Page 32 of Chance of Romance
Joanne cut her off. “Were you and Logan really fighting like the article said?”
Sabrina worked hard to sound composed and professional. “No. We’re more the talk-things-through type.” At least that was what Claire had said they’d be like if they were actually a couple. Sabrina wasn’t so sure.
Joanne pointed a manicured finger at her, saying in a singsong voice, “He looked pissed.”
“That was taken out of context,” Sabrina returned, unable to keep the sharp edge from her voice. “I’d like to avoid the topic of my relationship with Logan during our interview. Claire told me that was part of our agreement.”
Joanne straightened. “I know my job.” She tilted her chin as blush was applied to her face. “Just curious, you know, girlfriend to girlfriend.”
“Gotcha. So tell me all about how you gotThe Joanne Show.”
Those were the magic words because Joanne went off on an animated description of her gradual climb to her own show, from bit parts on TV, to a brief stint as cohost of a morning talk show, to taking a break to be a mom, going in a completely different direction and doing standup comedy, appearing on other late night talk shows, and then finally landing her own show.
Sabrina relaxed, glad to have the focus off her and also really entertained. Things went smoothly from there. Joanne began their interview with a shout-out to the Happy Endings Book Club, and Sabrina said a quick hello to her friends through the camera. Just thinking of them made Sabrina feel supported. They’d watch this later and cheer her on.
Joanne kept true to her word, not mentioning Logan at all during their interview, not even asking about Sabrina’s personal experiences at all. It was all about what Sabrina would recommend to people in different relationship situations, which was fun for Sabrina, tackling hypotheticals.
By the time the interview ended, Sabrina was elated.
“All clear,” the director said, and the lights dimmed, the cameras turned off.
“I really enjoyed our interview, Sabrina,” Joanne said warmly. “Thanks so much for choosing to appear on my show first.” That had all been Claire’s doing, being savvy to which shows Sabrina should do and in what order.
“My pleasure. I hope it was helpful to your viewers.”
“I’m sure it will be.”
She went backstage, gathered her things, and headed out the back exit, where her ride, another black Mercedes, waited. The moment she stepped outside, she froze, shocked by a crowd of paparazzi and reporters waiting for her. Holy shit! She was a relationship counselor, not a celebrity. Lights flashed in a flurry of pictures, momentarily blinding her. A microphone was shoved in her face. “Did you become a relationship counselor because you were left at the altar?”
Nausea roiled through her stomach, her skin cold and clammy.
More microphones appeared. “Are you going to Kevin’s wedding?”
“Was your article a revenge piece against Kevin?”
“How does Logan feel about Kevin?”
“Do you help other jilted brides?”
Only her family and friends knew about Kevin. Oh, God, she was going to be sick.
The chauffeur, a large muscular man in his forties, shoved his way through the crowd and hustled her into the backseat of the car. The car door shut as more questions were hurled at her. Her friends wouldn’t have betrayed her. She swallowed down bile and jabbed the lock on the door.
Someone pounded on her window, making her jump. The guy gestured for her to power the window down. She stared straight ahead, heart pounding, all of her nerves raw and jittery. A moment later, the car pulled away.
She rubbed her forehead. How did they know? And how was this going to bite her on the ass in her next interview? She grabbed her phone from her purse to call Claire. One of the publicists at Sabrina’s literary agent’s company had set up the interviews, but it was Claire who had personally contacted producers and smoothed the way. Only Claire had the pull to make demands on what topics were off-limits in Sabrina’s interviews. Besides, she knew she couldn’t count on her literary agent to run interference. When Sabrina had shared her concerns with Joyce about the psycho relationship counselor possibly sabotaging her, Joyce had cheerfully replied, “No such thing as bad publicity!”
The moment Claire answered, Sabrina told her everything, the story tumbling out in a rush of words.
“Sabrina,” Claire said firmly, “I want you to take a breath, in and out. Stay calm. The last thing you want is to arrive at your hotel, find more reporters waiting for you, and blurt something in your emotional state.”
“Okay,” she managed in a strangled voice. She took a deep breath in and out.
“Now let’s take this one thing at a time. I’ll make some calls to the other talk shows to be sure that Kevin is not a topic for any interview. Give your agent the heads-up. If the producer doesn’t sign off on it, tell your agent to pull the interview.”
She ran shaky fingers through her hair. “Okay, okay.”
“Now who knew about Kevin?”
