Page 207 of Just for the Cameras
“Ah, there you are,” Gretchen says as she walks into the room in her no-nonsense power suit and with her hair perfectly styled into coiffed waves. “Let’s talk.”
NotDo you have a moment?
OrDo you think we can chat?
Just…Let’s talk.
She gestures toward the office of the flamingo building, which we use more for storage than anything else.
“You want to talk in there?”
“Unless you have a better option.”
I nod and push off the counter. “Follow me.”
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 tonotlive 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 moremishaps 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.”
