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Lori responded with one arched eyebrow and, finally, a nod that Katie took as approving. "Make sure she is accommodated as necessary all evening. Wherever Landon is, she needs to be with him: the step and repeat, cocktails, dinner. I even want her lingering in the back of a couple media interviews if we can swing it."
"I’m confused, why would we want him photographed with Layla before the TV show?"
"For one, it will generate some renewed interest in his dating life, but there is a bigger plan in the works. I’m hoping we can parlay this into something else for Landon. FAB-TV said they might have some interest in one of those shows about a sports couple—Eric and Jesse, Kristin and Jay, that type of situation—and while I’m sure there are some fabulous local girls in the running forLast First Kiss, why do you think those types of shows work, Katie?"
"Because they’re both celebrities," she answered, forced to verbalize what her heart didn’t want to admit.
"Exactly. But I also don’t want to give up theLast First Kissopportunity for him. I’m talking with Layla’s people and the network and if we can drum up some evidence that the public likes them as a couple, there’s a good possibility we can slip her in mid-season as a curveball. Did you know that Layla lived in Idaho for a few years as a child? That opens up a world of opportunities."
"To be honest, Lori, I’m still not understanding why we want them together at the banquet tomorrow. Shouldn’t they meet on the show?" She was throwing out anything she could come up with to stop this train wreck from happening.
"Katie, Katie, Katie, don’t you see? We have the best star in the world in Landon to help us launch Maverick Media. He’s a dream. That face, that body, that smoldering bad boy thing. Women love him. Men love him. He’s got that thing that you just can’t teach."
Katie could argue. Hell, she’d said the same thing herself to Mr. Takahashi. Thankfully, Lori wasn’t looking for her input. The Dragon Lady kept right on talking.
"Plus, to pair him with someone like Layla? It’s a no brainer. Someone whose backstory is just as fraught with drama. Someone stunningly gorgeous enough to match with him."
Ouch.That one stung, but Katie just nodded with a forced smile as Lori kept inflicting the agony.
"But for all that to work, toreallywork, Katie, the audience has to believe in the romance between them. So much of it is faked these days, and the viewers know it. So what’s more believable? If he meets her on a trashy dating show where he’s supposed to fall in love while twenty other women are clambering for his attention orrrrr….if he reignites a flame that’s been simmering for awhile. Maybe they meet at the banquet tomorrow, but the timing isn’t right, maybe he screws it up and regrets it? Let’s do some brainstorming before you leave tonight, but we’ll come up with the right angle."
Great.Katie glanced at the clock on her phone.
"Plus…" Lori smiled a more genuine smile than Katie had ever seen on her, "think how much it will piss the other girls off when we bring her in mid-season. I can just see it: reality television gold. And they’re both perfect for each other. Even their names fit together."
Katie couldn’t take much more without barfing all over the table decorations she and Ellis had spent so much time perfecting. So she gave the only response Lori wanted.
"Landon and Layla, what could be more perfect?"
chapter 32
Katie nursed her foul mood well into her second Moonshine Margarita. Why in the world had they picked a sports bar for after work drinks? And why in the world did her eyes always seem to find the screen showing Landon’s face?
"Girl, what is up with you?" Ellis finally asked. "This margarita has too much salt tonight as is, you don’t need to add your tears to the mix."
That’s exactly what Katie did. She morphed right there and then into a blubbering mess of hot tears, mascara, and puffy cheeks. Her head dropped into her hands, shoulders spasming in hiccuping heaves.
Alex and Ellis scooted their bar stools to flank her on each side, pulling her hair out of the melee.
"Is it Lori?" Alex asked. "I don’t know how you guys work for that bitch. See, babe, I told you she would push someone over the edge one day."
Katie shook her head, face still buried in her palms.
"It’s Kyle, isn’t it?" Ellis said. "Is he still sending you those messages? Kat, you’ve got to do something. This is getting serious."
"No, no, it’s not that." Katie reached for a napkin and blew her nose into it with a loud honk. Then, without further consideration, the truth tumbled out. "I’m in love with Landon."
She peeked out from between her fingers to catch their stunned reactions, but both men only squinted back at her in confusion.
"With who?" Ellis asked.
"Landon." When it still didn’t click, she dropped her hands and added, "Ryan. Landon Ryan. The shortstop for the baseball team we work for."
A weird silence hung in the air and Katie didn’t miss the raised eyebrows Alex and Ellis exchanged.
"Me too, honey," Ellis finally responded gently. "And I’m still waiting for Zac Efron to return my DMs, but we have to keep pushing forward anyway."
A tiny laugh sprung out of her, partly from the joke and partly because just admitting that she was in love with Landon had lifted a huge weight off her entire soul.
