Rosaline scoffed softly. “Forgive me if I’m struggling to believe he wasn’t chasing clout with that public tweet.”
Poppy sat straighter, hackles rising, and glared. “He’s got 1.4 million followers. He doesn’tneedclout.”
“And Lyric has 95 million. Do the math.”
Poppy didn’t need to do any math to know the numbers were irrelevant to what Rosaline was implying. “You’re suggesting Cash is using Lyric.”
“I’m notsuggestinganything,” Rosaline said, matter of fact. “It’s happened before and I’m not so naive as to believe someone won’t try it again. Operative word beingtrythis time.”
“And I’m telling you Cash isn’t that kind of guy. I’ve known him since I was five. I think that makes me uniquely qualified to speak on his character.”
“Or uniquely biased,” Rosaline argued, and Poppy rolled her eyes. Figures she’d have a rebuttal. “Even you have to admit Cash Curran doesn’t have the greatest track record when it comes to relationships.” She braced her hands against the countertop, slightlyfarther than shoulder width apart. “Has he ever been in a relationship that’s lasted longer than a year?”
“Has Lyric?”
Rosaline’s lips flattened into a hard line and a muscle in her jaw jumped. “We’re not talking about Lyric.”
“If my client’s relationship history is fair game, I don’t see why yours shouldn’t be either,” Poppy demanded. “Sure, Cash has an Adriana and a Misha and a Rachel and a Blake in his past, but last time I checked, Lyric had a Gavin and an Alex and a Bryce and a Conner and a Nate in hers.”
Lyric wasn’t some wide-eyed ingenue and Cash wasn’t a mustachioed villain looking to steal her virtue or tie her to a set of train tracks. They were both adults and this was far from a first relationship for either of them.
“The difference is that the press calls your client a heartbreaker and makes cute quips about him playing the field, but the same outlets speculate on Lyric’s body count and write think pieces about why she can’t keep a man. They denigrate Lyric for doing the same thing they praise Cash for in the same breath. Don’t even get me started on the rumors. Lyric’s sleeping with all her friends. She’s secretly married. She’s having a baby. It’s brutal out there, even more so because Lyric isn’t just a woman, she’s a Black woman. So, no, we arenottalking about Lyric. Not when your client will come out of this smelling fresh as a fucking daisy, and I will be forced to not only clean up the mess he made but also put Lyric back together after suffering yet another heartbreak at the hands of a guy who claimed to be different.”
Dating was difficult enough. Doing it while the whole world watched? Poppy shivered. No, thank you. To think that Lyric had been living that nightmare since she was fourteen? Poppy’s heart went out to her. “I’m not going to pretend to understand the levelof scrutiny Lyric faces on a daily basis. I’m definitely not claiming Lyric and Cash are going to be treated remotely similar by the press. But it’s not fair to act like Cash holds all the cards here.”
Her brows rose. “Meaning?”
“Ninety-five million followers.” Poppy tried to mimic Rosaline by arching a single brow. “Youdo the math.”
“Lyric’s follower count isn’t going to spare her the pain of heartbreak.”
Poppy rolled her eyes. “No, but in the court of public opinion, Cash is going to get crucified by Lyric’s legion of diehard fans if the blame for a potential breakup gets placed on his shoulders. Even if it’s not true, you and I both know perception is reality. You’re telling me he won’t get absolutely inundated with hate mail? That his notifications won’t be flooded, that some of Lyric’s especially loyal fans won’t buy tickets to his games just to heckle him? That some Pathfinders fans who are also fans of Lyric won’t cancel their season tickets, that the team won’t lose money, that Cash might not get released from his contract early if management thinks he’s more trouble than he’s worth?”
That Poppy, consequently, might not lose her job.
