Page 67 of The Fine Line
Bryan gestures for me to sit, then nods to Linda.
“Caroline,” she says carefully, “how do you think it would look if you got fired while Rhett faced no consequences?”
“Not great,” I admit. “But people would get over it.”
“Maybe,” she concedes. “If you were just another reporter. But you’re not. You’re the coach’s daughter. People will care.”
“And beyond that,” Bryan says, “we care.” I look up. His smile is faint but genuine. “You’ve worked too hard for this, Caroline. I won’t let it all go down over a misunderstanding.”
I swallow hard.
“So what happens now?” Rhett asks.
“We ignore it?”
“Not possible,” Linda says.
“Deny it?” I ask.
“Worse,” she replies. “It’ll only keep the rumors alive.”
“Then what?”
My dad groans. Bryan shifts. I glance between them.
Linda speaks again. “We take control of the narrative.”
“Meaning?”
“We reframe it,” she says. “Turn something scandalous into something sensational.”
“Okay…but how?” I ask. “I mean…how could me and Rhett hooking up be anything good?”
A sound like a muffled cough—or maybe a choke—comes from Rhett beside me. I ignore it.
“Well, it’s really quite simple,” Linda says, lowering her voice like she’s delivering the twist in a crime drama. “‘Rhett Sutton and the Storm’s newest reporter caught the morning after a one-night entanglement! It’s true—Captain of the team having a secret affair with the head coach’s daughter!’”
“Entanglement?” Rhett mutters under his breath. My dad shoots him a warning glare, but Linda doesn’t even flinch.
“It doesn’t look good,” she continues. “But if we shift the nature of your relationship from fleeting and risqué to committed and wholesome? We may just have a shot at turning this entire story around. Not a band-aid fix, but a genuine PR win. We could take the broken pieces of the Texas Storm’s current image and rebuild it into something stronger.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, leaning forward, brows drawn together. “I just want to make sure I’m following… When you talk about making me and Rhett’s… relationship… look committed…” I pause, struggling. “Are you suggesting we let the public think we’re… together? Like, we… actually like each other?”
“I think the word you’re looking for is dating, Cub—Caroline,” Rhett chokes out. “Not that it matters, because there’s no way she’s actually suggesting that.” He glances around the room.
“Right?”
“I’m not suggesting you pretend to date,” Linda says evenly.
I exhale in relief and reach for a water bottle, taking a long drink.
“That’s not enough,” she continues. “The only way to fully restore public trust and reshape this story into something positive…”
She pauses. My brows raise.
“…is for the two of you to get married.”
sixteen
