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Her lips narrowed, her eyes squinting. “Give me a break, Cass. If you ever hired someone else to handle your PR, I’d disown you. And so would my mom. I can handle this for you. ”
Melissa worked at her mom’s publicity firm in the summers and would join the staff full time as soon as she had her degree in hand. I asked Melissa when we were still in high school why she bothered applying to colleges when she could learn everything she needed to by working with her mom directly. But Meli’s mom insisted she have the college experience and wouldn’t let her start working at seventeen. I remembered her saying, “You have the rest of your life to work, Melissa. Don’t be in such a hurry to get it started. Go live. Have fun. Enjoy college and everything that comes with it. ”
I leaned my elbows on the table. “Go on. ”
“Well, I was thinking,” she started.
“Always dangerous,” I interrupted.
“Stop interrupting me! This is serious, Cass! I’m trying to help you!” she shouted, her annoyance clearly growing.
I puckered my lips, stifling a chuckle, “I’m sorry. Go on. I won’t say anything. ” I marked an X across my chest with my finger.
She breathed out. “OK. So I was thought about this all night and I think it’s brilliant! You and Jack should do some sort of interview together. Like a human-interest story on what it’s like being a professional athlete and for you, what it’s like dating one. And you can address all the Chrystle accusations and lies, as well. ”
“Meli, people who lose their house in a flood, or an entire community wiped out by some freak super storm… that’s a human-interest story. Not the girl whining about how hard it is to date an athlete and how mean people are. They’ll only hate me more. ”
“Not if it’s done right. ” Her bright blue eyes looked into mine, her eyebrows raised.
I shook my head wildly. “We’re not a human-interest story. ”
“But you are. Those tabloids wouldn’t sell if people weren’t interested. And trust me, they’re interested. ”
My chest tightened. “You think people would care about our side of the story?”
“Hell yes, they’d care! But the story will have two purposes. The first will be to put that little lying bitch in her place. And the second will be your public image. ”
“My public image?” I tried to follow, but I was confused.
“If people see you as a real person, with problems just like they have, then maybe they’ll stop being so mean. If they hear about all the things you and Jack have gone through as a couple, they’ll sympathize with you instead of hate you. You won’t be someone who’s unattainable and only seen from a distance. You’ll be relatable. It’s hard to hate the girl you’d be friends with if you knew her. ” She smiled, quoting my feelings from last night.
“I don’t know if we’re even allowed to do something like that. I’d have to get permission from the team’s publicity department first. And who the hell would even want to run a story like that?”
Melissa rolled her eyes, my question apparently stupid. “Right now? I bet I could get almost anyone to run that story. But you work for a freaking magazine, Cassie! A human-interest magazine,” she reminded me pointedly.
“But those aren’t the types of stories we print. ”
“You mean to tell me your magazine doesn’t ever profile anyone local? Don’t you ever do puff type pieces on New York’s elite?”
I pursed my lips together before responding. “Actually they do. But it’s online only and never in the actual printed version. ”
A wide grin appeared on Melissa’s face as her hands clapped together. “That’s fine. Online can be just as effective. Think your boss will go for it?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I do, actually. She mentioned something about it before I left. But I need to talk to Jack first. ”
“He’s an easy sell. He’ll do anything if it means keeping you happy. ”
Love Makes A Life Worth Living
Cassie
After almost an hour of arguing, I convinced Melissa to drive me over to Gran and Gramps’s house. I still didn’t know why, but she still wanted to keep her distance from Dean, and meeting Gran and Gramps was not part of her master plan.
“Can we stop by the store real quick so I can pick up some wine?”
“Yep. I’ll get some too. I’ll need it,” she suggested, pulling into the supermarket parking lot.
I looked around at how spread out and spacious everything seemed. New York was so compact. I’d forgotten how different Southern California was. And I really missed the palm trees. My heart squeezed as I took in the sight of them.
