There’s a brief pause before Aiden gestures his hand for Taylor to elaborate.
She nods. “Okay, now this may sound strange at first. We believe that the two of you should publicly date. Not that it would be real, but for a few months, we loudly promote the storyline that you’re dating.”
“Storyline?” Avery’s skepticism is dripping from her voice.
“What Taylor means,” Aiden explains, “is that we would create a disruptive narrative to shake up how each of you is portrayed in the media.”
“Rawley, you would be the proud boyfriend of a women’s sports icon in the making.Stable, steady. Avery, you’d have a new dimension of who you are beyond basketball, connecting with a wave of fresh fans.”
Jim jumps in next. “On top of what Aiden is saying, we believe it would be an explosive story that would skyrocket the public hunger to see more of you. Look at what’s happeningalready from a three-second video. Companies won’t miss that, and they’ll want to stay on top of what’s trending by association with you.”
“This is how we get those nine figures I was talking about, Avery,” Aiden says.
Nine figures?She’s going for thebigmoney then, and rightly so.
“I mean, that would be amazing—but to fake a relationship to get there sounds completely bananas?” Doubt continues to bleed through Avery’s voice, and I can’t blame her.
“Yeah, this is kind of weird. How would it even work?” I ask.
Aiden looks undeterred. “We’d find roughly three times a month for you two to appear together until we decide the situation has run its course. That should provide enough content to drive the story.”
“You would also sprinkle in comments on each other’s social media accounts in between,” Taylor adds. “A cute message on a photo can trend for a couple of days. Once there’s enough images of you together, fans will start making their own edits.”
I can’t help but let out a huff in disbelief. “That’s wild.”
She smiles. “It’s the way the world works. Of course, it helps that the two of you are so good-looking.”
Avery gives a little eye roll to that. “Don’t make his head any bigger.”
“I don’t doubt you’ll keep me humble,” I tease back, and I’m pretty sure Avery is fighting a smile in response.
I address my next comment to Taylor. “Interacting on social media wouldn’t be hard.” I’m already peeking at Avery’s accounts on a regular basis now, not that I’ll admit it to this crew.
Aiden clears his throat. “And you seemed like you were having a good time chatting at theSunday Magazineinterview.That’s all you would need to do. Enjoy each other’s company in public.”
I mean, does that sound feasible? It kind of does.
And I won’t complain about more time with Avery, even if it’s as a “fake” girlfriend.
“You think this is necessary?” Avery asks.
“Maybe not necessary, but yes, I believe rewriting the narrative this way could explode your profiles and change everything for you. Foreachof you. Financially and otherwise.”
Huh.Avery looks like she’s actually considering what he’s saying. I wonder what’s going on with her endorsements?
“This is quite a proposal,” her mom says. “Can Avery and I talk about it?”
“Sure,” Aiden responds. “The only thing on timing is that theSundayMagazinearticle will be released this weekend. We’d like to align the initial public statement with its publication.”
“The editor, Farah, keeps asking me to confirm whether you two are together anyway, thanks to the video,” Jim shares.
“We’ll get back to you ASAP,” Sylvia says crisply.
“Rawley?” Aiden asks.
I really wish I had Connor on this call. He would cut through all the push and pull and give me a bottom line.
I’m going to call him for advice.
