Page 18 of Ice Wolf
“And the Wild Dogs are expected to win the whole show. Right?”
My father nodded, pleading with his eyes.
“What do you think I can do?” I asked, praying to God I wouldn’t regret doing so.
“You know the PR business even if you’ve chosen to ignore it. You have a degree in public relations, and a minor in journalism. You have an incredible social media presence. Not too glamorous. Not too risqué. Just right, which means you know what not to post. You know how to spin tales and convince people to do the right thing. I’ve seen you do it several times when you interned for me.”
The longest months of my life.
“On top of that, since you’d be spending a significant amount of time with Mr. Masters, the fact you’re entirely different than anyone else he hangs around with will be helpful. You know. You’re sweet and intelligent.”
My dad meant vulnerable and far too naïve. Not this time. My father wasn’t providing me with all the information. “What am I supposed to do with this man to make him look better?”
“First you clean up his image. He’s not to be seen in bars and getting into fights. You’d handle all aspects of social media for him. Then you test his abilities.”
“You mean since they’re supposed to be more powerful since he’s a werewolf and all?” Just making the statement was ridiculous. How could anyone of any intelligence fall for such a horrible prank?
“You do understand. I knew you would.”
“If Saint is such a bad boy, he’s not going to want a chaperone let alone someone like me, Miss Sweet and Innocent telling himwhat to do and how to act.” My father was serious. I felt honored and suspicious at the same time. With such an important client, why put the weight on my shoulders?
“If Mr. Masters isn’t desperate by now, he soon will be. He lost his top three sponsors this morning. Millions lost. He needs help, Lily, and you’re the only one who can give it to him.”
“How long are we talking about?”
“If all goes well and you two connect, through the playoffs. Once they’re over, the situation will naturally begin to die down. A lot of people have money on the team.”
Another uh-huh moment. No one wanted their golden boy tarnished. At least not right now.
“How long for real, Dad?”
“Through June. Not that long.”
June felt like a lifetime to me.
“And if we don’t connect?”
He smiled. “You will.”
“Uh-huh.” My guess was the golden boy was a handful.
Dad smiled as if his offer had been accepted. “I assure you that I’ll make your valuable time worthwhile. After you return him to hero status, you’ll have plenty of money to work on your novel. A year or more. You won’t need to worry about taking care of yourself.”
Another slight dig. He’d always wanted someone to take care of me. Too bad, Dad. That just wasn’t going to happen. I had to admit, the thought of earning enough money so I could enjoywriting meant the world to me. And my father knew it. Bribery wasn’t beneath him.
Still, it was worth seriously considering.
However, not until he admitted the rest. “What aren’t you telling me, Dad? There’s always a spectacular ending when you ask for favors or provide news. In other words. Why did you really ask me for this favor?”
He acted wounded and I shook my head. “The money for the firm is fantastic plus the opportunities this could provide us are phenomenal.”
“What else? What do I need to do to ensure the game is bought by everyone?”
As he wrapped his fingers around his wineglass, I braced myself. “The two of you need to get very close.”
“How close?” I felt a nightmare coming on. Maybe it was the nerves or maybe I was angry with myself I was actually considering this.
“You need to keep up a certain façade. That you’re dating. You need to make it believable. You two are madly in love and that’s why he’s calming down. I assure you after some time, they’ll forget all about the werewolf story.”
