“Name one thing that’s not true.”
“All of it! It’s not any one thing. It’s the total effect of it, put together. You’ve made me sound like a saint.”
“The article is well-researched and every word is accurate.”
I scoff. “I funded your grant because I wanted to fuck you. Did you forget about that?”
Georgina folds her arms over her chest and leans back from the kitchen table. “Then why’d you pay for my father’s medication, on top of my salary? Why’d you donate so much money to the cancer charity, if your only goal was getting me into bed? Surely, you could have paid my measly little salary and nothing else, if you sincerely didn’t have any altruistic motivations.”
Well, shit. She’s got me there. I’ve already told her, repeatedly, I had parallel motivations on that front. So, fuck, I guess I need another tack. “Yes, okay, but you make it sound like I’m never selfishly motivated, in anything I do, and you know that’s a bald-faced lie. There’s always something in it for me.”
“Is that so? Why’d you help Keane with his career? His agent wouldn’t send him on any serious auditions, so you pulled strings, without a moment’s hesitation. What’d you get out of that?”
“Where’d you hear about that?”
“Kat.”
I roll my eyes. Fucking Kat. It’s no wonder her family calls her The Blabbermouth. “Did Kat bother to mention Josh asked me to do it?”
“You also helped Hannah get a job.”
“Because Henn asked me to do it. Whoop-de-do, I sometimes do favors for my two best friends. It hardly makes me a saint. Do you know how many favors they’ve done for me over the years? Josh paid for every fun thing we ever did in college. He flew a group of us to Thailand for spring break! Did you know that, after graduation, he’s the one who gave me a loan to help me get River Records off the ground? I owe everything to Josh for that loan. Just as much as I owe CeeCee for putting Rock ‘n’ Roll’s reputation behind a nobody-band called Red Card Riot. And don’t get me started on Henn. You already know that guy helps me left and right, in a million ways. And not just regarding occasional hacking. He’s my conscience. He keeps me sane and on the right track. So, okay, yes, I do nice things for my friends, sometimes. It doesn’t mean I have a ‘heart of gold.’ It only means I’m not a sociopath. But that’s hardly something to praise me for in a gushing piece of tripe.”
She giggles. “It means you’re fiercely loyal. Which is how I’ve described you in the article. Yet another thing I’ve said that’s totally true.”
I scoff. “I’m almost always motivated by selfishness, Georgina. One way or another. I just mask it well.”
She flashes me a look of total incredulity. “What about Zander? Were you being selfish when you helped him land a job as Aloha’s bodyguard?”
“Actually, yes! Ha! Aloha needed a bodyguard on her upcoming tour, and I knew Zander would be a perfect fit for her in terms of personality. And I also, selfishly, didn’t want Barry going on tour with Aloha himself—which was exactly what Aloha, little miss diva, was demanding. I selfishly wanted Barry to stay in LA and work on my shit. So, I pulled strings and arranged a win-win-win-win.”
“That doesn’t sound selfish. It sounds brilliant. Which, again, is exactly how I’ve described you in my article.”
“Georgie, I get what I want by giving other people what they want, too.”
“Exactly.” She laughs. “Wow, Reed, you’re such a dick.”
I run my hand through my hair. “Why didn’t you at least tell the golf story?”
“Do you want me to tell the golf story?”
“No. Not particularly. But I don’t want you to compromise your journalistic integrity by excluding it.”
Georgina shrugs. “I decided that story wasn’t on-brand for Rock ‘n’ Roll. Which is the publication I decided to write this for.”
I lean back in my chair, bewildered. “This is insane. You make me sound so nice. And we both know I’m not. I mean, I am. But not this nice. I’m short-tempered. Harsh. Vaguely annoyed at all times.”
“I’ve said all that.”
“But not enough. Oh! I’m arrogant, too. But you didn’t bother to say that.”
“Okay, I’ll add it. Fair point. Anything else?”
“Just paint an accurate picture of me, for crying out loud. Come on. Drag me.”
“Why would I do that? I had a thesis, which is that you have a heart of gold. Anything not supportive of that thesis isn’t relevant.”
“Not relevant?”
“This isn’t a biography, Reed. It’s a short little piece for Rock ‘n’ Roll about how unexpectedly wonderful you are—which is something the world doesn’t already know about you. And that, my darling, was my actual assignment from CeeCee. To uncover a side of you nobody has seen before.”
I shake my head. “I won’t approve the article unless you make it a more accurate depiction of me. You need to dick me up a bit.”
“No. If I do that, I’ll look like an idiot for falling in love with you.”
I grunt. “Yeah, about that ending...”
Georgie’s face falls in earnest. “You don’t like it? You want me to take it out?”
Oh, my heart. Fuck. “Come here, sweetheart.” I pat my thigh, and Georgina leaves her chair and slides into it. “It’s my favorite part. Thank you. But you can’t leave that part in for the version you send to CeeCee.”
“Why not? It’s the truth.”
“CeeCee will never print that.”
“Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.” She nuzzles her nose into mine. “Please, let me submit this article, as is. If CeeCee doesn’t like something, she’ll tell me to change it. But this is the article I want to submit. This is my truth.” Before I can reply, she begins laying soft kisses up my jawline to my ear, licking and nipping and kissing as she goes, until I’m rock-hard and feeling incapable of saying no to her. “Say yes,” she purrs. “Let me submit this, as is.”
“It’s propaganda of the worst kind,” I whisper, but I’m smiling. Paradoxically, turning to steel underneath her while melting into a puddle of pliable goo.
Georgina’s lips find mine and skim softly, making me shudder. “I’ve peeled your onion, down to your very core, my love. And what I found there, is what I wrote about.” She places both palms on my cheeks. “Say yes.”
I still can’t believe this is what The Intrepid Reporter came up with, after everything she’s discovered about me. Especially given that she thinks her dream job at Dig a Little Deeper is still on the line. Yeah, I know CeeCee is planning to offer Georgina a full-time slot, but Georgina doesn’t know that. And, yet, Georgina is nonetheless willing to submit this puff piece for Rock ‘n’ Roll, rather than something that would surely lock down her dream job. “I just don’t want you compromising your professional judgment for me.”
She smirks. “Says the man who’s about to release a single for my stepsister.”