The cast gets up from their seats, and River turns toward Bailey, catching her mid-step, and I watch in horror as he wraps his arms around her before she has a chance to react.
“What’s he doing?” I ask Luke. We’re both staring at the scene, watching it unfold like a slow-motion car crash.
I can’t tell if River is trying to save face for the fans or just can’t help himself. Bailey doesn’t pull away, but she doesn’t hug him back either. Her arms just hang there, suspended, while he holds on.
“Oh no,” I say, watching as hundreds of phones are out now, recording this entire encounter.
“We need to get them out of there,” I yell to Luke above the chaos.
The fan outcry alone was going to go viral, but this sad attempt at a hug is going to be the star of the internet for weeks.
Thankfully, River and Bailey awkwardly rush to their separate greenrooms after that, the fans still chanting as they leave the hall.
Luke and I are both just standing there, shell shocked.
“Well, that went well,” Luke deadpans.
I can’t help myself; a laugh bursts out of me at the ridiculousness of the situation. This absolutely isn’t funny, and yet . . .
Luke watches me for a second, probably trying to figure out whether I’m crying or laughing. I’m doubled over, unable to breathe, and tears are streaming down my face.
But then he joins me, which makes things so much worse. My stomach hurts; my cheeks ache. We’re both cry laughing now, when truthfully things are pretty dire.
“What are we going to do?” I ask once I pull myself somewhat together, the words coming out choppy.
Luke shakes his head, wiping at the corners of his eyes. “I have no idea.”
We start laughing again, even though everything we’ve carefully planned for today just exploded. It’s unprofessional, but in this moment, I can’t bring myself to care.
Chapter 13
PR Tip #65:Sometimes the only way out is through.
Things are less funny the next morning.
“I hate my job,” I say, still in my pajamas, folded over the kitchen counter, cheek pressed to the granite. I’m late for work and I don’t even care. Which is a first for me.
In truth, things got a lot less funny when Luke and I had to go check on our respective clients, both freaking out in their dressing rooms. I only know River was freaking out because Luke texted me: River is freaking out.
Bailey was beside herself, worried about the fans’ reaction and what is now being referred to as the “stranger danger hug.”
As I predicted, videos of that stupid hug are everywhere. It’s the most watched video FableCon has ever had, so the organizers are probably thrilled. At least someone is.
There are posts all over social media, and it’s even made it to entertainment sites. Different angles of River holding on for dear life while Bailey is frozen like a statue.
It would be one thing if the hug had overpowered the fans’ concerns, but all it did was exacerbate them. The stranger danger hug was just more proof that River and Bailey won’t be able to give them the season four they deserve.
And now I’ve got Luke texting me again this morning asking if we should get together to figure this out. But I left him on read because I have no plan yet, and I’m not about to meet with Luke Wilder without a plan. I was awake half the night thinking about what I could do and spent the other half having stress dreams about it.
“You don’t hate your job,” Sam says, leaning against the counter across from me, a coffee cup in her hands.
“Well, I hate it right now.”
She blows on her coffee. “To be honest, I kind of hate your job right now too. I mean, are Bailey and River going to ruinKingdom of Flame and Moonlight?” She takes a quick breath. “Not that it’s your fault that any of this happened.”
“But it kind of is my fault,” I say, still cheek to counter.
“How? You can’t control the fans.”
