CHAPTER 37 #3
I take her out back toward the event space where we usually meet. I bring her into the kitchen for a more intimate setting, then lean against the Sub-Zero fridge.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” I say, feeling slightly nervous because a meeting with Gretchen never means anything good.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting to wake up to these photos,” she says as she flashes her phone to me, revealing a picture of me sitting on the back of Graydon’s truck, his mouth and hands all over me.
Yup, just as I expected. Nothing good can come from Gretchen.
I swallow and attempt a smile. “Oh, that—”
“I’m going to ask you to be honest with me, Maple.” Her take-no-prisoners gaze cracks through whatever strength I just mustered. “Is there something more to your relationship with Graydon than I know of?”
“And if there was?”
“Then that’s something I need to know because if there are feelings in the mix, it makes it hard for me to control the narrative to Graydon’s benefit.”
Notice how she just said “Graydon”?
I knew she never really cared about me and the zoo.
Then again, she’s being paid by the Foghorns, so why would she put any care into the zoo?
“So tell me the truth about you two so I can best prepare for all worst-case scenarios.”
“Worst-case scenarios?” I ask. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She sighs heavily and folds her arms over her chest. “Maple, as someone in public relations, it is my job to not live in a land where nothing bad happens and a zookeeper can make out with a football star in the back of his truck without consequences.”
Wow, she’s spicy today.
“I have to think about what happens to the public perception of Graydon if or when you two decide to break things off.”
“When? What makes you think we’re going to break things off?”
“Like I said,” she answers in her no-nonsense tone that lacks any ounce of bedside manner, “I have to be realistic, and the probability of a multimillion-dollar star football player living a long, happy life with a zookeeper is very slim. Not to mention the high-stakes pressure that you are already receiving from the public and the investment they’ve shown in your relationship.
The direction this can go is bad and bad quick, which is why I need to know everything about you and Graydon.
I need to make sure a breakup does not sully the hard work we’ve put into this relationship. ”
“The hard work we’ve put into it? Not to be rude, Gretchen, but it was my idea to start Flock and Tackle.”
“Yes, and I commend the idea. It was the jump-off point for the PR relationship that was created and curated by me, the true commander of gathering the public’s attention.
And need I remind you, the idea of the PR relationship was to keep it just that: PR?
There was no mention of turning anything between the two of you into something real.
Now that you have, I have to work overtime to make sure we don’t have any more mishaps like this.
” She flashes me the screen of her phone again, where I see Graydon’s hand very close to my breast.
My throat grows tight as I bring my attention back to her. “I doubt anyone is going to be mad about seeing us kissing. If anything, it might spur on the excitement and love for Graydon.”
“Yes, you are right about that, but what I’m worried about is that you were completely unaware of this. These photos have been leaked everywhere and picked up by every major media source, meaning the relationship you thought you had with Graydon just became exponentially more difficult.”
“This doesn’t make sense. We were already…sort of public.”
“Public in a curated way,” Gretchen corrects me.
“There is nothing curated about these photos other than a raw horniness that has been captured for the world to see. The public will become feral for more, which means the paparazzi will look for more opportunities. You’re not just a zookeeper dating a professional football player, Maple.
You’re one of the most talked about, up-and-coming stories in pop culture right now. ”
“Oh my God, don’t you think that’s a little—”
She flashes me her phone again, and sitting at number two on trending topics is “Graydon St. John and girlfriend.”
“By tonight, you will be number one. And it won’t die down, not with the season starting right around the corner. This changes everything, which means I need you to cooperate.”
My nerves tickle the back of my neck as I think through everything Graydon warned me about before I entered into the PR relationship with him. His promises that the public would tear me apart.
Break me.
I look at Gretchen and ask, “When have I not cooperated?”
“You have, but like I said, this is going to become a whole lot more difficult to maneuver.” She opens her notes app and starts typing away. “Now, who knows about your relationship with Graydon?”
“Uh…everyone, apparently.”
Her brow lifts as she looks up at me through her lashes, unamused. “In your inner circle. Who knows about the personal details?”
“Oh, um…my friend Everly and her husband, Hardy.”
“Full names.”
“Everly and Hardy Hopper.”
She looks up at me. “Hopper as in the Hopper brothers, heirs to Hopper Industries?”
“Well, technically, they’re not heirs anymore since they separated their business from their dad’s, but yes, that Hardy Hopper.”
“How do you know them?”
“Hardy and I used to date back in college. But we’re just friends now.”
“How close of friends?”
“Seriously?”
She sighs. “I told you, I need to know everything, Maple. Everything.”
Well, this meeting is about to get a lot more complicated than I thought.