Jace
“What were you guys doing?” Gordon paces Pierre’s office with his phone in hand, his fingers flying over the screen in full damage control mode.
I side-eye Lennox, and I can’t help but glare at the predicament we’ve gotten ourselves into.
The video, and screenshots of the video, have made their way through every single social media platform. Millions of people have seen it by now and it’s only been a few short hours since we left the cabin.
By the time Raymond showed up to pick us up, paparazzi lined the street in front of the driveway for what felt like miles down the road.
Gordon told us to leave the cabin like nothing happened. Normally I’d find a hat, dark sunglasses, and a back entrance but he said it would just make people dig into everything more.
So, we walked out the front door, overnight bags in hand, and walked straight into Raymond's car, pretending we didn’t have a care in the world.
Even though my mind is reeling at all the possibilities of what this looks like.
The paparazzi were yelling, asking us questions, the cameras clicking and flashing as we masterfully ignored them.
I heard their questions though. Their assumptions. They thrive on the drama because we just gave them a goldmine of a video to feed off of.
“Your parents,” Gordon says, giving me a knowing look without elaborating anymore because I already know exactly what he is dealing with.
Lennox is quiet beside me and a part of me feels bad. I imagine this is the first time he’s dealing with something like this. Your privacy being robbed from you. Stripped from you like it doesn’t belong to you in the first place.
Personal images of what should have been a private moment blasted for the world to see and make assumptions on. To judge.
“We were rehearsing,” I tell Gordon for the tenth time.
“Oh, I know. That’s exactly what I’m telling them even though it looks nothing of the sort. I’m working on a statement for the media now. We’ll—”
“No statements,” a woman says abruptly as she walks into the office. Her short, burgundy hair matches her fitted skirt. Her beige button up is neatly tucked into the waistband, as she hugs a clipboard in her arms.
Pierre passes through the doorway right behind her, followed by Graham, Lennox’s agent.
Gordon snaps his gaze up to her, his eyes trail her body before pinning her with a glare. “We need to make a statement on this,” he replies back.
“No. The media is going to say whatever narrative they want no matter what we tell them,” she replies calmly, factually.
His brows furrow together as his eyes bounce through everyone in the room. “So what, we do nothing?”
“Yes,” she answers back curtly.
“I’m sorry. Who are you?” He clicks off his phone and slides it in his pocket as he looks between her and Pierre. “Who is she?”
“Sofia. My PR Manager, and she’s brilliant,” he says as he rounds the corner of his desk and sits down.
Gordon shakes his head, clearly disagreeing with him on the brilliant part.
“There are a lot of personal circumstances and massive privacy laws broken here. I can’t, won’t, sit around and do nothing about it.”
“The video was taken across the lake in a public open space. They never crossed onto Pierre’s property or violated any trespassing laws.
Sure, we could issue a cease and desist and request they take them down, stop circulating.
But, they’re on all the social media platforms now, public to millions of users. There is no unseeing it.”
She’s right and as I peer up at Gordon, he knows it.
“That’s why we need to issue a statement. An explanation.” He still fights back.
She shakes her head. “We need to lean into it.”
“Are you out of your bloody mind?” Lennox’s agent finally chimes in.
“The excitement and buzz around this film is already beginning and we haven’t even started filming yet.”
“Tomorrow.” Pierre states as a fact, as he works on his laptop ignoring everything else in the room like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
“Yes. And tomorrow the hype will be about the start of production and less about that video. We’ll place Lennox and Jace together in strategic locations for photos during the start of filming, turning their focus to that.
I’m not asking them to do anything they’re uncomfortable with, but if we can show them pieces of the sexual chemistry—like they saw last night—it’ll be enough for the public to conjure up their own thoughts, driving this thing naturally.
The media can be the greatest tool for us to begin and build anticipation for this.
They want them and they want to see them together. ”
Gordon is speechless as he stares back at her, then looks over at Graham. “You said so yourself, she’s out of her mind, right?” asking Graham to have his back.
Graham shrugs and admits, “It might not be such a bad idea.” He says it as he glances down at Lennox who still hasn’t said a word. “A statement may make it seem like we’re defending their actions.”
My exasperated agent huffs out a long breath. He runs both hands along the sides of his hair, the gray peppering at his temples even more prominent with the furrowed look on his face.
Crouching down to meet me eye-to-eye, his face is full of concern and I can see the anxiety dripping from every inch of his body.
He’s so worried for me.
“This is going to change everything,” he whispers. “There will be assumptions, judgments, accusations…about you personally.” Lowering his voice even further. “It’s not too late to walk away from this.”