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"You mean like she didn’t find out how you managed the reaction to the wedding video?"
I stiffen. "And how did you find out about that, anyway?"
"Because I told him," a female voice pipes up from near Hunter. He places the phone on a stand, and when he steps back, I spot Karina and her husband Arpad clustered about his chair.
"I know, client confidence is very important in what I do." Karina’s lips firm. "I’ve never done this before, but just this once, my friendship with Isla overrode all other considerations."
I draw in a breath. On the one hand, I’m pissed at what Karina did. On the other—well, Isla needs friends who are loyal to her. If I really wanted to keep this from Isla, I never should have chosen to do it in the first place. Maybe a part of me had known she’d find out. Maybe I even counted on it. Maybe I hoped she’d be appreciative when she found out, that she’d understand just how deep my feelings for her run. Either way, I’m not upset with Karina. I drum my fingers on the table. "You’re right in what you did."
"I am?" Karina seems taken aback.
"You’re a good friend."
She exchanges a glance with Arpad. "O-k-a-y."
Arpad, for his part, seems uneasy at my reaction. And Hunter? He’s watching me carefully. The man has a bloody impressive poker face. Of course, he’d have to, considering the astute politician he is. This is the first time I’ve been at the receiving end of it though.
"Don’t all three of you try to stroke my ego at once." I look between them. "I’m not a complete idiot."
"You’re a knob-head," Hunter drawls.
I disregard him. "Look, what I want to do is short-term. I just want to control the worst of the internet’s reaction. I want to ring-fence the response and keep it positive for her. Or at least, not so nasty. Maybe at some point, the responses will get out of hand, and I won’t be able to shield her any further. But at least, she’ll have slowly built up a resistance so it doesn’t hurt so much."
Karina leans forward on the balls of her feet. "What makes you think the rejoinder to her video will be negative?"
"Because I’m a cynical bastard who’s seen enough in life to know, when people spot a weakness, they like to use it to destroy you."
"You are a bastard, period," Hunter interjects.
"A sentiment I’m not going to comment on since you’re my client, but perhaps you need to get your facts right." Karina hides a smile.
"Eh?" I scowl.
"She means, have you seen the comments on her social media feed?" Arpad asks.
"I haven’t, I—" I glance at the expressions on all of their faces, then switch out of the camera and onto her social media handle. I take in the reactions and the comments to her post. It’s only been forty-five minutes since she posted, but there are already ten thousand likes and hundreds of comments on her post.
I read first one reaction, then the next.
I scroll down, unable to believe my eyes. "Holy shit!"
44
Isla
"Holy shit, woman, you’re on fire."
I walked into Zara’s apartment, and she runs over. She waves her phone in my face, the screen open to my social media feed.
I glance at the phone, then back at her face. My heart jumps into my throat. My stomach bottoms out with such speed, it feels as if I’ve swallowed a rock.
I must go pale because she grips my elbow and guides me to a sofa. Then she disappears inside the kitchen and returns with a glass of water. I glug down half of it, then place it on the side table.
"Better?" She studies my features.
"I’m fine," I lie.
"You’re not" —she laughs— "but you will be."
