Again, Griffin focused on breathing.
“Griffin, you there? This is how you tell me you have a new girlfriend? And a librarian stalker extra?”
“We only just met—and she’s not a stalker, god.”
“Hang on a sec.” Natasha spoke to someone else, their voices muffled. “And now I’m looking at a video posted online of you doing some crazy driving. You busted up a barrier arm at the hospital? Shit, Griffin!”
“We were escaping some paps.”
“Photos, videos—popping up as I watch.Griffin Hart’s Road Rage. What were you thinking? This is gonna make the goddamn news.”
“I can’t explain, but our hands were forced.”
“If you can’t explain, how the hell am I supposed to? You’ll be lucky not to be arrested.”
“Believe me, you don’t need to be on my back about this.”
“Oh, jeez, and now I’ve got your publicist here. Show him in,” she called. “I’ve got Griffin on the phone now.Youtalk to him.”
Lana’s phone started ringing, and she silenced it.
“Griffin!” Elliott drawled. “You are a pain in my ass.”
Griffin took a corner too tightly and hastily corrected. “We’re fine, thanks for asking.”
“You’re supposed to tell me when the shit hits the fanbeforeit hits the fan, not after there’s shit sprayed all over me. You never want me to tell anyone anything, but you also wallop my ass when things leak. You can’t have it both ways. I have a mind to fire you.”
“You work forme, Elliott.”
“I don’t have to, you know. Doesn’t make me look good when your face is popping up everywhere and I’m getting calls and I don’t know what’s going on.”
Griffin noticed Lana had gone rigid. She was looking at her phone—a news site. Shit. Time to get his priorities straight.
“Good talk, guys. Look, I pay you stupid money to deal with this crap, so I’m gonna leave you to deal with it.” He ended the call. “Lana?”
“They’re right, it’s everywhere. This headline says I’m ‘refreshingly dumpy.’ I think they mean it as a compliment. ‘Boldly unadorned and unapologetically dorky.’ ‘Griffin Hart’s plain Jane stalker girlfriend.’ Stalker?”
“Oh shit, Lana, don’t even look at that.”
She flicked to another site. “Extra, Extra, Read All About It.”
“Lana!” He grabbed for the phone, but she yanked it away.
“Shelved: The Mousy Librarian and the Movie Star.”
“Put. The. Damn. Phone. Down. Please, Lana.” His voice caught, and that got her attention.
“You’re right.” She flung it into the footwell like it was a large spider. “I’ve never been in the news before.” He took a corner at speed, tires squealing, back swinging out, missing a parked car by a fraction of an inch. Lana gripped the dash and her door. “What do we do? Will you put out a statement?”
“No. We don’t give it oxygen.”
“But … but … they called me a stalker!” What happens when it becomes clear we’re not together? Will they retract all this? Will I become thedumpeddumpy librarian? I’m supposed to be back at work on Tuesday. And could you slow down!”
He took a breath and eased the pace. “I don’t like this bullshit any more than you do, but it’ll blow over, it always does. We just have to ride it out. You never want to address every little thing that’s misreported.”
“Little? This might be little to you but it’s not to me!”
“That’s not what I meant. As long as we don’t feed the beast, it’ll find something else to devour.”
