“Welcome to being famous,” Dylan replied. Almost immediately, it became clear he had heard the bitterness in his comment, and he tried to pull it back. “Sorry. That came out shitty.”
“It came out honest,” she replied. “I’m used to media attention, but not like this.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “All right. My team’s PR wants me on the phone, and I’m guessing Dylan’s people are calling him too. We need to decide what we’re giving them.”
Dylan exhaled sharply. “My manager already texted me. Just the words ‘Call me.’ That’s always fun.”
Faye let out a small sound, halfway between a laugh and a sob. “I can’t believe they’re framing it as cheating.”
“It’s clickbait,” I corrected. “They don’t care about the truth.”
“I don’t want this to ruin your season,” Faye whispered.
“It won’t,” I promised, and I meant it, even if I didn’t yet know how.
Dylan made a noise of disbelief. “Jase, you’re sweet, but it might get messy.”
“I can handle messy,” I claimed, hoping Icouldhandle any consequence. “What I’m not doing is letting them write our story for us.”
Faye went quiet, then asked, “Are you mad?”
“At them?” I inquired. “Yeah.”
“At me?” she pressed. Her words came out small, which pissed me off in a different way because she should never have to ask that.
I softened my voice. “Princess, I’m not mad at you.”
Dylan’s breath hit the mic. “She’s not going to believe it until you say it five more times.”
“Then I’ll say it five more times,” I replied. “Faye, I’m not mad at you. I’m not mad at Dylan. I’m mad that they’re acting like you’re trash just because you hugged someone.”
She let out a shaky breath. “Okay.”
“What’s the plan, then?” Dylan cut in. “Ignore it and hope it dies, or get ahead of it?”
I didn’t hesitate. “We don’t make a statement today.”
Faye’s voice sharpened. “Why?”
“If we react immediately, it becomes a bigger story,” I explained. “My PR lady will want a clean quote. The White House will want something different. Your security team will want you off the grid. Someone’s going to try to control you, and I’m not letting that happen while it’s still fresh.”
“Also, if we make it about cheating,” Dylan added, “then it stays about cheating, and that’s not what it’s about.”
Faye swallowed. “So we ignore it?”
“For now,” I agreed. “We let the initial wave pass, keep our people calm, and stick to what we’ve been doing: neither confirming nor denying anything.”
“Then what?” Faye asked.
“Once we’re all together during the All-Star break, we can decide whether it’s time for us to go public. If it is, we do it on our terms.”
“I hate waiting.” Dylan blew out a breath.
“I do too,” I admitted.
Faye fell quiet again, then asked, “What if it doesn’t die down?”
“Then we’re honest,” Dylan replied, and it sounded as if he’d made peace with it, even if he didn’t love it.
