Otherwise she was screwed.
***
An hour later, after writing the apology and again begging Aria to post it, Chelsea slammed the door closed on the car that was taking Aria to the airport.The sound was like an axe on a chopping block.She had failed.
She dragged her own suitcase down the footpath of the Sydney Central Business District and into the skyscraper where she worked.Viral Posts Media took up an entire floor of the building and when the elevator dinged, Chelsea walked into the bright reception area where she was greeted by the receptionist, Meg.A large vase of colourful lilies sat on the desk, bringing cheer to the area, and a faint floral scent was enhanced by the oil diffuser hidden behind the reception desk.
“Oh my God, Chelsea,” Meg said.“Everyone is going crazy in there.Did you get Aria to retract her statement?”
Chelsea shook her head as her stomach rolled again.“No.”She looked around.“Can I leave my suitcase behind your desk?”She didn’t want to walk into the main office dragging it behind her, and there was no room in her small cubicle for it.
“Sure.”
Chelsea walked through the glass doors of Viral Posts Media.Her colleagues sat in cubicles, the walls of which were high enough that she couldn’t see their faces.Quickly she strode down the corridor on her four-inch heels towards Ellen’s office.
Ellen’s personal assistant looked up as Chelsea approached and gave her a sympathetic smile.“Chelsea.I’m to send you straight to Harold’s office.”
The managing director.Chelsea swallowed hard.“Right.”
She pivoted towards the corner office.By now people were rubber-necking from their cubicles as she walked past, some smirking, some wincing in sympathy.She kept her shoulders back and her head held high.She had done nothing wrong.It was ridiculous to think she could gag a celebrity, particularly one like Aria.
Harold’s personal assistant said, “Go right in.They’ve been waiting for you.”
Nerves danced in her stomach.She could do this.Chelsea smoothed down the front of her sleeveless navy dress and knocked on the door before cautiously pushing it open.Harold sat behind his desk with Ellen and Vivian, the client from Tours Australia, across from him.
The tension in the room was palpable.Vivian glared at her and Harold frowned in his impatience.Only Ellen’s expression held a hint of sympathy.
“You took your time,” Harold said.
“My apologies.Aria wasn’t in a rush to get to the airport this morning.”
“Did she post the apology?”Vivian demanded.
Chelsea clasped her hands together.“I’m sorry, she refused to.I offered to rewrite it to suit her, but she doesn’t believe she has anything to apologise for.”
“This is unacceptable,” Harold said.“She was your responsibility.Why did you let her post it?”
Let her?She glanced at Ellen, who shrugged as if there was nothing she could do.Right.No support from that front.“Unfortunately her social media is out of my control.She posted it last night after I left her in her hotel room.”
“What are we going to do?”Vivian asked.“We can’t use anything we’ve just filmed.”She glared at Chelsea again.
Chelsea had been considering options.“We have a lot of scenery footage we can still use,” she said.“We could use a different celebrity to voice over it.”But it would cost a lot more to get the celebrity on camera and take them to all the places they’d taken Aria.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to salvage a lot,” Ellen agreed.
“I’m going to be crucified,” Vivian moaned.“Whose idea was it to use Aria?”
Chelsea raised her eyebrows, but a shake of Ellen’s head kept Chelsea’s lips pressed firmly together.Vivian had been the worst kind of fan-girl when she’d met Aria at the airport on her arrival.
“My management is not happy,” Vivian continued.“I want whoever it was fired.”
Some of the tension left Chelsea’s shoulders.It hadn’t been her decision, and she had it on record that she’d opposed the idea.She’d be safe.
“Now we know Aria’s stance,” Harold said, getting to his feet, “we can rework the campaign and come up with a solution.”He gestured Vivian towards the door.
“I need this before midday,” Vivian demanded.
“We’ll get it to you,” Harold assured her as he walked her out of his office.
