Page 129 of Every Move You Make

As I whip up a high-protein scramble, my mood shifts into something lighter with every passing idea, with every plan. I’m firing off text messages and emails as I’m setting the table with Cholula and utensils. I’m placing my bets and calling in favors because this isnothappening to me again.

Right as I’m about to bound up the stairs to wake up Isaiah, he’s making his way down in his boxer briefs.

“How much coffee did you make?” he grumbles as he rubs his eyes.

“A whole pot,” I grin and kiss his temple. “Sit. It’s time to make our plans.”

He groans, flopping into his seat at the table. “Can’t we just move away and live off the fat of the land?”

“Calm yourself, John Steinbeck. We’ll call that Plan Z.”

He studies me with heavy lids and a tilted head. “Why are you so chipper?”

“Eat,” I say. “And I’ll tell you what I’m thinking.” Bringing two mugs and a coffee carafe to the table, I sit across from him. “First of all, we’re going to come out of this. It’s not going to be easy and it’s going to hurt, but we’re going to do this.”

Isaiah looks skeptical when he glances into his fresh mugand back at me. “What did you put in here?”

“About sixty grand.”

“What?”

“That’s the retainer fee for my PR lady, Stephanie.”

“Dell,” he coughs. “Is that really necessary?”

“Yes! She works for my family. She’s been dealing with my antics for years, making sure our family and company stay in good standing regardless of my OnlyFans content, et cetera. She’s a total pro.”

“Dell, I don’t have that kind of money,” Isaiah says quietly.

“That’s fine because I’m paying.”

“You are not. This is—”

“Ourproblem,” I finish for him. “You two might be in the limelight right now, but I’m equal parts tied up in this.”

“Yeah but,” Isaiah starts, trying to find the words, “you don’t have to be. I’d understand if you stepped away.”

My eyes go wide. “If I left?” I shout. “Get a fucking CAT scan, dude, ‘cause I’m worried you’re losing brain mass.”

“That’s not really how CAT scans—”

“Whatever, you know what I mean,” I say with a flick of my hand and then slam my index finger into the table. “I’m not giving up on us. I fucking love you two andweare going to make it through to the other side. Got it?” Now fully awake, he stares, but nods. “Good. Now eat your breakfast. We’re going to Robyn’s place after we eat.”

“We are?”

“Yes. Stephanie is going to call me in the next hour, and I want our girl on the phone for this.”

“What about her parents?”

“Well, I’m hoping she told them enough about us to help grease the wheels, but we don’t have a lot of time to drag this out. The sooner we get ahead of this, the better. Plus, I’d rather we control the narrative than her parents, don’t you?”

“Baby, this is…” he trails off while pushing his scramble around the plate. “Should we maybe take some time to think about this first before getting PR involved?”

What is he getting on about? “What’s to think about? We need to protect her, right? We need to protect both of you. The sooner we can form a plan, the better.”

“I just think… maybe there’s another way we can go about this that doesn’t involve a whole team.”

“Isaiah,” I say gravely, “You need to recognize that Robyn isn’t some woman. She’s well on her way to celebrity status. Hell, I don’t even have the same following she does, but it was still necessary for me to hire a team to make me and my family look good. If you’re going to be in this with us, you need to know this is how the game is played.”

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