Page 11 of Cold Feet
I cleared my throat and looked away.
"Thorough and professional as always, Lana," Marcus said, reaching for a pen.
"That's what you pay me for," I replied with a small smile. "Managing public perception is my specialty, even when the situation is… unconventional."
"Unconventional," Rocco repeated with a snort. "That's one word for it."
One by one, they signed the agreements. When Cam's turn came, he read through the entire document a second time, his expression unreadable. Finally, he signed with a flourish and slid the folder back to me.
"So we're all official now," he said, clearly suppressing a grin. "Fiancée."
"Don't push it, Murphy," I replied, unable to completely suppress an answering smile despite myself. "And technically, only in public settings, as per section 2 of the agreement."
"Always by the book," he murmured, sitting back in his chair.
With the paperwork complete, I moved to my presentation, clicking through to the first slide: "Strategic Approach to Relationship Revelation."
"Our primary challenge is believability," I explained, slipping fully into PR Director mode. "The public needs to accept that Cam and I have been in a serious, committed relationship that has simply been kept private until now. To achieve this, we need to be extremely careful about what we say versus what we show."
I clicked to the next slide, which featured two columns: "Say" and "Show."
"The most important rule: we never explicitly claim to be engaged. Not to the press, not on social media, not to anyone outside this room." I looked pointedly at each person. "What we do is carefully cultivate the perception through visual cues, body language, and strategic non-denials."
Ryan shifted forward in his seat, his gold cufflinks catching the fluorescent light. "But for the Redline deal – "
"Will be completely convinced without us needing to lie," I finished firmly. "Trust me, Mr. Keller. The public reads between the lines. We don't need to say it, just show it."
"And how exactly do we do that?" Coach Sully asked, skepticism evident in his voice.
I clicked to the next slide: "Escalation Timeline."
"We’ll let the public and Redline draw their own conclusions through visual storytelling, strategic non-denials, and carefully orchestrated public moments. By the end of the week, we'll have established a foundation for the revelation that we've been together for some time."
"How do we handle the team?" Marcus asked. "The guys will notice if you two suddenly start acting differently around each other."
"Cam tells Logan that we've been harboring feelings for each other but only recently decided to explore them publicly, and it will filter down through the team." I glanced at Cam, who nodded, even though we both knew Logan already knew. "That we're being careful because of workplace dynamics and Zayne's... protective tendencies. For now, we'll keep him on a need-to-know basis."
"Protective," Cam repeated with a snort. "That's diplomatic."
"Your brother's going to murder him when he finds out," Rocco said cheerfully. "Should be entertaining."
"That’s a distinct possibility," Cam nodded.
I took a deep breath. "Zayne receives the same story as everyone else for now.We’ll bring Zayne into the loop only if necessary."
"Better you than me," Coach Rocco laughed. "I've seen Zayne commit murders on the ice that would make the Godfather say 'whoa buddy, take it down a notch.'"
"Thank you for that helpful reminder," I said dryly, clicking to the next slide.
I continued through the presentation, detailing each phase of our plan – from initial social media seeding to strategic public appearances, from press response scripts to contingency plans.
"Sounds like you've thought of everything," Marcus observed.
"That's her job," Cam said unexpectedly, a note of what almost sounded like pride in his voice. "Best in the business."
I blinked at him, momentarily thrown by the sincere compliment, before recovering.
"And the most important visual cue," I said, reaching the final slide, "will be the ring."
