Sweetheart [On Hold - Resuming 2023]

12. Lectures

No one on this planet terrifies me more than Katherine Cole, public relations extraordinaire. Thirty professional actors, actresses, and executives—legendary Calvin Pierce included—are crammed into a conference room to listen to her lecture about Heist's PR strategy. Katherine demanded an hour of filming time from Liam, who not only allowed it but also joined the audience himself at 9:00 a.m., sharp. This is the same man who once insisted Effie finish shooting a scene with a migraine that later landed her in the emergency room.

In all my years acting, I've never sat through this kind of meeting, but it's as necessary as it is unprecedented. Last night, an anonymous source sent photos of Effie hugging her boyfriend to a reporter who works for Glamor Press, a media conglomerate that owns a bunch of trashy gossip rags and blogs. The same person claimed that Effie and I have been faking our relationship for the press and seeing other people.

The cast and crew are subject to Katherine's scolding because she believes someone on the inside is responsible. The person who texted the reporter took the photos on the Heist set, zooming through Effie's trailer windows. I'm certain it's Beck. He was here last night when Effie and Nikolai were in her trailer, and he's tried to weaponize the media against us before.

Luckily, an editor called Katherine and Lou, Effie's publicist, to request comment on the stories. They denied that Effie is dating Nikolai, issued a reminder that Effie and I are costars who spend a great deal of time together, refused to confirm that we're in a relationship, and developed a plan to thwart their article release. Effie and I had to race to the same location last night to post a video to her Instagram story before the news dropped.

I'm pretty sure Katherine threatened the editor's family, livelihood, or both, because the stories came out in my favor. Lou, on the other hand, must not have the same pull. The Glamor Press articles are loaded with photos of her embracing her boyfriend and questions about whether she's cheating on me with her alleged ex.

It's not the best look for either of us, but every outlet reporting the news has been sympathetic to me. In each story, Effie's the villain, and I'm the potentially scorned heartthrob. This morning, I woke up to a text from Katherine's assistant reassuring me that being a tabloid cuckold is the best outcome for this type of scenario.

Have I mentioned how much I hate Beck?

While Katherine lectures the room, he smirks at me, lips curled into a repulsive half-smile, eyebrow cocked. He slouches in his seat, incapable of paying attention. I'm stuck between Calvin and Rita Taylor, my on-screen mother, with no choice but to ignore his immature antics.

Katherine massages her temples, nearing the end of her harangue. "Leaking information to the press will not help your career," she says coolly. "The public goes to the box office to see actors they love. People skip films when they dislike the cast. What's the quickest way to make the general public dislike someone?" She pauses, staring into our eyes with her piercing gaze. "Falsely accuse them of infidelity."