Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
jake
“Is it wrong that I hope she doesn’t answer?” Kate asks, tapping on her phone.
I chuckle. “Not one bit.”
With my arm wrapped around Kate’s shoulder, I pull her closer to me on the couch as we wait for her mom to answer.
It’s Thursday morning, the day we’ve agreed to officially go public, and according to Anna, there’s a shit ton to do, starting with telling Kate’s mom.
My chest tightens slightly, thinking about how she’ll react, considering she wasn’t pleased to learn Kate and I were dating in the first place, claiming it wouldn’t last long.
Fuck. I love proving that woman wrong.
Besides marrying Kate, there isn’t a much bigger way to say I’m serious about her than making it public and dealing with the impending shitstorm.
“Hey, Mom,” Kate says politely on speakerphone. “I’m here with Jake. We’re on the bus and wanted to give you a quick call to share some news.”
“Go ahead,” Kate’s mom replies begrudgingly.
It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s sitting in the navy recliner in her living room with a scowl plastered on her face. Thank God this isn’t a video call.
Kate turns to me and grimaces. I mouth, “It’ll be okay,” and squeeze her shoulder.
She takes a deep breath. “We’re announcing our relationship this afternoon. Although Jake’s team doesn’t anticipate it will impact you, we didn’t want you to be surprised. You may get a few calls from the media.”
“How would the media get my number, Katherine? Also, I don’t understand why the two of you feel the need to make an official announcement that you’re dating. Is that really necessary?”
Gritting my teeth, I urge myself not to raise my voice or yell at her about how the fucking internet works.
Why in God’s name doesn’t she realize it would take literally anyone a few minutes to find her phone number?
Or how millions of people are interested in every single thing I do, for some reason, and me having a serious girlfriend is a big fucking deal to them—and to me.
But I don’t say any of that. Instead, I choose honey rather than vinegar to make the situation easier on Kate.
“Unfortunately, it’s necessary, given my career.
My team would like to make it a much bigger deal than we’re allowing,” I reply calmly with my eyes locked on Kate, allowing her presence to center me.
“I apologize in advance for any unwanted calls you might receive. It won’t take long for people to find your number.
Let me know if the calls become overwhelming, and my team will secure a new number for you. ”
Kate flashes me a grateful smile, melting my heart. Even after months together, she’s still surprised every time I stand up for her or put her first. It’s something she’d better get used to because I have no plans of stopping.
“That’s appreciated, Jake. When will this so-called news go out?” Kate’s mom asks with slight disdain in her tone.
This woman is fucking impossible to please, unlike her daughter.
“Later this afternoon. I’ll text you once it happens,” Kate answers, shaking her head.
We spend a few more minutes listening to her mom drone on about the latest Southmount gossip—who knew a single rooster could cause so much drama in a small town—I didn’t until today. Finally, we’re able to end the call, both letting out a deep exhale, grateful to be done with that task.
We sit for a couple of minutes until a series of knocks on the bus door disrupts the silence.
I glance at the clock on my phone and sigh, time for the cavalry to go through every painstaking detail of the rollout of my girlfriend.
This entire situation is so fucking absurd, but that’s the world we live in.
Or, at least, the career path I chose. All I want to do is play music, not obsess over which pictures to post on fucking Instagram.
“Come in,” I announce, ready to get this ridiculous meeting over with so I can actually spend time with Kate before soundcheck.
Anna walks in first, dressed in a floral dress like she’s headed to a garden party, not backstage of an amphitheater for a country music concert.
Max follows her like a lost puppy; he’s enamored with everything Anna does—her partner in crime.
It’s almost impossible to say no when the two of them gang up on me; thank God they usually have my best interests at heart.
When Jason climbs on the bus, the entire mood shifts, and tension fills the air.
It’s barely 10 a.m., how the hell are the two of them already pissed at each other?
I shake my head as Kate and I get up to sit at the table with the rest of the group.
Anna messes with her laptop, pulling up a presentation.
Why are there slides? I don’t have the energy for a fucking presentation this early in the morning—or ever. A music career was supposed to get me out of the dreaded spreadsheet and presentation hell that Kate loves so much.
I glance over at Kate. Her eyes are bright and shiny, eager to see what Anna has put together. No wonder these two kickass women get along so easily; they both live for the details.
Shit. Everyone at this table thrives on the details in their day-to-day lives, except me. I’m the anomaly.
“All right. So much to share with both of you, because today’s the big day.” Anna stands in front of the table with her laptop perched on the end. She advances the presentation with a clicker in her hand.
Why, in God’s name, does she need a presentation clicker? How long is this meeting going to take?
“Let’s get started with what I’ve selected for the Instagram carousel,” Anna says excitedly, flipping through a series of photos of Kate and me from the past few months.
A smile starts on my face, growing with each click as I remember the moments we’ve shared.
I squeeze Kate’s thigh and shoot her a loving gaze, wanting her to know how much these memories impact me.
The tears glistening in the corner of her eyes confirm she’s feeling the same.
I lean over and kiss her temple, eternally grateful to have her by my side.
“Can you go back a few pictures?” Jason asks, staring at Anna’s laptop rather than his phone.
Perhaps his phone isn’t surgically attached to his hand, after all. Or, at least, he got it removed for this meeting.
“Sure,” Anna replies sweetly, with a hint of danger in her eyes. She slowly flips through the previous pictures, waiting for Jason to stop her. He’s utterly quiet as his displeasure becomes more evident.
“Yeah. Not that one,” Jason says when Anna stops on the very first photo.
She purses her lips as her forehead crinkles deeply. “Do you have a specific problem with it?”
