Marley shook her head. “Wouldn’t I have the same problem? I’m your home-wrecker. No one would want to work with me.”
“Not if they came out,” Shayne said. “Of course, that’s your decision, though.”
Serena shook her head. “I can’t. Not now. I promised the studio.”
Marley agreed and didn’t think that Serena should come out, either. “But the fact of it is, as long as you’re single, me and Nikhil are villains,” Marley said.
“Tell your publicity people to find you another fake relationship?” Shayne suggested.
“I’ll do it,” Nadim offered. “I’m a great fake boyfriend.”
Reena slapped him on the arm. “I’mliterallypregnant with your child.”
Nadim kissed his wife on the cheek. “I know, Ree. We could probably pay for the kid’s college with a Hollywood fake-relationship contract.”
Serena snorted. “You guys are funny. I really don’t want to lie again.”
“God, I hate this whole publicity mess,” Nikhil said. “We should ignore what they all say and just go to the media and tell them we’re only friends.”
“Why couldn’t you?” Reena asked.
Serena shook her head. “Because all movie promo goes through the publicity team. It’s in our contract.”
“What if it’s not movie promo?” Caroline suggested. She frowned, forehead wrinkled in thought. “I have an idea…” She looked at Marley. “Maybe you could styleme. I’m doing a benefit next month for the Still Glowing Foundation. They do makeovers for women who’ve had cancer surgery. Maybe we can pitch a TV segment where you style me after my mastectomy?”
Marley nearly dropped her fork. “You’ve had a mastectomy?”
Caroline nodded. “I had breast cancer a few years ago. I hope I’m not prying… but Nik mentioned that you are recovering from a mastectomy, too.” She looked around at Shayne’s decorations. “And I mean, clearly y’all are celebrating your surgery.”
Nikhil cringed. “I’m sorry. It slipped out.”
Marley smiled at Nikhil. “It’s fine. Totally.” But this idea of Caroline’s… Could Marley do it? Even if she didn’t mention her own mastectomy to the media, this was still morepublicthan she was used to being.
But admitting she had a mastectomy would address the gossip that Nikhil bought her a boob job, too. And best of all, it would bring attention to this charity—the same one that Jaime worked with. “Maybe,” Marley said slowly. “If we find media we cantrust… maybe I would do it.”
Nikhil looked surprised she agreed.
“I don’t know many people here,” Serena said. “Do you have any media contacts who wouldn’t sell us out and tell the studio publicists that we came to them?”
Marley grinned, nodding. “Confab.”
Shayne shook his head. “No.”
Reena’s eyes went wide. “Holy shit,yes.”
Shayne pointed at Reena, glaring. “Youare not helping.”
Nikhil looked at Nadim. “What are they talking about?”
Nadim shrugged. “I only understand about half their conversations.”
“The Confab…” Caroline said slowly. “Isn’t that a talk show out here? LikeThe View?”
Marley nodded. “One of the hosts would doabsolutely anythingif a certain person at this table asked.”
Shayne continued his glare. “He wouldnot.”
“I remember!” Nikhil said. “The guy we saw at the press junket.”
