadAndSophie (anon), you were dead on about how the characters will play out with the OOC thing… Keep on reviewing :)

-- Casey xx