Jason crosses his arms. “No. Just don’t like it.”
“Noted.” She clicks on the second photo in her presentation.
“Not that one, either.”
“What’s wrong with this photo?” Anna questions, frustration rising in her voice.
“Don’t like it. Frankly, I’m not a fan of any of these.” Jason whips out his phone and types furiously. “You can do better.”
“Excuse me,” Anna fumes.
Kate’s fingers dig into my thigh as her eyes go wide, alarmed by the argument in front of us, like no one else is in the room.
The two of them have always been prickly toward each other, but it’s gotten significantly worse lately, leading me to believe something happened to cause their disdain to grow, even though they both deny it.
“I think the photos are great, Anna. They have my approval, unless Jason has an actual reason why he doesn’t think they should be used. What do you think, Kate? You have an equal say in this.”
Kate smiles softly at me for a few seconds before turning her focus to Anna. “I love them. You did a great job of capturing us.”
“Great! Any feedback on the caption I emailed earlier?”
Kate requests a few minor changes, while Jason continues to be occupied with his phone. Not saying a single word to anyone or making eye contact. I’ve seen him do something very similar in negotiations…just before he goes in for the kill. I really fucking hope that’s not what’s about to—
“Emailed you my edits,” Jason says smoothly, leaning against the bench seat.
Anna reaches for her phone, tapping on the email and reading quietly, her anger growing with every second. She sets her phone down gently on the table and takes a deep breath. “Those aren’t edits, Jason. You rewrote the entire post.”
“Pot-ay-to, pot-ah-to.” Jason smirks.
Goddamn it. I’m too old for this middle-school bickering.
“Are you questioning my expertise? My ability to do my job,” Anna accuses, her eyes laser-focused on Jason.
“If the shoe fits,” he replies smugly.
For fuck’s sake.
“Knock it off, Jason. You know Anna’s the best in the business.
Stop being an asshole,” I demand, unwilling to let Jason talk to Anna in this manner anymore.
At some point, things between them need to get better, or something’s gotta give.
I don’t want to lose either of them, but I can’t handle their constant arguing.
“Fine,” he mutters, staring at his phone once more.
“The post will go live at 3 p.m. Although we’re only releasing Kate’s first name, it won’t take the media very long until everything about her becomes public.
” Anna focuses on Kate. “I recommend you stay off social media for a while. The first few days are always the most brutal. You don’t need to see that. ”
Kate nods silently. Her entire body tenses; her panic rising.
Anxiety about what will happen once this news is out.
Comments that will be made. Anna and I have prepared her as much as possible for the onslaught, but you can’t really understand it until you live through it.
And we’re t-minus five hours until the world knows I’m officially off the market. For good.
As soon as I climb onto the bus after soundcheck, I know something is wrong. Kate has a cream blanket around her shoulders, and she’s staring blankly at her phone like she’s shocked by what she’s seen or has received the worst news of her life.
“What’s going on, sweetheart?” I ask cautiously, unsure how to proceed and what exactly I’ve walked into.
“The post went live,” Kate whispers, her eyes still on her phone.
“Okay. Did something happen?” I glance at my phone to confirm I don’t have a missed call or text from Anna. Nope. What could be bothering her so much to warrant this reaction? She knew the post was going out, even approved the photos and the language.
Fuck. Is she having second thoughts about going public already?
I cross the small space, taking a seat on the couch next to her and wrapping my arm around her.
She lets out a choked sob, leaning her body against mine as she cries.
Panic rises within my chest, not knowing what is causing such turmoil.
Worried I can’t do anything to stop it. Hearing her cry is the worst sound in the world. Every tear shatters my heart.
“I know what Anna said… She said not to do it, but I looked anyway.” Kate shakes against me.
“Looked at what, sweetheart?”
“The comments. They hate me, Jake.” She buries her face into my chest. “No one thinks I’m good enough for you.”
Oh fuck.
This is exactly why Anna didn’t want her on social media for the next few days.
Anna’s team is usually on top of deleting the worst comments from my posts.
But it can take time to weed through them, especially after an announcement like this one.
There’s a fine line between allowing people to share their opinions and personal attacks.
Anna has a zero-tolerance policy for the latter—blocking anyone who is a repeat offender.
She’s always preaching that people can say whatever they want on their own page; however, when it comes to mine, that’s a different story.
Something about how if you come into someone else’s house and shit on the floor, your ass gets kicked out.
I sigh, kissing the top of her head and pulling her closer. “First rule of this business: don’t read the comments.” I slowly stroke my fingers through her hair.
“Too late,” she replies.
“I can’t change what you saw, but we can stop looking at them.
People on the internet love to tear others down.
For some reason, they think it’s okay to spew hate because they’re behind a screen.
They would never say that to someone’s face,” I explain calmly, forcing my frustration about internet trolls into a box and throwing away the key, at least for today.
“Nothing they say is true because none of them know you. Not the way I do. If anyone’s unworthy, it’s me. ”
Kate exhales deeply, her trembling slowly subsiding as she tilts her head to look at me. “Don’t say that. You’re definitely worthy of me. No one has ever loved me the way you do.” Tears silently fall down her face.
Using my thumb, I wipe away her tears. “How about we agree we’re both worthy of each other. Screw what anyone else has to say about it.”
Kate nods, curling closer to me and relaxing slightly.
While I may appear calm on the outside; I’m raging, aching to fight anyone who speaks negatively about Kate. Desperate to protect her from the hate. Terrified she’ll wake up one day and realize she can’t live this life. That our love isn’t worth the microscope she’s under by being with me.
And I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening. No matter the cost.