Erica’s jaw set in a firm line. Her eyes were determined, and her nostrils flared. “I’m ready. I woke up with my Meredith hat on this morning. We are going to do an amazing job.”
“Damn straight.”
Susan kept going, calling on each individual, getting every single one prepped and ready.
I was amazed. If she called on me, I would be too stunned to respond. This wasn’t the Susan that I’d met as Tara’s best friend, who hated me, or who wanted to keep tabs on my friendship with Jake. This was a leader. She had charisma. She stood there with confidence, and a buzz was filling the room. It was contagious. Everyone wanted to do their best work, even Erica, who hated Susan but didn’t hate her on this day. Every other day, yes, but not this day.
They were a team that day.
I almost wanted to be a part of their team, but then I remembered this was the media, and my sanity returned.
Someone tapped me on the elbow, and I looked to see a hotel employee.
He leaned close as Susan was still calling on people. “Are you Joslyn Keen?”
“Yeah.”
He handed an envelope to me. “I was asked to give this to you.”
After I took it, he left, scurrying away with his shoulders hunched forward. I frowned at him and then looked down. The envelope was the hotel’s stationery.
Erica leaned over. “What was that about?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Moving away, I went to a corner before I opened it. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Erica, but I was standing in a room of media. I ripped open the envelope, and I was thankful there were no prying eyes. A key card was inside along with a note.
I reserved this room for the day. No one knows about it. It’s intended to be used if I need a hideout from people, but you can use it, too. This day might be hard for you. They always are for me.
Room 914
—K
The doors to the conference room burst open at that moment. A heavyset man rushed inside, closing them behind him. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving up and down. Everyone quieted, waiting for him.
He said, “They’re here.”
Kian had arrived.
The room went nuts but in a controlled sort of way. They were already doing their jobs, but a quiet, intense concentration permeated the room. They were nervous.
Erica found me in the crowd. Her eyes were lit up and dilated. She clutched on to my hand, the same one that held Kian’s note, and she squeezed. “Are you ready? It’s happening. And, holy shit,”—she moved closer, lowering her voice—“he is really freaking hot. Cripes. He’s gorgeous on TV and in the pictures, you know, but it’s another thing in person.” She pulled her collar out and pretended to fan herself. “And I’m going to be alone in a room with him soon. Well,”—she nudged my elbow—“you and I will be in that room with him.”#p#分页标题#e#
“And camera people, right? And sound people and people for lighting? Right?”
“Oh, yeah.” Erica craned her neck as a crowd had formed around Kian by the door. “Them, too.”
Suddenly, everyone paused. The doors opened again, and it was surreal. A blanket of stillness settled over everyone, even to some server in the corner, who was sneaking a handroll from the buffet table.
Kian walked in.
Everyone in the room all seemed to be holding their breaths, just watching him.
He looked refreshing, to be honest. He was relaxed and confident. A group went to him, and I could only see the top of his head. There were a few people with him, and I tensed, trying to see if he had followed through. I couldn’t see his sister.
When Susan joined the group, they migrated to the front of the room where two chairs had been set up. The whole production was top-notch and professional. I hadn’t been joking about the lighting, sound, and camera people. Bright lights were centered on the two chairs in the front, and cords ran all over the place, leading to cameras and other video machines.
That was when I clued in. I asked, “You guys are videotaping the interview?”
They were a newspaper. I hadn’t considered why cameras were there, but I was now. They didn’t usually videotape their big interviews.
“Yeah. With this one, we are. We’re doing a normal interview, meaning that we’re going to write it up, but Susan wants to see if a video would bring in more revenue.” Her head moved close again, and she whispered, “Personally, I think she wants to shop it around and see if we can get on a big network and have them show it.”
“And Kian’s team was okay with that?”
Erica lifted a shoulder, riveted, as Kian was shown to one of the chairs. Susan was standing by the next one—touching his arm, smiling at him, laughing, leaning closer to him, showing the side of her boob to him. I was gritting my teeth before I’d realized it.