Page 37 of The Temporary Fiancée
A warm feeling blossoms in my chest, and I’m suddenly overcome by the random urge to hold her. I almost do it—almost pull her close, almost wrap my arms around her—but I stop myself at the last second with a firm mental admonishment:Don’t forget where you are.
Right. We’re at Eastwood’s headquarters, standing right outside a conference room, working out the particulars of a PR plan.
This is business. It’s all business.
Instead of hugging Olivia, I step past her, placing my hand on the door. I clear my throat and say, “Are you ready to go back in?”
Her expression is hazy, unfocused, like she just woke up from a dream. At my words, she blinks rapidly, then nods, determined.
As we re-enter the room, I pretend not to notice the irritated looks that the PR team shoots me. I’m used to those expressions from these people; I’ve had plenty of one-on-one meetings with all of them in the wake of my more serious offenses.
But when we sit back down, I remind myself that, whileImight be used to this, Olivia sure isn’t—and she doesn’t deserve to bear the brunt of their ire.
If anyone’s going to be difficult in this meeting, it should be me. And I’m more than willing to do it.
The marketing VP clears her throat, raising an eyebrow. “Are you two ready to get back into it?”
“Yes,” Olivia says clearly, and I nod.
“Okay. So. About these interviews?—”
“Marcia, if you don’t mind,” I interrupt, “plannedinterviews are only part of the picture. You know as well as I do that most of the press interactions are going to be impromptu.”
Marcia folds her hands on the table. “What are you implying, Mr. Eastwood?”
“Given that Olivia will almost certainly be subject to plenty of scrutiny from the press as it is, couldn’t we adjust the number of official interviews down a little? To, say, one or two?”
It’s quiet in the room as the PR team considers. Then Marcia says, “Two.”
I glance down at Olivia. “Is that alright?”
Her body language is much less tense than it was earlier. She takes a quiet breath, then nods in assent. “That’s fine. Two. But I need plenty of advance warning before each of them.”
“Of course,” Marcia agrees, waving a hand. “We fully intend to sit down with you before each interview and make sure that you’re prepared for whatever they may ask.”
Olivia seems relieved, her shoulders dropping. “Okay. Good.”
For the remainder of the conversation with PR, I do my best to shield Olivia, anticipating what she will—or won’t—be comfortable with. Olivia is hesitant about a lot of public-facing stuff, so I shoot down a lot of the team’s suggestions about interviews or publicized appearances.
“We don’t want to make this look forced,” I remind them. “The media is going to keep a close eye on me whether we want it to or not. We don’t have to push Olivia out into the spotlight for them to know about her.”
Marcia exchanges a glance with one of her people. Both of them seem irritated, but less so than they were earlier. “Fine,” she says at last. “You don’t have to speak at the charity banquet, and we won’t do the press conference. But you do have to make appearances sometimes, Ms. Quinn. You know that, right?”
Olivia nods, though her face is drawn. “Yeah. Of course.”
“Good.” Marcia flips through her papers, then says, “When it comes to the engagement, there are several details we ought to discuss. Social media is going to be one of our best tools for cultivating your image. With that in mind, engagement photos?—”
“No,” I interrupt immediately. “She doesn’t have to do engagement photos.”
I’m expecting Olivia to agree with me, but to my surprise, she makes a small, dissenting noise. I glance at her, startled; the whole reason I shot down the idea was because I thought she’d be uncomfortable with it.
She shrugs, looking up at me. “That would be okay.”
I hold her gaze for a moment, then turn back to Marcia. “Ignore me, then. I guess that’s fine.”
Beneath her glasses, Marcia’s eyes flick between the two of us, like she’s analyzing something. Then, after a few seconds, she shrugs and jots something down in the margins of her paper.
“This is a good start,” she says. “We’ll have to meet regularly to ensure that everything stays on track. I’m assuming the two of you are amenable to that?”
