Two can play that game.
“Celebrity content creation is a simple business model—more views equal more money. Payne will use any sneaky trick in the book to spin any shred of truth into an attention-grabbing headline that’s nothing more than blatant clickbait. Although in this case,Phoenix’s Prodigious Phallusis accurate. At least now you won’t have to wonder anymore. You know it’snota myth, kitty cat.”
She rolls her eyes. “So, there’s no bad blood between you?”
“Payne is annoying as fuck, but I ignore him unless he’s hovering over my table while I’m trying to have dinner. He likes to give everyone equal opportunity, so he’ll attack successful people, athletes, and celebrities. It doesn’t matter to him as long as he profits from it. I’m another guy with a name who’s on his radar.”
“I thought it might have to do with your boy band days,” she says.
She read about my heydays.
“Picture it,” she says with a theatrical hand gesture, “an excited Payne, before he became a celebrity content creator, waiting for hours with other eager fans to get your autograph after one of your sold-out concerts he couldn’t get tickets to.Alas, you refused him because you were rushing to a press junket. He vowed there and then to one day destroy you for snubbing him.”
“That’s a hell of an imagination.”
“I have an overactive mind.”
“No shit. You know of my first career?”
She nods. “I watched all your videos. Those were some smooth moves, bad boy Ko¨nig.”
I hang my head low. “That was a long time ago. My brothers and I were young, and we were rebelling against the expectations set upon us at birth.”
“You mean in terms of joining the family business?”
“Exactly.”
“I understand that well.”
“I loved my older brother—the four of us did—but there was always an underlying message looming over our heads as we grew up. My father never came out and said it, but his actions spoke volumes. He had a favorite son. Barron excelled at pretty much everything in life, but he wasn’t musically gifted. The guy couldn’t carry a note to save his life, and he had two left feet. Slate, Wilder, Roman, and I didn’t succeed because we were the best singers. We were on top of the world because we could put on a kickass show. That, and we could rip t-shirts or shirts off our bodies on cue. Combined with the blue eyes and winning smiles, we were set.”
She laughs.
“Mom used to say we inherited our musical talent and stage presence from her side of the family, but for some mysterious reason Barron wasn’t born with those genes.” I laugh a little, thinking of the two people I miss every single day. “In any case, you did good tonight. You had my back.”
“No problem,” she says. “I didn’t expect those reporters when we left the restaurant.”
“Neither did I. My guess is Payne must’ve posted something on social media and that tipped off a few more piranhas who were hoping to get a scoop or a statement.”
We left Luogo Sapori like freaking celebrities, with our hands lifted, shielding our eyes from the blinding flashes of the cameras as reporters shouted questions at us.
“Payne.” Michaela shakes her head. “What apainin the ass.”
“My guess is his parents knew what kind of human being they were bringing into the world when they named him.”
“Oh my God, that’s so funny and so accurate.”
We laugh.
“You think on your feet,” I say.
“Someone had to put Payne in his place.”
“Let’s stick to your ingenuous story about the rings. You’ll have to let me know what style you prefer, and I’ll get my contact at Harry Winston to deliver it in your size. He’s discreet, so all this will be hush-hush.”
Her eyes grow wide. “Phoenix, a Harry Winston ring is way too expensive for a fake wedding.”
“You haven’t met the members of the board yet. If you think Payne is a hard ass, you’re going to get your bubble burst when you meet the group of nine men and women who are the thorn in my side. There’s only a handful of people who know this relationship is fake. To the rest of the world, our union has to look real… all the way down to the engagement ring and wedding band.”
