Page 27 of Roping the Rodeo Queen
Jo rises with me."What do you have in mind?"
"We make this the most honest thing rodeo's ever seen.No sugar-coating, no manufactured drama.Just real cowboys and cowgirls telling their stories."I gesture toward the window, where the ranch spreads out under the Montana sky."We show what it really means to fight for something you love."
Sarah claps her hands."I love it.Like a documentary series but with genuine heart."
"And actual ratings potential," Buck adds pragmatically."The network's going to eat this up.Authentic always sells."
I can't believe the way everyone I love is working so hard to make this happen for me and Jo.As for Brock and Maddie...We aren't interested in payback.
We want justice.
Chapter Fifteen
Truth and Consequences
Jo and I have everything to lose if our plan goes sideways.The press conference room at the Las Vegas Convention Center is packed tighter than a rodeo chute on championship night.Every reporter, photographer, and rodeo insider who could wrangle their way in is here, hungry for the next chapter in what Buck's been calling "the scandal of the decade."I can feel Jo's hand trembling slightly in mine as we wait behind the curtain.
"You ready for this?"I whisper, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze.
She looks up at me."Ready as I'll ever be.You've got the evidence?"
I pat my jacket pocket where the flash drive feels like it weighs a hundred pounds."Right here.Everything Maddie's cousin sent over."
Turns out, Maddie Vale's own flesh and blood couldn't stomach the scheme she and Sterling cooked up.Her cousin works in tech support at Sterling's sponsor company and had access to their email accounts.One anonymous message to Buck later, and we had everything we needed---the original photos before they were doctored, email exchanges planning the whole setup, even receipts for the voice actor they hired to create that fake audio.
"Remember," Jo says, her voice remarkably calm, "we stick to the facts.No accusations we can't back up."
I adjust my bolo tie, which Jo had picked out for me.I'm wearing a proper suit for once, and it feels as strange as the first time I climbed on a bronc.But Jo insisted we should look the part today---professional, polished, unshakeable.
Buck pokes his head through the curtain."They're ready for you.And Clay?Sterling just arrived with his lawyer."
Perfect.Let him try to squirm out of this one.
As we step out into the blazing lights, the room falls silent except for the rapid-fire clicking of camera shutters.I scan the crowd and spot Brock Sterling immediately---he's sitting in the front row with some slick-looking lawyer in an expensive suit, both of them wearing expressions that could instigate a deep freeze in hell.
Maddie's nowhere to be seen, which tells me everything I need to know about loyalty among thieves.
Jo and I take our seats at the podium table, and I'm struck by how composed she is.The woman who once kicked me out of her truck and handed me cab fare has transformed into someone who could command any room she enters.Seeing her this way makes me want to drag her behind the curtains so I can do dirty things to her.
"Thank you all for coming," Jo begins, her voice carrying clearly through the packed room."Clay and I called this press conference to set the record straight about recent allegations regarding our relationship."
A reporter near the back raises her hand."Miss Callahan, are you denying that your engagement was fabricated for publicity?"
I lean forward, folding my hands on the table."We're not denying anything.That's why we're here---to tell the truth, all of it.We'll take questions in a moment."I gesture for the reporter to wait."First, we have information to share."
Jo squeezes my thigh under the table as she faces the crowd."For the past several weeks, there have been accusations that Clay and I fabricated our relationship for publicity and financial gain.Today, we're here to present evidence that not only proves these accusations are false but also reveals who orchestrated this smear campaign against us."
The room buzzes with whispers as I connect the flash drive to the laptop.The projector screen behind us flickers to life, displaying the first email from Brock to Maddie.
"What you're seeing," I explain, "is correspondence between Brock Sterling and Maddie Vale, detailing their plan to discredit us before the PRCA campaign selection."
Sterling's face has gone pale.His lawyer is already on his feet, whispering frantically in his ear as the evidence is displayed for everyone to see.
"Need I remind everyone," Jo continues, "that manipulating images and creating false audio to damage competitors' reputations violates multiple PRCA regulations and potentially constitutes defamation."
I click to the next slide---a side-by-side comparison of the original photo and the doctored version showing me supposedly handing Jo money.The timestamps and metadata are highlighted, proving the manipulation.
"As you can see," I explain, pointing to the screen, "this image was altered to suggest a financial transaction between us, when the original clearly shows me handing Jo her hat after she dropped it outside the honky-tonk in Durango."
