Page 6 of 7 Nights of Sin

Chapter 3

Caro

Usually it took a lot longer to work out a contract between a PR firm and a client. Things were hashed out, prices were negotiated. But from what I heard from Sam and Gordon, Kevin's agent was desperate. Every day that went by was another day where more articles were being done about him. More talking heads on TV giving their two cents about Kevin's character.

I watched a bit of it, just because it would help me gauge where to start.

Most of the more sports minded people seemed to be of the opinion that men would be men, and Kevin was a sports great. One loud, ranting man on the major sports network went on and on about how Kevin was one of the youngest players in the history of the game to ever achieve the things he had achieved, and anything less than awe and respect was a disservice to his career.

His female counterpart had scoffed and asked if that meant the people had to overlook his indiscretions, which had sent the man into another spluttering rant.

Meanwhile, the midday talk shows were having a field day, playing clips from Rootless and showing the cover of the magazine with Christine's article in it, bringing up what a sweet woman and good actress she was.

The trending topics flipped from being supportive of Christine to talking about Kevin's general image, and it was clear that whether or not people believed what Christine had said in her interview, they were going to keep talking about it.

At least until the next superstar did something stupid or someone died. That was just the way those things went. Whatever was in the public eye was all they cared about until something bigger distracted them.

But sponsors were different. They had demographics to cater to, and moms weren't going to be happy buying cereal for their kids if it was endorsed by someone they thought was a bad influence. They just weren't. And major brands weren't going to take the chance on losing that kind of money.

So the urgency was understandable. It was a Tuesday, when Sam brought the matter to my attention, and by Wednesday evening, I'd had a phone call with Kevin's agent.

She had laid out what was at stake and what they were hoping I could do to fix it. In return, I'd given her my spiel. I would do everything I could to make her client look better, but it was going to have to be a team effort.

"His actions are going to have to match the spin I'm putting on things," I told her. "It won't work if I'm trying to sell him as reformed and he keeps doing the same things."

"I understand," she'd said, and she sounded tired. I could only imagine how much harder her job had been since the story broke. "And I'll make sure Kevin understands. He had the nerve to text me a list of rules for this whole thing. Can you believe it?"

I could, actually. It sounded like a Kevin thing to do. When I'd known him best, he was always trying to control things, trying to make sure things went the way he wanted them to. Not in a bad way, either. It just made him work extra hard. But he didn't have any say so here.

"Please inform him that I will do whatever it takes to do my job properly," I said.

"I told him he could fuck his rules," Kathleen said, and I laughed.

"That is one way to put it."

"He's going to be the reason I go gray before I'm fifty," she continued. "I'd like to set up a meeting between the two of you. It doesn't make much sense for me to play telephone, when you'll be working with him directly. I am sure you have a lot on your plate already, but the sooner we can get started with this, the better."

I'd already known that was coming. Of course it made more sense for me to meet with Kevin directly, however much I didn't want to. But, I reminded myself, this was business. It was just a job. I could do my job and do it well.

"Of course," I replied. "I'm available on Friday afternoon and then on Monday morning."

"Friday would be perfect. Should I have him call you?"

"No," I said quickly. "No, just have him meet me at the coffee shop on thirty-sixth. It's quiet and out of the way, so there shouldn't be any issues. Let's call it three p.m.?"

"Three on Friday," she repeated. "Perfect."

It was far from perfect. Thursday was spent trying to focus on building up my plan so I could lay it out for Kevin in the most professional way possible, but my head was a mess.

I kept wondering how much he knew. Had his agent mentioned my name? And if she had, was that good or bad? I had no idea how, or even if, Kevin thought about me these days. It had been going on six years since we'd last seen each other in person, and I didn't know what to expect.

The more prepared I was, the easier it would be, but it was hard to focus when I felt so unsure about what I was getting myself into.

But Kevin wasn't the only one who liked to control a situation. I hadn't gotten as far as I had by letting things get the better of me. So on Friday, I was dressed in my best business suit, with my portfolio case in hand as I strode into Grinders at twenty until three.

Very early, but I wanted to choose the table and have time to prepare myself before he came walking in.

As usual, the place was pretty quiet. I usually used the shop as a neutral place to meet with clients, since it rarely saw too much foot traffic, and there wasn't a lot of chance for clients to be ambushed by fans or photographers.