Page 15 of Release
Go figure.
Rita then walked over to Alexandra, placed a hand on her shoulder as she looked down into her eyes. After a beat she said, “We have one more trick up our sleeves that willreallyget them talking. Send him in.”
She turned around when the conference room door opened. In walked Wilkes with an apologetic smile and his hands up in surrender. “Let the record show I had nothing to do with this.”
Awwww hell no.
“What’s going on?” Alexandra asked, sitting forward.
Rita smiled tightly and pointed at the display screen where graphics for Lexxi’s album pre-sales were still on display. Up popped a proposal labeled ‘Operation Wexxi’.
Operation what?
As Wilkes plopped down in a seat across from her, she got a crystal clear idea of what Rita and her team had in mind.
“Oh no. No no no no no no no. Absolutely not,” she protested, shaking her head with her eyes closed. “No way in hell, Rita. This is where I have to put my foot down.”
“You don’t like the blend of Lexxi and Wilkes, right? I know, it’s terrible, but we tried ‘Wilexxi’ and ‘Lewi’ and a combination of other tie-ins. None of them work.”
“No! It’s not the hybridized name that bothers me. It’s the very idea!” she said in vain.
Rita chortled and others joined in with her laughter. “Don’t be childish, Lexxi. This is marketing. It will be great for both of your careers. The two of you already had a very public, very amorous relationship, then you split unexpectedly, leaving your fans heartbroken. Wilkes has an album coming out soon, just like you do. What better way to ring in the new music season than with some fireworks? All you have to do is play up the idea that you two hooked back up. A few strategic appearances together should do the trick.”
Alexandra’s eyebrows clashed together, and her eyes narrowed. “That’s dishonest. I’m not doing it.” The rebuttal sucked, and did sound quite infantile, but it was the best she could come up with under the circumstances. They couldn’t have given her a heads up about this, because they probably knew she’d never have shown up for the meeting.
She glanced over at Wilkes. After the talk they had, he was sitting back looking equally out of his element. Still, he didn’t seem to be taking things as hard as she was. In fact, she would hazard a guess he was liking the whole situation.
Damn him.
It was the music industry. She knew folks in the business who did this kind of thing all the time, but she scowled thinking about being an even bigger fake, this time in her public relationship. It would be so unfair to Bash. If anyone should have been at her side now it was Bash.
This idea of Wilkes and Lexxi faking it for a few extra sales stank like five-day old summer socks. She couldn’t stand doing it. Not to mention she would be obligated to show up to functions and other places with Wilkes. Sure, they had patched things up somewhat, but that did not mean they were on good terms. For all Rita knew, Alexandra still wanted to smash his face in. Their pseudo-reconciliation was private. This craziness just showed it didn’t matter what was real or fake in show business.
“Oh, for God’s sake!” She threw her hands up, aggravated.
“Wait. Wait, now. Hold up, Lexxi. I can see the benefits here. Can’t you?” Wilkes asked.
Of course he’d see the benefits. Wilkes had an album he’d been trying to finish and get out for nearly a year, and the label had not shown much faith in him. He had one big hit single around the time they first started dating, but Wilkes was a pretty face and a nice voice. He didn’t seem ready to connect to his love for the music, and without that, he lacked staying power.
This whole thing seems messed up.
Why would Blaze want to align us?
What’s really going on here?
Could it be they think the only way to get their ROI from signing Wilkes is to have him ride on my coattails?
This is bullshit!
“Did you put them up to this, Wilkes?” she asked, deeply suspicious now.
“No! I didn’t do anything,” Wilkes said, vehemently denying it. “Baby, I told you when I came in here I had nothing to do with this, but listening to their pitch, I can see the benefits. Hey, we’re friends now. No hard feelings about the past. Nobody’s asking us to run around making out. We just need to be seen on a few red carpets together, and get some candid photos taken. How hard is that?”
Rita chimed in. “Look at other power couples. One celebrity is gold, but when you combine two hot celebrities, it’s platinum!”
The PR woman beside her nodded her head ecstatically. She was gushing, and the truth was they were right. It had been done time and time again.
Not this time.
