Page 10 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming
They embrace, take pictures and pop the champagne.
As they finish, Suchi spots someone admiring Aimee. “There’s a very handsome stranger looking yourway, Aims.”
“He’s going to have to keep looking. You gentlemen ready?” Aimee asks Roc and Pete.
“Yep,” Roc answers.
“Ready and waiting.” Pete grins.
“Great!” Aimee gets up and loops her arms in each of theirs. She turns around and smiles at her friends. “I’ll let you ladies know which one is the love of my life.” She winks.
“She said it would be a friend, Aimee.” Suchi calls out to her.
Aimee turns around grinning, “whatever do you mean, Suchi? Pete, Roc and I are very good friends, aren’t we boys?”
“Damn good friends.” Roc winks.
Lyric, Suchi and Bridget laugh as Aimee sashays away with Roc and Pete.
LYRIC & RANSON
1
LYRIC
Two months later
It’s Monday March 3, and Lyric is at her desk sipping coffee and reading an email from her boss, Roger.
Good morning, Lyric,
Please come to my office. We have a situation on our hands.
- Roger
Lyric smiles. She loves how Roger describes the jams their clients get themselves in. Whether it’s a mistress announcing her pregnancy by averymarried fashion mogul or an athlete in trouble after a coke-fueled orgy, Roger always says the same thing:We have a situation on our hands. It’s a big reason why Lyric loves her job. There’s never a dull moment. She gets up and heads to Roger’s office.
Being a fixer calls for creativity, attention to detail, a mastery of thinking on your feet and critical thinking skills all at once. Cause these rich folks really stick their feet into a lot of shit.Take, for example, Lyric’s current client, Eliza Faulk, a rich socialite who’s the kid of Echo CEO, Elias Faulk. Echo is the biggest streaming service around the globe, and Mr. Faulk’s estimated net worth is two and a half billion—with a big assB—dollars. Eliza has entered the business world after creating a makeup line inspired by her Indian heritage. Her mother is from Mumbai, and her father is Australian. There a lot of people invested in her business’ success, particularly her dad, who gave her the seed money. So, of course, when she posted something on social media that was super offensive—and, frankly, ignorant—people weren’t too happy. Two days ago, she posted on Threads,
“Breastmilk is the only proper way to feed your baby. Formula has far too many chemicals. If you’re denying your child nourishment coming directly from you, then why even have children?”
The backlash was harsh and swift. Many investors backed out. Sponsors for the makeup line launch party vanished. The first thing Lyric did was sit Eliza down and read her the riot act. Most of these pampered rich kids never had someone talk to them like they were a person. Lyric specializes in that. One of her little cousins, Charae—who is five years old—told her friends that her big cousin Lyric, “gets paid to yell at rich white people and make them cry.”
That’s not really true, but it’s not a lie either. After Lyric let Eliza know how her statement hurt many people, she contacted organizations who help individuals only able to bottle feed. These nonprofits supply formula for thousands of people. She also had Eliza sit in on a Zoom with bottle-fed only families as they told her in unflinching honesty how her words were damaging to them. By the end, Eliza was crying.
After Lyric let her dry her tears, they got to work on her making amends tour, starting with the most important part, the statement. The problem with most celebrity apologies is the lack of accountability. It’s all playing victim and being obtuse. It’s not until their statement falls flat that they give the “I was wrong mea culpa,” but by that time, it’s too late. They’ve lost the public’s trust. They need to be genuinely sorry and willing to learn from their mistake. Lyric is methodical when she writes an apology. With Eliza, first, they spoke on the phone.
Lyric asked her things like, “How did hearing those people’s stories make you feel?” And “Do you now understand why what you said was problematic?” She makes these rich folks sit in their shame. She then had Eliza write an apology before polishing and sending it to Roger for approval. He gave the green light this morning, and Lyric just released it.
I am sincerely sorry for all the hurt I caused all caretakers of children who are unable to breastfeed.
My statement was steeped in ignorance, and I have no excuse for it. I am a new mother, but I have nannies, a nutritionist, and a personal chef. Not to mention the best medical care anyone could ask for; thus, my breastmilk supply is ample. Not everyone has access to healthy food or proper knowledge about nutrition, and that can affect their milk supply.
Those of us who come from privilege, myself included, need to stop and think, is what I’m about to say helpful or harmful? If you think it will cause harm, then say nothing. What I should have done was look into why all caretakers don’t breastfeed and see if there was anything I could do to help. That’s what I’ll be doing going forward. Again, I am so sorry for my words and all the pain I caused.
Thank you,
E
