Page 3 of Christmas Crisis
When Stone and I began dating fourteen months ago, he’d been a somewhat well-known internet personality. His profile rose significantly after he was cast in an indie movie co-starring Naomi Butler, who’d been in the public eye since childhood with a role in a popular family drama.
Halfway through filming their movie, a few months after Stone and I became exclusive, Shoshanna and Naomi’s assistant hatched a scheme to drum up interest in the movie by having Stone and Naomi “date.” Up to that point, he and I had kept our relationship private. His friends didn’t know. I hadn’t even told my sisters. So the plan wouldn’t even require Stone and me to stage a breakup.
The prospect of watching my boyfriend go into public places with “America’s Sweetheart,” not to mention the physical affection they would need to engage in to perpetuate the ruse, hadn’t been my favorite thing. But since our relationship was so new, and with both their publicists convinced it was a prime opportunity, I hadn’t felt right vetoing the idea when Stone asked me.
To his credit, he made genuine efforts to ensure my comfort with the situation—short of not doing it, of course. He let me know exactly what was going on, detailing their plans at every turn.
I got texts at all hours that said things like:
STONE:Just warning you I need to kiss Naomi outside the restaurant when we leave. Shoshanna said it has to be on the lips. Sorry. *sad face emoji*
STONE:Shoshanna gave me a gold chain to wear with an infinity symbol on it. I have to tell people Naomi gave it to me and then always wear it. Sorry. *head smack emoji*
STONE:There’s an article coming out where Naomi got asked if I have a big *eggplant emoji* and she didn’t reply yes or no. (Shoshanna told her to just smile if someone ever asked her that question). Sorry. *green nausea face emoji*
That last one stung. At least no reporter had been gross enough to ask Stone whether he’d compare Naomi’s breasts to grapefruits or melons.
In truth, I got used to the situation quicker than I thought I would. It helped that when their deception began, I had a busy life of my own. My MBA program kept me plenty occupied, not to mention my family and friends, part-time job, and planning for a post-graduation career. In a lot of ways, having what amounted to an incognito boyfriend, someone I didn’t have to account to my friends and family about, worked for me. Most of the time.
And while Stone and Naomi dined at the trendiest restaurants and strutted across red carpets all over the country, he and I enjoyed cozy nights in and trips to private destinations.
Stone and Naomi had been pretend-dating for eleven months, and we’d achieved a stasis that worked for all of us. Stone got a girlfriend who grounded him in his non-celebrity life. Naomi gotto date an up-and-coming bad-boy type who helped modify her image. And I got a relationship with someone fun that required minimal effort or accountability.
But even though I’d settled into the arrangement, that didn’t mean I’d never questioned it.
Because a year was a long time for no one to know the truth about us. No one except me, Stone, Naomi, and their handlers.
And Leo.
“Honestly, I don’t think I would have agreed to it either,” I told Shoshanna.
She caught the undercurrent of my words, the implication that it was the PR teams who’d made things harder when they moved the finish line midway through the race.
Instead of honoring the original plan to have Stone and Naomi end their “relationship” amicably after the movie’s premiere, they’d insisted on maintaining the deception, arguing that the positive publicity was worth it.
I was usually a cool cucumber, but it wears on a gal after a while when the entire world thinks your boyfriend is in love with someone else.
Which was why I’d planned to bring the situation to a head sooner than later.
But not like this.
“Well, I guess it makes no difference what we would have done in hindsight.” Shoshanna exhaled noisily, drawing me from my thoughts. “The only thing that matters now is that every troll on the internet thinks Stone cheated on Naomi with @theadventurousmiranda, and they’re out for blood.”
“Should I delete the post? Turn off comments?”
“I'll get us on a video call with the publicist within the hour. Let’s see what she says. The damage is done. I’m not sure if it makes you look more guilty.”
Exactly my thoughts from earlier.
A call from an unknown number interrupted us.
“Gotta go, Shoshanna. I’m guessing that’s Stone.”
Five seconds later, I picked up with a sheepish, “Hello?”
“Hey, darlin’.” Stone’s slow drawl came through the phone. “Happy Thanksgiving… Soooo, I’m guessing you hit that vodka pretty hard after we closed out last night?” He chuckled low, and I could picture him shaking his head. “How are you doing with all this?”
I might have just ruined his career, and he was worried about me. Damn.