“Dating someone as high-profile as Lyric isn’t without its risks.” Rosaline shrugged, as good as confirming that she had the power to ruin Cash and, by association, Poppy. All in a day’s work for Rosaline Sinclair. “Just like being an athlete isn’t without risks. Cash could tear his ACL tomorrow and never play football again and yet he gets out on the field every Sunday. In ten years, he could be a washed-up nobody sitting in a bar talking about how he used to be someone. Most athletes have some sort of backup plan.”
“And Lyric could develop vocal nodes and lose her four-octave range.” If looks could kill, Poppy would’ve slumped over deadatop the kitchen island. “My point is, I could just as easily ask you if being the wife of a professional athlete is Lyric’s backup plan, but I won’t because—”
“—it would be patently ridiculous?” Rosaline laughed.
“BecauseI have more respect for her than to assume she’s a cleat chaser.” Not that there was anything wrong with exclusively looking to date athletes. “I’m not saying you have to like Cash. Hell, I’m not saying you can’t have your own private thoughts and opinions about whether this relationship is going to last, whether youwantit to last. I’m only asking that you afford Cash and me that same respect. Don’t start us—himoff at a disadvantage. Please.”
Her heart hurled itself against the wall of her chest and her hands shook as she reached for her soda. She, Poppy Peterson, had just looked Rosaline Sinclair in the eye and asked Rosaline to respect her. Her voice didn’t even quiver. Maybe she didn’t need one, but for that alone, Poppytotallydeserved a gold star.
“That girl out there?” Rosaline said, jerking her chin toward the hall where the rest of the house was and the presumed door leading to the back patio. “She isthesingle most important person on this planet to me. She’s been through more than most people twice her age and she has achieved more than most people could dream of achieving intwolifetimes. But the fact of the matter is the higher you climb, the harder you fall, and there are people out there looking for any excuse to tear her down. This life? It’s not for the faint of heart. Most people? Can’t handle it. They think they can, but after a while it all gets to be too much. Lyric deserves someone who won’t exploit her fame but isn’t afraid of it either. Someone who’s ready to be there with her, every step of the way, through the good and the bad.” She pinned Poppy with a hard stare. “Can you tell me, honestly, thatyou believe Cash is that person? It’s a lot to ask of someone, I know, but if Cash can’t handle this, he needs to get out now before Lyric is in too deep and gets her hopes up that maybe this time is going to be different.”
Poppy couldn’t make any promises, but she knew the type of man Cash was. He didn’t do things by halves. “When Cash is in? He’s all in.” Sometimes to a fault. Not that she was going to say that.She’d put her foot in her mouth enough times tonight already. “I’ve never seen him back down from a challenge and he isn’t afraid to work his ass off. Unless you’ve got a crystal ball, your guess is as good as mine whether this time is going to be different. The rest? That’s up to Cash and Lyric.”
Rosaline looked up at Poppy through her long, dark lashes and sighed. “Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you know Lyric has an album coming out in a month. We already discussed it before you got here, but she and I have agreed that—if tonight goes as well as she hopes it will—it would be prudent to keep focus on the album. I don’t want its release overshadowed by a relationship that could very well be a flash in the pan.”
“Keep focus on the album,” Poppy parroted. They could save so much time if Rosaline just said what she meant instead of speaking in riddles. “Meaning what exactly? Wait—don’t tell me. It involves another NDA.”
By the time this was all said and done, Poppy would be able to recite the verbiage of Rosaline’s NDAs verbatim.
Rosaline crossed her arms. “Until the album drops, I don’t want to hear any whispers about Lyric’s love life, only buzz about her music. For the next month, discretion will be of the utmost importance. That means no public outings or dates, no online exchanges anyone can pick apart, and absolutely no pictures. Cash Curran will keep Lyric Adair’s name out of his mouth. He willnot tweet about her. He will not talk about her. He will not wear her merch. Interview questions will be vetted ahead of time by yourself well in advance. If a situation arises where youcannotvet the questions, such as during a postgame press conference, Cash will answer any and all questions pertaining to Lyric in an appropriately vague manner. Do you think he can handle that?”
“I don’t foresee any of that posing a problem for Cash.”
