‘Jules! So, thiswasyour doing?’
‘No, not exactly. I mean… sort of.’
‘Explain better.’
He took a deep breath. ‘I should probably back up a bit, start from the beginning.’
‘Good idea.’
He came over and fell into the armchair next to me. ‘You know the expressionthere’s no such thing as bad publicity?’ he asked.
‘Of course. I know people who’ve built an entire career around that philosophy.’
‘Well, once you agreed to be the face of Aetheria and I told Niki, she was wary.’
‘Nikiwas? But she and I have got along just fine. I thought she liked me.’
Apart from that odd exchange in her office earlier, which I didn’t mention.
‘No doubt she does,’ replied Julian, ‘but she still found it problematic.’
‘Because we used to be married?’
‘Yes.’
‘But how is that connected to the photo? And why would you allow her to set me up like that?’
‘It wasn’t a set-up, Ally – that was a genuine moment between us. I only learned about the photo after the fact. Minh took it.’
‘Okay,’ I said, my anger dissipating by a fraction. ‘But you agreed to the post, right?’
Reluctantly, he nodded. ‘Niki convinced me it would generatebuzz– that’s the word she used.’
‘Well, it’s certainly done that. But do you haveanyidea how much damage this will cause – hasalreadycaused? My followers watch everything I do, hang off every word I say. And when my actions are counter to the core ethos of Divorced Diva – especially my adage that an ex is an ex for a reason – they become disillusioned. In me. In my platform. And that impacts our charity work… God, Jules, you know how hard I’ve worked.’
‘I do –truly. And I’m sorry. It was misguided but I only agreed because… well…’
I’d never seen Julian this contrite before –ortongue-tied. But that didn’t mean he was off the hook. He’d better have a bloody good explanation for what he’d done.
I folded my arms across my chest. ‘Well? Go on then.’
‘Right. Well, this may come as a surprise, but I’m in a bit of a bind – and not just losing Emma Watson as our spokesperson.’
What came as a surprise was Julian admitting he was in trouble – and so readily. When I’d planted the seed earlier, I’d thought it would take much longer for him to trust me with his problem – if he ever could.
While it didn’t disappear entirely, the Instagram-post matter receded into the background. Julian reallywasin trouble.
‘Tell me, Jules. You know I’ll do whatever I can,’ I offered.
‘Look, it’s complex and all my own doing and I really don’t want you caught up in it any more than you already are. Just know that I need Aetheria to be successful. It’s my… exit strategy, for want of a better term.’
None of this allayed my concerns. If anything, I became even more worried for him.Exit strategy?From what? What were he and Kovalec embroiled in? And where did Dale fit in?
Julian stared into his glass. After a long moment of silence, he tipped his head back, downing the rest of his whisky. He got up to pour some more and brought it back to the armchair, a faraway look on his face.
This Julian was a far cry from his typical affable self and a heavy stone settled in the pit of my stomach.
But what could I do to help? I quickly sifted through every solution that came to mind but there was only one I had any control over.
