“The original plan was to use the commercial to position you as having found love through Cupid’s Arrow. That plays into your reputation. The man who helps everyone else find love finally finds it himself.”
“I’m aware of the plan,” I said tightly. “I approved it.”
“Right. But that was before we sawthis.” She gestured at the now-blank screen. “That commercial isn’t just good, Dane. It’s phenomenal. The chemistry between you and Ina is off the charts. Our test audience scores are through the roof. People are going to be talking about this.”
I felt a muscle tick in my jaw. “Get to the point.”
“The point is, why stop at the commercial?” Heidi leaned forward and I suddenly had the image of a supervillain in a Disney movie scheming. “Why not extend the narrative?Build up to the Valentine’s Day release with a coordinated PR campaign that drums up public interest in your personal life?”
“No,” I said immediately.
“It doesn’t have to be deep,” Heidi continued, completely ignoring my refusal. “Just a few strategic public appearances. You and Ina grabbing coffee. Having dinner. Being photographed together. Lucas’s PR team can coordinate the ‘paparazzi’ shots and we leak them strategically leading up to the commercial release. By the time Valentine’s Day hits, everyone is already invested in the story.”
Lucas, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, suddenly sat up straighter. “Actually, that could work. Dane’s personal life is famously private, but if we create a narrative around him finally letting someone in, it would generate massive buzz.”
I turned to look at him, feeling betrayed. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m always serious about good PR,” Lucas said with a shrug. “And thisisgood PR. Your private life is the one thing people can’t get access to. This would be like giving them a peek behind the curtain. Humanizing you.”
“I don’t need to be humanized. Iama fucking human.”
“You became a celebrity the moment you were named Most Eligible Bachelor,” Heidi countered. “And like it or not, you’re the face of this company. People want to know about you. So we give them something to know. Something we control, something that serves our narrative.”
Keith was nodding along, which made my blood pressure spike. “From a business perspective, it makes sense. If we can generate this kind of organic interest leading into our Valentine’s campaign, we could be looking at serious investor attention.”
“My personal life is not for sale,” I said, each word deliberate.
“It’s not youractualpersonal life,” Heidi argued. “It’s a controlled PR campaign. A performance. Ina already agreed to be in the commercial. This is just an extension of that. A few dates, a few photos, build the story.”
I looked at Ina, who was still studying the table like it held the secrets of the universe. She hadn’t said a word since sitting down. I could only imagine what was going through her head. Was she already thinking about the lawsuit she would bring against me for sexual harassment? If I were in her shoes, I would be. Clearly, PR and Marketing had not consulted Legal.
“This is perfect,” Heidi was saying, advancing to another slide. “Ina is exactly the kind of woman people wouldn’t expect you to be with. No offense,” she added quickly, glancing at Ina. “I just mean she’s not famous or anything.”
I felt something hot and violent flash through my chest.Wouldn’t expect you to be with.As if Ina wasn’t good enough. As if she was somehow beneath me.
I kept my expression neutral through sheer force of will.
“She’s girl-next-door beautiful,” Heidi continued, completely oblivious to the fact that I was imagining firing her on the spot. “Relatable. Approachable. The kind of woman that makes the fantasy feel achievable for our user base. And the genuine chemistry between you two sells it.”
“There’s one small problem,” Ina said quietly, speaking for the first time since the meeting started.
Everyone turned to look at her.
She took a breath, still not meeting my eyes. “I don’t have a Cupid’s Arrow account. I didn’t meet the minimum yearly income requirement.”
The room went silent.
I felt my hand slowly curl into a fist under the table.
“You don’t have an account?” Heidi repeated, sounding genuinely shocked.
“No. I applied when I first got the job, but I got rejected. The app requires users to have an income I don’t have. I don’t make anywhere near that.” Ina’s voice was matter of fact, but I could hear the slight edge underneath. “So the whole narrative about us meeting on Cupid’s Arrow doesn’t really work.”
Lucas made a dismissive sound. “We can just create a fake profile retroactively. No one needs to know the actual details.”
I rubbed a hand over my face, feeling a headache building behind my eyes.
This entire situation was a disaster.
