Page 597 of Manhattan Bossholes

First up this morning was a meeting with the PR team, which thankfully would be an easy start. They liked running the dog and pony show, so all I had to do was sit back and listen.

Alessandra handed me a cup of coffee on my way into the conference room. Thank god she could read my mind. Sandrine jumped up to greet me when I walked in, all smiles.

“Congrats on last night,” she said, holding up her phone. “Those photos are perfection.”

A genuine smile spread across my face at the thought. “Yes, they are. I’d say we’re off to a great start.”

“And the campaign is about to get even better,” she said. “I can’t wait for you to see what we have in store next!”

I took my position at the head of the conference table, glancing around to nod at everyone assembled. Felicity bit back a grin at me from the far end, and with just eye contact we shared a moment of mutual recognition of everything that had gone down between us the night before.

“Okay, let’s get moving, folks,” I said, hoping my impatience and exhaustion weren’t too obvious. “What have you got for me?”

“I’ll start,”’ Sandrine said, raising her finger in the air. “So, the feedback from the CamLicity campaign is beyond what we’d hoped for.” She powered up the smartboard display on the wall to show the latest rankings from my dinner with Felicity. “Based on metrics like these, we figured it would be wise to focus on other celebrity couples about to get engaged as well. We have a few ideas, but Glen thinks he’s got our first option all figured out. This is going to be a live reveal for the entire team—even I don’t know what he’s planning—so we’re all excited to see what he cooked up. Take it away.”

Glen stood up already wearing a smug expression, like he knew he was about to hit a home run. “I’ve been working on this on my own,” he began.

I groaned internally.

“In this campaign we’ve been focusing on the female side of the engagement equation. How many carats she wants, how the ring will look on her finger,” he continued, “but I think the male voice needs to be heard as well.”

If it was possible to hear the rolling eyes of a half dozen women, I experienced it in this moment.

“We want to make this campaign as buzzy as possible, which is why I reached out to someone with a Q Score that’s currently setting records.” Glen walked backward to the door as he spoke. “Ladies and gents, may I present our next #RomanceintheWild candidate…” He opened the door and spoke to someone just outside the conference room, inviting him in.

“Mr. Steven Brudny!”

Fuck.

Felicity’s ex.

Glen stepped back, and a vaguely attractive man in a hoodie and blazer walked in beaming confidence, like he owned the place. A few people clapped politely while I swiveled to face Felicity.

Her cheerful expression had shifted to that of a person trapped in a waking nightmare. She seemed haunted, frozen in place.

“Hey folks,” Steven said as he waved to everyone with what looked like fake humility. “Happy to be here. It’s great that Veritique realizes what a force my book has become. I’m a bestseller, yeah!” He pumped his fist. “So glad people understand that Unhinged Heart is a masterpiece.”

No.

I rose to my feet right as Glen led Steven to an empty chair at the table.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Mr. Brudny.”

“Excuse me?” He shot me a baffled look, as if it had never crossed his mind that anyone he met would be anything but thrilled to be in his presence. “Did you not get the memo about who I am?”

I curled my hands into fists but didn’t let any stray emotion register on my face. “Oh, I know exactly who you are, and that’s the problem.”

Steven looked around the table, like he was hoping to find support among the other people in the room. I saw him twitch when his eyes finally landed on Felicity.

“Ohh,” he said in a more upbeat tone, still locked onto Felicity. “Now I get it! Well, hey there, Lis! Been a while.”

Felicity just shook her head in response, unable to muster up a word. I’d never seen her speechless.

I hated it.

“Felicity and I are old friends,” Steven said, glancing at the people gathered around the table. “We know each other super well. You could say that I can read her like a book! Right, Lis?”

He was getting dangerously close to revealing his connection to Felicity in front of her colleagues, but like hell was I letting that happen on my watch.