It’s not quite a question, and I tamp down the voice that says I want to date her for real. Instead, I just nod.
“How do we say you met?” Cedric asks.
“She reached out to me because she wanted to question me for some research she’s been doing, and we hit it off.”
Cedric and Kaladin look at each other, and Cedric gives a quick tilt of his head to indicate it’s not a bad plan.
“We’d have to get the university to back the story,” Cedric says, “but more importantly, we need Dr. Mackey on board.”
I open my mouth to answer, then close it. I was about to assure him it wouldn’t be a problem, but suddenly I’m not so sure Gray will go for it. It’s her professional reputation on the line, and I don’t know what kind of blowback she might get from being tied to me. As it is, that picture alone may have done irreparable damage to her image, and I can’t even conceive of what she’s telling her students. The need to return her callnow is overwhelming.
“Gray tried to call a little while ago,” I say. “Let me call her back and see if she’ll agree to the fake dating plan, at least for a little while.”
Kaladin nods. “Call her.”
I stand and head to the end of the huge office that’s farthest from the desk. It puts me well out of earshot of Kaladin and Cedric.
Gray picks up on the third ring. “Ash? What the hell is going on? What are we going to do?” she asks, and I feel a twinge of guilt at the obvious panic in her voice. The dance at the club was my doing, and it backfired spectacularly.
“It’s going to be alright,” I assure her. “Are you okay? Have the reporters started calling?”
“I had one follow me to my car,” Gray says. “I’m currently hiding out in one of the parking garages on campus. I don’t even want to know what I’ll find when I get home.”
I close my eyes. I need to fix this.
I open them again. “I’m in with Mr. Kaladin and our PR director now. We have a possible plan, but you’d need to agree to it.”
A pause. “What’s the plan?”
I explain the fake dating scenario, then wait for Gray to respond. There’s a long silence on the other end of the line.
“Gray?” I ask when she still hasn’t answered. I look at my cell to be sure we’re still connected.
“Look, I know this isn’t ideal,” I go on when I see we are, “and if you’re not down with it, we’ll think of something else, but pretending to date, at least for a little while is the easiest way to handle this. There will be some interest from the media for the next few days, but they’ll get bored soon enough. We can finish our work and…fake break up.”
The words taste sour in my mouth already, and there’s more silence on the other end.
“Gray?” I ask again. “Are you still there?”
I hear her huff a small laugh. “I just convinced my department headwe weren’t dating. Now I have to go back and tell her we’re fake dating.”
She laughs again, but there’s little humor in it.
“We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,” I repeat.
Another pause. “No, you’re right. It’s the easiest way to explain the picture, and it’s the only story that doesn’t out me as a fraud to Drew or make me look like a puck bunny.”
I breathe a sigh of relief, and excitement tingles in my chest at the idea that Gray and I will get to play the happy couple for a few weeks.
“Thank you,” I say. “I appreciate this. We’ll have to get the university on board with the story, but I assume they’ll back us given the money Kaladin is promising.”
I hear Gray’s own sigh on the other end of the line. “What do I do until then?” she asks. “There are probably reporters at my house by now.”
“Hold on,” I say. I put the phone on speaker and head back to Kaladin’s desk. “Gray is on board with the plan,” I tell Kaladin and Cedric, “but the reporters have found her already. They’re probably at her house. What should she do?”
“Dr. Mackey,” Cedric says into the phone, “my name is Cedric Winston, and I’m the Hydra’s PR director. If anyone approaches you, just tell them you’re not answering any questions and refer them to me.”
He gives her his phone number, and she confirms it with him.
