The phone’s back in my pocket, and my mind’s already spinning.
The academy. The press. My parents’ hydra heads snapping over nothing.
One girl. Five minutes. And they’re losing their goddamn minds.
I turn on my heel and stalk back down the corridor. The PR office is still buzzing when I shove the door open. Tinnie’s team jumps like they’ve been caught stealing, mid-sentence about how to convince me. Papers shuffle, tablets snap closed, throats clear in panic.
Only Tinnie doesn’t flinch. Her eyes cut to mine, knowing.
I plant both fists on the desk, leaning until the wood groans beneath my weight.
“Find her.”
“What?” One of the suits blinks, stammering.
“Track her down,” I bite out. “See if the little IT girl agrees to this shitshow.”
If she’s the match that makes all of this ignite, then I’ll strike it myself.
Chapter three
~JESSICA~
The paper rose sits on my kitchen counter, a little crumpled, but I managed to get it home safe, where it now mocks me from across the living room.
I’ve been lapping my small apartment like a rabid zoo animal since I woke up, one hand in my hair, the other waving my phone.
“There are one hundred and twenty thousand new people following me, Dannie.” I stop mid-step, staring at her. “Overnight.”
“Mhm,” she says, legs curled under her on the couch, sipping her coffee.
I shove my phone in her face. Notifications are still coming in so fast the screen looks like it’s having a seizure.
“Look at this! I woke up to… what even is this number? Two hundred thousand notifications? There are comments from people who didn’t even know I existed yesterday.”
“That’s an upgrade.” Dannie slurps loudly.
“An upgrade?” I stop pacing long enough to glare. “Half the comments are my followers going, ‘OMG, cute dress Jess, did you stitch that zipper by hand?’ And the other half are…” I scroll and read one out loud. “‘Gold-digging clout-chasing nobody.’ ‘Captain deserves better, idc.’”
I throw my head back. “I am not emotionally equipped for this level of internet psychosis.”
“They’re obsessed with you.” Dannie says, unfazed.
“No, they’re obsessed with him. Me? They want to skin me alive for touching him.” I run a hand down my face. “I had no idea I messed with the Captain.”
I flop onto the couch beside her, limbs heavy. “It was supposed to be a normal night with pizza and Netflix. And now I’m getting death threats.”
“They’re just rabid little puck bunnies,” Dannie says, reaching for her phone. “Happens to every girl who breathes in the same ZIP code as their hockey gods. And now your follower count is exploding. Your collabs are probably popping. Have you checked your inbox?”
“I’m too scared,” I groan, dragging a throw pillow over my face.
“There’s no such thing as bad press anymore, Jess,” Dannie says, patting the pillow. “The world finally sees you.”
I peek out from under the pillow. “It doesn’t see me, Dannie. It wants to eat me alive.”
She scoffs. “They’ll move on in a couple of days when he’s seen with someone else.”
The thought makes my stomach twist in a way I don’t want to examine.
