Page 47 of You Wish
“Darlin’, you aren’t a distraction.”
She ignored the little flip in her chest. “You say that now. But in two weeks when you’re back in season you’ll see that we can’t work.” Before he could try to convince her otherwise, she said, “And I’ll talk to Rachel.”
Georgia didn’t even knockas she stormed into Rachel’s room, the door slamming behind her. Rachel was on her bed in flannel pajama bottoms and a button-up blouse. Her laptop was open,and she was engaged in a conversation with someone on the other end.
“Roger, I’ll have to call you back.”
Rachel shut the laptop and barely glanced up, leaning back against the headboard as though she’d been expecting this exact moment.
“You promised me, Rachel,” Georgia said calmly, when what she really wanted to do was scream and stomp her feet. But Rachel was important to Jake and Jake was important to Georgia. So, she wanted to keep things as polite as possible.
“You swore these wouldn’t leave your hands,” Georgia said, opening her phone and tossing it onto the mattress. Jake stared back from the screen, in his uniform, standing by a car that she promised the owner wouldn’t be used for anything other than a professional campaign. “And now they’re everywhere.”
Rachel tilted her head. “They weren’t exactly secret, Georgia. I just shared them strategically.”
“Shared them strategically?” Georgia’s voice sharpened. “Do you even realize what this does to me? My job, the project, everything I’ve worked for—you’ve put it all at risk.”
Rachel leaned forward slightly, a flicker of something sharp in her eyes. “My job is to promote Jake and Jake only. Those photos were great behind the scenes of a driver. It humanizes him. People eat this stuff up.” She opened her phone to Instagram where there were over a million likes. “See.”
Georgia’s fists clenched. “I don’t care about him!”
“Clearly, or you wouldn’t be chasing an unrealistic dream.”
Georgia wanted to argue back that she wasn’t the problem here, but today wasn’t about her and Jake’s complicated relationship. It was about the campaign.
“You promised you wouldn’t jeopardize me, and now—” Her voice caught. “—now I could lose everything. And you’re acting like it’s nothing. Do you have any idea how mad my boss is?”
“No, and for that, I am sorry. I didn’t see the big deal at the time, but it appears that I underestimated the situation.”
Underestimated?Georgia had explained exactly what the situation was. In fact, the longer they talked, the angrier Georgia became. This wasn’t about “a day in the life.” This was about Rachel’s dislike of Georgia’s current proximity to Jake. Pure and simple.
“I’m thinking bigger picture, here,” Rachel said. “You’re stuck on one moment; I’m thinking of the next year. The bigger picture.”
Georgia’s voice rose, fierce and raw. “Bigger picture? What about the kids? The kids who were supposed to meet their heroes because of this project. You think they’ll get their wishes now, if my boss decides to shut this down and cut funds due to lack of control over the project?”
“Wow,” Rachel said, arms crossed and voice dripping with faux innocence. “So now I’m the villain who ruined a bunch of sick kids’ dreams? That’s rich.”
“Rachel, that’s not what I said—” Georgia started, but Rachel was already rolling.
“No, no, I heard you loud and clear. ‘Their wishes might be at stake.’” She made air quotes. “You make it sound like I stomped on their hope and mailed it back in a box marked ‘return to sender.’”
Georgia bit back a sigh. “I said the timing mattered. The whole point was to unveil the campaignwiththeir stories.”
“And I did unveil it,” Rachel shot back. “I gave this project attention, I gave it visibility. Isn’t that the point of a wish? To have someone hear it and make it happen? I just sped up the process. You should be thanking me.”
“Thanking you? You seem to be going out of your way to complicate an already complicated situation.”
Rachel’s posture softened, and she flicked her eyes toward the photos, then back to Georgia. “They’re just a few photos, but I am sorry you got caught in the crossfire.”
Crossfire? Georgia had been in the crosshairs of Rachel’s arrow since they first met ten years ago.
“I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, but there were promises made, dozens of people putting their literal tears into this, and a carefully crafted release that had been put in place long before Jake even signed on. These pictures threaten that. If my boss cancels this project, it affects my ability to fulfill kids’ dreams. Kids who don’t have a whole lot to look forward to.”
Needing a moment to gather her emotions, Georgia paced, her hands trembling with frustration. “I promised them. I promised myself I’d make this happen. And if this project falls apart because of your carelessness, we lose out. Me. My team. The kids. Not Jake. Not you.”
“I understand and I’m sorry.”
“Did you do it because you want to get back at me for what’s going on with Jake?”
