Ria nods with a smile, sitting back on the sun lounge as I swipe to answer.
“Hey, Oliver.”
“Nate, hear you had a wild afternoon yesterday with Lunar?”
Mm… guess news travels fast.
“Yeah, just wanted to relax a little. It’s been a crazy few days.”
“Are you feeling more relaxed now?” he asks with a slight tension in his voice that has me immediately on edge.
“I am… why?”
“Are you with Zaria?”
“Again, I am… why?”
“Can you put me on speaker?”
Raising my brow, I look to Ria, who’s watching me closely. “Sure, hang on.” I put my cell down and press the speaker button. “Okay, you’re on.”
“Hi, Zaria,” Oliver says cheerily.
“Hi, Olly.”
I blink, but she just smirks, like she knows exactly what she’s doing.
I could correct her, tell her no one calls him that—but what’s the point? Zaria’s a star. People like her get what they want, and apparently, that includes giving him a nickname whether he likes it or not.
I guess Oliver will correct her if he doesn’t like it.
“Okay, so I have some news.”Guess he’s fine with Olly.“The production team is backlogged, and it’s going to take some time to put the video together. But the good news is, they’ve given us some snippets to work with.”
“Work with?” I ask.
“Zaria, you know that clause in your contract that said we may do some press before the release to get a buzz going about you working with us?”
She looks at me and takes a breath. “Mm-hmm.”
“Well, we’re going to act on that while the production is happening. Get some buzz going, and thenBAM, once it’s out, everyone will want to see what all the hype’s about.”
I smile wider, knowing this means Ria will be around us for a bit longer.
“How long is thispromotional phasegoing for, Olly?”
Olly… ha!
“We’re thinking two to three months.”
We both nearly choke on thin air.
“That’s how long the production company is going to take?” Ria asks.
“Yeah, unfortunately, we picked a busy time.”
“I’m a little shocked here, Olly. I’m not entirely sure I can commit to that long. I know I don’t have anything lined up for a few weeks, but beyond that, I’m just not sure. I don’t know if I can make this happen. I will need to talk to my management team.”
I tense up, and Ria looks at me while chewing her bottom lip.
