Page 18 of All Yours

“It’ll be okay,” I whispered into her hair and tightened my grip around her.

“Your boyfriend’s correct,” Jen said. “We’re going to spin this to highlight how you’re now living your best stable life out of the public eye, and he’s dragging all this back up for money and fame.”

“But that’s exactly what’s going on.” Sloane sat and leaned forward. “It’s not spin. That’s the truth.”

But she didn’t correct her about the boyfriend part.

“People don’t care about the truth,” Jen said with a laugh. “We have to drive home the fact you’re now calm and stable. No more taking baseball bats to cars or—”

“Can we not relive this?”

“Still a touchy subject,” Jen said to herself more than the room as she opened a leather covered legal pad. “Let’s come up with a plan to make you look good to the public. No matter what, Sebastian dredged up about your past in that book.”

“Is having a boyfriend important?” Sloane asked.

“A husband would be better,” Jen said, rummaging through her bag. “But you two can talk that over. A stable relationship will help convey that you’ve gotten your life together. And it helps that you two are cute together. The public will eat that up.” She began scribbling.

Sloane huffed. “I resent the implication that I have to have a man to be considered stable.”

“Could’ve been a woman. Either way, a long-term relationship is a good for styling a public image,” Jen said, looking up from her notepad. She glanced between Sloane and me. “Is there a problem?”

I held my breath, heart pounding against my rib cage as the woman I’d had a crush on for a couple of years gave me a side-eyed glance before responding.

“No, no problem,” Sloane said.

“Great. Let’s get started on your official statement condemning the book,” she said.

Chapter Seven

Sloane

Lauren closed the door behind Jen and turned to me with a shell-shocked expression. The room was silent in the wake of the boisterous public relations executive that had crashed in and made plans to combat the salacious tell-all book about the worst time of my life. Only it was all a massive lie. I was not a stable woman with my life all together. And the man sitting to my left was not my boyfriend. No matter what I’d said.

“So, you’ve lost your mind,” Lauren said.

My chest tightened and the sound of the pounding in my head intensified under Lauren’s scrutiny. “I didn’t know what to do,” I said, turning to Jonah. “I panicked and lost my senses. You heard what she was saying.”

Jonah had been quiet. Too quiet. Silent ever since I hadn’t corrected Jen about him being my boyfriend. He could have disagreed with me in front of her, but he hadn’t.

“I can’t believe she assumed you were my boyfriend,” I continued.

“Are you kidding me?” Lauren interjected. “You two both cuddled up over there. It’s hard for me to not believe it, and I know you guys.”

“Friend’s comfort each other,” I said. I didn’t need to defend wanting Jonah’s arms around me.

“You shouldn’t release the statement,” he said, ignoring the current conversation.

“What? Why?” That was not what I’d expected to come out of his mouth.

“You have said nothing in the public for like eight years. Why start now? He’ll respond, and it might suck you back into a place you don’t want.”

“What else am I supposed to do?”

“Let the lawyers do your talking through the lawsuit when you sue him for defamation.”

“Who says it’s about me? There may be very little about me in there, or maybe it’s all true.”

Jonah scowled. “Honey, it’s the worst parts of whatever happened amplified to make you look worse than him.”

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