19. Cameron
The setup for our latest CamLicity moment was supposed to look off-the-cuff, but the number of people buzzing around made it clear that everything was choreographed in the social media influencer space. Felicity and I were going to be doing a “casual” interview with Lucy on a park bench with Central Park’s famous Bow Bridge framed behind us, to answer the top questions people wanted to know about our relationship. We’d already had a coaching session to get our stories straight, so I hoped we’d finish the interview quickly.
The last damn thing I wanted was to pretend to be romantic and spontaneous in Central Park—the very place where I’d proposed to Carolina. That had been spontaneous and romantic. It had also been a dumpster fire I could do without being reminded of.
But the choice of the location had been out of my hands. Oh, I probably could have put the kibosh on it if I’d really tried, but it felt petty when everyone else thought it was such a good idea. So I’d have to grin and bear it, even though it irked me on a bone-deep level just to be here.
I also wasn’t thrilled with the level of choreography. On my dates with Felicity, everything had felt so natural, but this was entirely staged—and I wasn’t the one doing the staging. This was Lucy’s show, which left me powerless, carried along the current without any concern about what I wanted.
Lucy had sworn the interview would be quick and casual, but there was nothing “casual” about the guy outfitting us with mics, and the other one standing a few feet away with a light bouncer, and the armed guard looking after a treasure trove of Veritique rings, not to mention the makeup artist putting finishing touches on Felicity. I had to bite my tongue to keep from barking at a dresser who dared to suggest I switch out my tie to something “jazzier.” I was so ready to be done with this ridiculous bit of theater.
I paced, trying to keep from getting frustrated by how long the pre-work was taking.
“Are we nearly there?” I asked no one in particular, my voice tinged with impatience. “Felicity looks gorgeous without makeup, and I’m sure the natural light is just fine. Let’s get started.”
Lucy jogged over to me. “Just a few more minutes, I promise. It’s going to be so worth it! I asked my audience to send me questions, and I swear, I got like five hundred! People are loving you two together.”
I frowned. “But the questions you ask will be the ones we already went over, correct? I hope you’re not going to surprise us. Because I don’t like getting caught off guard.” Christ, I sounded like my father. But in moments like this, his “my way or the highway” approach started to make a frightening amount of sense to me.
Thankfully, Lucy looked horrified at the thought of springing anything on me. “Of course not! I might switch up the order of the questions, just so your responses sound natural, but that’s it. This is a Veritique commercial, first and foremost. The lovey-dovey stuff is a bonus!”
I gave her a curt nod. “Exactly. I think we forget that fact sometimes. We’re here for the company—not for us.”
Lucy giggled. “Sure, but it’s the two of you who are making the company such a hot topic! That photo of you and Felicity in the sauna was the most-liked image of the campaign so far. Did you read any of the comments?”
“No.”
Her face reddened as she grinned at me. “Oh, uh, I can’t repeat a lot of it, but let’s just say people had a good time guessing why you both looked so happy and sweaty.”
I allowed the hint of a smile at the memory from that day. We’d each had our fun in the sauna, and after the couples massage, I’d kicked the therapists out of the room and fucked Felicity over the edge of the massage table. It had been a memorable team building experience.
“Hi guys,” Felicity said as she joined us. “Finally finished. The makeup artist really had to do an overhaul on me.”
She looked typically breathtaking, with the sunlight behind her giving her a warm glow. Felicity was wearing a short sleeve black cashmere t-shirt and a swingy, knee-length black skirt with sparkly gold accents, selected to be a perfect backdrop for the gold jewelry we were planning to integrate into the video.
“Please,” Lucy said, stepping closer to examine Felicity’s face. “She barely put anything on you! Just a little lipstick and shadow. I’d kill for your skin.”
“You look lovely,” I agreed, then glanced at Lucy. “Okay, are we ready to begin? Because this is taking much longer than we discussed.”
I didn’t like the feeling of my old life and my current one crashing together. Too many memories of Carolina were worming their way into my head, forcing me to remember all the moments we’d shared in the park. The proposal, yes—but other times, too. Like the time we’d rented a double bike and laughed so hard we’d crashed into a trash can. Or taking selfies on the John Lennon “Imagine” memorial. I half expected to see Carolina’s face among the crowd of people gathering to watch us.
It had me feeling more raw than I’d admit. Even though my relationship with Carolina was entirely in the past, being here had me remembering how it had felt, back when I’d been so in love. I’d been swept away by my feelings—back when I was too stupid to realize that was the last thing I should do.
“I think we’re almost there,” Lucy said, craning her neck to see what the crew was up to.
I’d reached my limit. “No, enough waiting around. We need to start now,” I answered. “Let’s go; I have real work to do back at the office.”
Felicity frowned at me but didn’t say anything.
“Oh, okay, sure,” Lucy said gently. “Um, hey, Frank? It’s time to get rolling.”
A few minutes later, we were situated on the bench with three different cameras pointed at us, not to mention the dozens of phones pointed our way from the gathered spectators. I was itchy from the forced cheer of the whole scenario, but I managed to paint on a smile.
“Remember,” Lucy said, “this is recorded, so if you make a mistake, we can try it again. No pressure.”
The camera operator pointed at Lucy to signal he was rolling, and it was as if a light turned on inside of her.
“Hey friends, can you believe I’m sitting next to the couple of the moment? Yeah, it’s your girl ‘Life with Lucy’ hanging out with none other than CamLicity!” She turned to us. “I’m totally starstruck, you guys!”
