“How did you know about her affair?” I asked.
“Darlin’, I know everything that happens in this business. Everyone in town knew she was meeting him at the Noelle. He’s Craig Beckett, VP of A&R at Monument. Apparently, she thought she was being subtle about it but pretty much everyone knew, including his wife. He went back to her about thirty seconds after Dana left Hunter.”
“She blew up her marriage, and for what?” Ivy asked. “A tawdry affair?”
“That’s not what it was about.” I said. “She targeted a man who could help her career, which I had clearly failed to do.”
“You did nothing wrong,” Ivy said. “You can’t make a marriage work when one of you is all hat and no cattle.”
“That’s right,” Madeleine said. “Dana King will do anything to move her career forward. Obviously. This book is just another way to get noticed. I wouldn’t be surprised if a reality television show is next for her. But that’s neither here nor there. Let’s talk about how we fix this and keep your reputations intact. Dana controls this narrative right now because she’s the only oneout there blabbing her mouth. The moment someone else starts talking, the narrative shifts. So let’s fight back.”
“What do we do?” I asked.
She turned her gaze toward Hunter. “Dana’s making you look like a cheater and that you purposely withheld songs from her that you gave to Ivy.”
“That was the label,” Ivy said.
“That’s right. Their aim is to make money. This will sound harsh, but Ivy, you’re a much better artist than she is and your star was rising fast. No one could stop that momentum once it started. So the label wanted you to have the best songs. It’s not a crime.”
“But it made one bitter woman,” Ivy said.
“That’s right. Okay, let’s go over a few things.” Madeleine ticked them off without referring to notes. “One, I don’t want any of you to address Dana or her accusations directly. The moment you do, you make her relevant to your story. And she isn’t. Two, we start to control what gets seen. Right now the world has two intimate photos circulating without your knowledge or consent, which is awful. I’m sorry, Seraphina, that something special between you was exploited.”
“Thank you,” Seraphina said. “It’s been hard. And embarrassing.”
“Well, let’s give them something better. We give them a glimpse of you two together, doing something ordinary — nothing staged or performative—but sweet. We’ll hire a photographer. Once we have pictures, I’ll get them out to the right places.” She paused. “You two have nothing to hide. You don’t need to act like you do.”
Seraphina nodded but didn’t say anything.
“And lastly, there’s another piece to it that works in our favor.” Madeleine looked at Seraphina steadily. “A romance author who finds her own love story isn’t a scandal but atriumph. Readers will love it. A single mom who writes about romances and loves country music finally gets a cowboy of her own? C’mon now. Seraphina, not even you could write a better story than that.” She tapped her fingers lightly on the table, clearly already ten steps ahead. “Hunter, I can get you People. A couple of podcasts. Counterattack on Dana. Give her a little of her own medicine. But this means you have to tell your side of things.”
Hunter leaned back slightly, running a hand over his jaw. “Am I supposed to tell everyone she had an affair? It seems so tawdry. Didn’t you just say we shouldn’t mention Dana in any of this?”
“That’s right. I don’t want you to talk about it directly.” Madison smiled. “But there are ways to communicate the truth without you stooping to her level. You talk about what a dark place you were in when your marriage ended.” She held my gaze. “You were heartbroken and went home to the people who raised you. Laid low. Licked your wounds. Got away from the noise. Wrote new music.” Madeleine’s eyes flicked briefly to Seraphina. “And then your life changed.”
A small pause.
“You met someone special. Someone one who brought you out of the dark place.” Madeleine closed her laptop halfway, like she’d already moved on to the next step. “We show the world your love story.”
Hunter frowned slightly. “What does that mean?”
“It’s pretty simple, actually.” Madeleine turned to Hunter. “Ivy sent me the recording of your new song. “Or Something Like That Anyway.”First of all, it’s absolute country gold. Love it. And it tells the story of your marriage pretty clearly. And here’s what we’re going to do with it.”
Ivy straightened. “Yeah?”
“We drop it the same day Hunter’s interview goes live,” Madeleine said.
“Oh, that’s perfect. I’ll announce that I’ve left my record label,” Ivy added. “And that I’m putting out a new Hunter Sloan song.”
Madeleine nodded. “Exactly. And you perform the song everywhere. I’ve got a contact at several streaming services. I can call in a favor to make sure we get that song played the day it comes out. We make it impossible to ignore.”
“The song says it all without us having to say anything specific?” Ivy asked.
“That’s right,” Madeleine said.
“It’s genius,” Ivy said, grinning. “And I don’t have anyone at the label telling me what I can and cannot record or say, so it’s ours to do what we want with.”
“Heck, yeah. Anyway, you don’t need a room of men telling you what to do,” Madeleine said. “I’m bossier than a table full of music execs who’ve never been told no by a woman, so be warned. I’m no shrinking violet. More like a tumbleweed no one can get rid of.”
