“We’re going to need the PR team to be in the room,” he said, rubbing his chin. “And legal. They’ll have to listen in on the call and make sure you don’t say anything that can get us into trouble.”
Whoa. Rose didn’t want people listening to their conversation. How awkward. Howweird!
Worst of all, what if one of those people realized what a con she was?
Rose opened her mouth to speak, but her tongue was dry and stuck to the roof of her mouth. She took a sip of water and watched as Craig flipped through the pages again.
“The longer we sit on this, the worse it looks,” he said, standing and tossing the papers onto her desk. “You were right, and I’m really glad you have all of this ready. Maybe we can do the call today? See if she’s available. I’d love to see you at work.”
He smiled and Rose forced herself to smile back. “Yeah, of course! I’d love that, too.” Then she heard herself say, “Let’s do it!”
Chapter Seventeen
Even the customer service department was afraid to contact Annalise. The most they would do was send her an email offering for Rose to call her.
Luckily, she accepted and agreed to chat that afternoon. Craig was on his way to Rose’s office when the lead from the security team caught up with him.
“Hey, we’ve been working with the programmers to add the user verification we talked about. It should go live in a few days and prevent another situation like this.”
“Excellent work,” Craig said. “I think it’ll help with weeding out fake profiles. I really appreciate how quickly you guys worked on this.”
“No problem! It’s been kind of exciting. Uh, not that Ilikecompany disasters, but…you know.”
Craig laughed. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
He got to Rose’s office and slipped inside. Two staff members – one from legal and one from public relations – were already talking to Rose.
“We want to make sure you don’t admit fault,” the lawyer said.
She was a newer hire, and Craig hadn’t worked much with her yet, but she looked the part: a black suit, a neat ponytail, and an unsmiling face. “You need to stress that reaching out to her is a courtesy. She needs to know that.”
The PR manager cut in. “At the same time, you have to let her know we care. Everyone at SerenadeMe is on her side.”
Rose’s eyes were fixed on the notepad in front of her, her hand whipping back and forth as she scrawled notes. She paused, underlining something three times.
Craig took a few steps closer to see what it was.It’s not our fault, but we’re on your side.
Not the easiest message to get across.
She paused and looked up, spotting him, the tension on her face breaking into a small smile. “Hey, boss. Anything to add?”
“No,” he said, leaning back against a bookshelf. “Are you ready for this? I can jump in if you like.”
He had no idea why he’d offered that, because if there was anyone who could mess up a delicate conversation, it was him. But there it was.
Thankfully, she said, “No. I think I’m good.”
“Okay!” The lawyer clapped her hands. “The clock just struck three. We’ll be quiet in the background, but if you need us, just mute the call and put her on hold.”
Rose made a face. “I’m not going to put her on hold.”
“We might need to debrief,” the PR manager said, nodding. “She’ll understand.”
Craig stuck out his tongue, but only Rose saw. She bit her lip and turned away, hiding a smile.
“I’ll call her on speaker,” she said, dialing out. She shuffled with her papers as the phone rang, loud and hollow, echoing in the room.
Was she nervous? Craig shifted his weight and tried to get a better look at her face. He didn’t want to overwhelm her, but it seemed like she could handle anything. No one else was brave enough to face this woman.