“It’s great to be here with you,” I said, following the script. I took Felicity’s hand, and she gave me a sweet smile. “I hear we’re going to be answering some questions from your followers today?”
“Yes we are! People are dying to know all about you. And Felicity, you’re going to be modeling some Veritique bling for us!”
“I’m so excited about the chance to show off these gorgeous new pieces,” she beamed. “They’re all just stunning, and I know your followers are going to love them as much as I do.”
“Hold on, hold on, sorry to interrupt” the main camera operator’s voice rang out. “I can’t hear Cameron and Felicity. Something’s going on with their mics. Let’s take five and figure it out.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I mumbled. I pulled the clip-on mic from my lapel and dropped it in his hand, then stormed away. I had to work hard to keep the anger from my face because people were still watching me.
“Hey,” Felicity called out. “Wait for me.”
I paused so she could catch up.
“What’s going on with you today?” she asked quietly. “You seem tense.”
I paused in the shade of a tree, taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around us.
“This is taking way too long,” I replied honestly, letting my frustration leak out. “I’m not enjoying it at all. This kind of attention is not my thing. You should know that by now.”
She reached out to run her hand down my arm. “I get it. I don’t love it either. But hey, we’re together. That’s fun, right?”
“Not in this setup,” I grumbled.
She faked a scowl. “I’m sorry, did you just say you’re not having fun with me?” Felicity squinted her eyes at me and shook her head exaggeratedly, like she couldn’t comprehend the thought of it. “I am the most fun, at all times and in all ways, Mr. O’Connor. And don’t you forget it.”
I chuckled. “Okay, okay, you are.”
“Thank you,” she said triumphantly. “Now give me a kiss to say you’re sorry.”
I leaned down to give her a quick peck on the mouth, but she circled her arms behind my neck and kissed me hard.
“That’s better,” she said, grinning at me.
Usually, a kiss from Felicity was a hit of dopamine. Today, I felt like I’d built up a resistance to it.
“I’m getting antsy,” I said, pacing in a circle.
“Clearly,” Felicity replied. “Hey, your shoelace is untied.”
I knelt in front of her to tie and immediately heard an ear-piercing squeal echo in the distance. I glanced over my shoulder to discover Lucy holding her camera out and running toward us, chattering something. At first, I thought she was talking to herself, but when she finally got close, I realized she was live streaming. She stopped abruptly a few feet away.
“Oh my gosh, please keep going,” she said in a shaky voice. “Don’t let me interrupt this beautiful moment!”
I frowned at her.
“Friends,” Lucy said to her phone, sounding like a reporter doing a live spot, “we are witnessing something incredible, and you can say you saw it here first! Cameron O’Connor is making CamLicity legit…he’s actually proposing to Felicity Rhodes right now! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe how many people are jumping on to see this! Keep watching, my friends, because true love is in the air!”
What in the fucking hell was going on?
I stood up abruptly. “Now hold on, this is absolutely not a proposal,” I said. Lucy stepped forward, like she might actually have the nerve to argue with me about it, and my temper—already strained to the breaking point—snapped.
I walked closer to make sure what I was about to say was caught on camera.
“I know how it looked from a distance, but I was leaning down to tie my shoe, for fuck’s sake!” I opened my blazer and patted my pockets. “Look, folks, not a single ring box on me. Got it? We’re here to do a QA, not for a proposal. Sorry to disappoint you. If I were proposing, it wouldn’t happen in a place like this with a pack of…gawkers watching me. No fucking way.”
I glared at Lucy. “I think we’re done here.”
“I’m so sorry, Cameron,” she said, jogging a few steps closer to me with her camera still pointed at me. “My mistake, I just assumed?—”
“Don’t assume,” I responded. “And end that fucking livestream now.”
She jammed her finger on her phone, and I could finally take a breath.
“What the actual fuck, Lucy?” I demanded once she dropped the phone to her side. “Why would you do that? We’ve choreographed nearly every aspect of this bullshit relationship, so did you actually think I’d go rogue and just ask Felicity to marry me on the spur of the fucking moment in Central Park?” I spat out the words like it was an absurd idea.
“I…I didn’t know, Cameron. I just thought maybe you got swept up in the moment?—”
“Swept up with a camera crew watching, after hours of being styled and lit and mic’ed and everything else? And the crowd of fans? Right, super romantic,” I laughed harshly, rolling my eyes. “You’re supposed to be a professional, Lucy—you should’ve thought this through. I put up with you going rogue and starting this whole CamLicity nonsense in the first place, but like hell am I going to let you use social media to peer pressure me into an actual engagement that I absolutely do. Not. Want.”
A tremor ran through me at the memory of what had happened the last time I got caught up in the moment. Never again. I glanced at Felicity. Her face looked haunted, like she didn’t recognize me.
“You’re right, I shouldn’t have jumped ahead. I guess I got caught up in the romance too. Now, with what just happened…we’re going to need to do some damage control.”
“Hold on, do you think this ridiculousness is going to impact the Veritique brand?” I demanded.
She shrugged. “It’s definitely going to reflect badly on the CamLicity campaign. The way you reacted isn’t the vibe we want?—”
Vibes. Please. This was a business.
“I’m sure you, Sandrine, and Felicity can come up with a spin that works. It’s what you marketing people do, right?”
Lucy went a shade paler. “Yes, we can come up with some crisis management talking points.”
“You call this a crisis?” I laughed. “Please. This entire campaign is just a silly soap opera, and everyone knows it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have real work to do.”
I stormed off, trying to focus on what was waiting for me at the office and not the car crash I’d just been forced to endure.