Page 114 of Darn Knit All
Grateful for the distraction, I lost myself in the work, trying to ignore the niggle in my heart that said Theo needed me.
CHAPTER 19
THEO
Theo
Don’t worry, I’ll fix this
Mai
I know. I trust you
There’s no good way to admit you’ve lied.
My foot jiggled on the cool concrete floor as Celeste stared me down over her desk.
Around us, light techs, sound engineers, and people whose job I had no clue about ran here and there, avoiding their boss like the plague.
“You’re sorry,” she said finally, her tone icy. “Forgive me if I find that hard to believe.”
I winced. “If it makes you feel better, karma has certainly bitten me on the ass.”
“It does,” she said, absently stirring a pencil in her coffee. I opened my mouth to say something when one of her assistants caught my eye, frantically shaking his head.
I snapped my mouth shut.
“Do you know who sold you out?”
“Jude.” I leaned back in my chair. “Though I’m not sure why when they won the competition.”
“Interesting.” Celeste tapped her pencil against the mug. “You know, you film well. It’s a shame you’re in such a pickle.”
“I know how bad this looks,” I said, leaning forward in my chair. “But you have to believe me when I say that we never meant for it to go this far. It got out of hand.”
She scoffed. “Out of hand? Theo, you and Mai straight up lied. To me, to the network, to the viewers. This isn’t some minor transgression. You perpetuated your lie for the entirety of filming. Do you have any idea the damage control I’m going to have to do? The network is already breathing down my neck demanding answers.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right. Interviews, press releases, public apologies—you name it.”
“And what about Mai? Is she on board with this little plan of yours?” Celeste asked pointedly.
I hesitated. “Mai wants to come clean, admit everything.”
Celeste leaned back in her chair, studying me intently. “And you? What do you want?”
I met her steely gaze. “I want to protect her. She doesn’t deserve to have her reputation ruined over this. Let me take the fall.”
She raised an eyebrow. “How noble of you. But how exactly do you plan to ‘take the fall’, as you put it?”
I took a deep breath. “I’ll release a statement saying the fake relationship was my idea. That I coerced Mai into going along with it for publicity. She’s innocent in all this.”
“You really think anyone will believe that? You two looked pretty cozy together by the end there.” Her tone was skeptical.
I shrugged helplessly. “It’s the truth, mostly. Mai never wanted to do this. I convinced her we should.”
Celeste sighed heavily, tapping her manicured nails on the desk. “You better hope she corroborates your story. If there’s even a hint that this ‘relationship’ took advantage of her in any way....” She let the threat hang.
“I understand.”
