Page 120 of The Clinch
The sentence hits harder than the felony joke did. Jessica pauses just long enough to make sure I feel it.
“The PR relationship can end now. No career impact for Leo. No downside.”
The ring goes hot on my finger. Leo says nothing, but I catch the hit in his face before he shuts it down.
So he feels it too.
My mind just… stops. Because if it’s no longer needed, then we have to make a decision. Is this real or not?
My hand curls tighter around the coffee cup. My mouth opens. Nothing comes out.
Jessica studies me once. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. Don’t. Listen.”
I clamp my teeth together because arguing with Jessica Novak feels like arguing with a wall.
She taps the folder again.
“We’re doing a soft fade,” she continues smoothly. “No staged appearances. No fiancé language. No arranged-looking photos. If you keep the ring on, fine. If you take it off, also fine. Just don’t make either choice public.”
I can feel myself gearing up in all the wrong ways.
“What does that mean?”
“It means no statement. No posts. No theater. If anyone asks, you’re private and focused on work.”
Boring. Safe. Ordinary.
Jessica shifts her attention to Leo. “Camp starts soon.”
“Next Friday.”
“Good. That gives the public a reason not to see you together. They’ll assume you’re busy.”
“Okay.”
I hate how easy he makes it sound.
Jessica looks back at me. “Liz, this means you can stay in Brooklyn or not. You can see each other or not. What you can’t do is be indecisive.”
The words hit in a row, clean as bullets.
“You’re basically telling us to?—”
“To decide. Or stop letting optics decide for you.”
She leans back slightly.
“I’m not asking you to define it for me. I’m asking you not to feed it to strangers.”
I have nothing ready for that. Leo shifts beside me, the smallest movement. Jessica notices.
“You’re calm,” she says.
Leo’s mouth barely moves. “I’m listening.”
Jessica holds his stare for a beat. “Can you keep your discipline through camp?”
“Yes.”
