A tall man in a bespoke suit opened the door, his face a mask of irritation. “What?”
A pretty blonde woman moved around the giant man and stuck her hand out to me. “Kate McCain. I’m with the PR firm that works with the school. Come in.”
As soon as I stepped inside I wished that I hadn’t. Sitting along the back wall of the office were the Ford brothers and they didn’t look happy to see me. Even as my stomach dropped, though, I had to fight an unhinged giggle at the image of them sitting there like little boys waiting outside the principal’s office. They looked just as sullen and pouty as little boys would, too.
“Go ahead and sit down, Cass. You prefer Cass, right?” Kate pointed to the chair beside Weston and I had to fight with my body to take the chair. “I’ll be blunt. Things aren’t good for you all. That picture is bad. I’ve already explained to these guys how horribly this could go for all of you. Your name is all over the internet right now and I don’t know if you’ve seen what people are saying, but it isn’t good.”
I squeezed my hands together in my lap and nodded. “I’ve seen it.”
“Then you know that you need help. I gather that you know Savannah Ford and her three boyfriends? Well, we need to recreate what they have.” She handed me a folder and sighed when I just continued staring at her. “You’re going to fake date these guys and pretend like you’re a happy, loving, new age couple. It’ll save all of you from more bad press and if we play it right, we’ll get people on your side in all of this.”
I snapped my head around to face Weston but he was refusing to look at me. Cash met my gaze and frowned before looking away. I sighed and looked back at Kate. “It’s not going to work.”
“You’re seriously not going to help us after what you did?” Hayes ran his hands through his hair and scowled at me. “We don’t want this but if there’s no other way, we’ll do it.”
I squeezed my hands together even harder. “I just meant that it isn’t going to work because you hate me and it’s clear you hateme. I doubt we’ll look like some Stepford relationship when you guys can’t even look at me.”
“They’ll get their shit together to save their asses.” The man shot a challenging look at each of the brothers. “I don’t like the idea but if it has a chance in hell at working, you all have to commit.”
“We can fake it.” Cash tilted his head as he looked at me. “And if we need help,Casscan train us in the art of faking.”
I stood up and moved towards the door. “I can’t do this.”
I barely made it out of the office before Kate was at my side, walking with me. She was shorter than me and had to practically jog to keep up but I didn’t slow down for her.
“Listen to me. This is your one chance to change the narrative about yourself. You think the online hate is bad right now? It only gets worse. And it will follow you. You’re a sports medicine major. You will never get a job if this is the way you leave things. You know what people are saying. You’re not only being portrayed as a bully, but as a whore.”
I stopped walking and turned on her with my arms crossed. “And you think me pretending to date all three Ford brothers at once is somehow going to stop people from thinking I’m a whore?”
“No one’s calling Savannah Ford a whore.”
I winced and turned away. “Thanks for that.”
“I get it. It’s harder for women. It sucks, it’s bullshit, fuck the patriarchy. I’m right there with you. None of that changes our reality, though. This will always be a dark cloud hanging over you. If you take action and make it seem like you’re a changed woman, in love with three men at once, you at least have a chance to come out of this with enough positive name recognition that a team will take a chance on you. Walk away right now and you’re done. You already got kicked off the cheer team. That’s just the beginning.”
The back of my eyes burned suddenly. I shook my head and met her pitying gaze. “What?”
“No one told you yet?” She glared back at the office. “Fuckers. Look, do this. Things can get better for you. You don’t deserve all this hate but there’s no fixing that unless you do this. I’m sorry. I don’t know the truth about that shit with USC but I can see how hurt you are right now. I don’t want to do this to you but there’s not another way to get you to the other side. Do this. I don’t get anything from saving anyone’s asses. I’m only at this firm until I can leave. I am in the throes of a boy’s club. I understand that things aren’t fair. Do this for you. So you have a chance.”
I looked away and wiped my eyes. “I really got kicked off the team?”
She winced and nodded. “I’m sorry I dropped that on you. I thought you knew.”
I took a deep, shuddering breath and blew it out slowly. I’d been through worse. Being around three men that I felt a connection to when they hated me was hardly the first time I’d practiced unrequited care. “Okay.”
She took my hand and her entire demeanor softened. “It’s for the best.”
I followed her back into the room, ignoring the guys. I sat back down and wrapped a hard shell around myself. I could get through anything if I tried. I wasn’t willing to ruin my career and future over a mess I’d made because of Savannah and The Apex Three. Sitting up straight and strengthening my reserve, I negotiated. “I need clinical experience to fill my resume and graduate on time. I want to be one of the massage therapists for the football team.”
“Deal.”
“No fucking way.” Weston snarled the words at the same time Kate agreed. He turned on her. “No. It’ll be hard enough to fakethis shit for just a few hours a week. I’m not playing house in the locker room, too.”
“Oh, it’s going to be more than a few hours a week. This has to be believable.” Kate scowled back at him. “And you don’t make the rules here. I do.”
The man snorted. “Sure, Katie.”
I stared him down until he looked at me and crossed his arms. “You must be part of the boy’s club. Lovely.”
