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I look up and meet the driver’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “Nothing, sorry.”
He nods, and I train my eyes back on the screen.
You won’t be able to hide from me, Juliet.
Chapter Five
Juliet
One week later
When I walk into work this morning, the office seems to be buzzing with a strange energy I couldn’t place.
"This is a disaster," one of the partners, Max, groans.
I take my place at the conference table. "Is everything okay?" I ask after watching him bury his face in his hands.
"No, Juliet. Everything is not okay." Valerie's cold voice cuts through the tension like a knife. "Everything is shit."
A pit begins to form in my stomach. "What's happened?"
There’s no response to my question. Instead, everyone continues their conversation around me as if I’m not even there.
"We must find a way to swing this in our favor." Max's partner Jim says when he enters the room. "I need ideas. Good ideas. How can we come out on top of this?"
Max and Jim started Acton Public Relations together, and though the company had grown, they still maintained 50/50 control.
"Can someone explain what happened, please?" I ask, this time raising my voice so that I'm heard. Valerie shoots daggers in my direction. She can't stand when I try to be a part of the team, even though that is what I am here for. Since I first spoke up all those months ago, Max and Jim have insisted I sit in on every brainstorming meeting.
Max lowers his head as Jim speaks. "Naomi Keith overdosed last night; she’s at Cardinal East recovering."
Well shit, that’s not what I expected.
"Her father is beside himself. I don't know which is worse, that he found her like that or that he now feels her image is beyond saving. The man is at his wit’s end," Max adds.
"That's awful. Is she going to be okay?" I ask.
"Seriously? Who fucking cares. This little girl has probably just cost us one of our biggest accounts," Valerie spits.
I wish I could tell her exactly what I think about her heartless words, but all that would do is cause a rift in the office that would benefit no one. Especially not the broken girl in a hospital bed across town who is clearly battling some serious demons. This wasn't just about making money; this was about someone's life.
"TMZ is already having a field day. When I find out who leaked this, I'll have their ass. They will never work in this town again." I am not used to the anger dripping from Jim's words.
"Ideas. I need ideas," Max yells.
Valerie pipes up first. "Our only option is to shut up the media and sweep this shit under the rug. We pay off the news outlets, put a gag order on the hospital staff, and stick her ass in a rehab facility in Timbuktu where no one can find her."
Instinct takes over, and I shake my head furiously. I don't mean to, but I can't help it.
"What, you have a better plan, intern?" she challenges.
"Look, the story is out. Staging a cover-up now will only add fuel to the fire. It will be obvious that daddy's money made it all go away. How does that help in the long run? Why not embrace it?" Max and Jim eye me curiously, though Valerie looks ready to gag me and ship me off with Naomi.
"Go on," Jim says, nodding in my direction.
"Okay, what does the world love more than a dumpster fire?" I ask, though I don't give anyone long enough to offer an answer. "A comeback story, you know, gives the people something to root for. Mental illness and addiction are two of the hottest-button issues right now. If the goal is to make this girl relatable, why not let her advocate for something that a huge percent of the population battle with?"
Max scrapes his knuckles against his unshaven face. "And how would we do that?"
