Ever So (Saint Claire II)

Part 16

Part 16

The continuous ringing of the phone woke me up. I hate the freaking sound, especially hearing it on my day-off. I spent the entire night drinking alone in my condo because I couldn't sleep and I'm pretty sure today's hangover will be a bitch.

Grumbling, I searched for my phone around the bed hanggang sa nakarating ako sa sahig kung saan ko nakapa ang phone ko. My eyes were still half-closed when I checked the flashing name on the bright screen.

Kumunot agad ang noo ko nang makita ang pangalan ng isa sa mga officemates ko. What is it this time? They know better than to disturb  me on my day-off. It was my golden rule. Unless it's for emergencies, I'm basically off the grid.

"Hello?" My grumpy voice greeted.

"Check the news about Saint Claire!" Her high-pitched voice came out crackled through the phone.

"What?"

"There's a video of Sancho circulating around punching a guy in a parking lot. You're in the video!"

Isa lang ang pumasok sa isip ko noong oras na 'yon. The bitch. The one who recorded the incident. She must have already sent it to someone before deleting the video.

Fuck.

The phone call pulled me from the grogginess. With swaying, uneven steps, I rushed to the bathroom and started the shower while cursing under my breath.

I need to do something.

Fifteen minutes later, I headed to my car in the basement parking lot equipped with my Celine tote bag where the iPad, laptop, and flash  drive were all rashly placed inside.

Earlier, when I was just out of the shower, I received a message from Ms. Cee, my Editor in Chief.

Head to their agency and work with their publicist to clear this.

I knew based on the way she typed her message that the situation was serious. I immediately drive to the main road with nothing on my mind but to reach their agency to clear the situation before the internet blew it out of proportion.

It took forty five minutes of traffic before I reached the building. With  my stilettos clacking against the cemented ground of the basement parking, I run to the elevator hoping that I wasn't too late.

This is all my fault. If something happens to the band... if something happens to Sancho's career... I would never forgive myself for causing this.

I went straight to the publicist's office on the 15th floor. The place  wasn't actually an office but a conference room. Nadatnan ko sa loob  ang manager ng Saint Claire na si Mr. Jack at ang stylist na si Ms. Zoe. Sitting in one of the seats was a woman in her early thirties who seems  to be the publicist.

"Hi, I'm Eula Cardona." I automatically placed my things in one of the seats so we can start the process. "I'm sorry for this chaotic first  meeting but are you the publicist?"

The woman peeled her gaze from the laptop monitor before facing me. "I'm from the PR Department that handles actors. We don't have a publicist for the band yet."

Sumulyap ako kay Ms. Zoe na ngumiti lang ng alanganin. Instead of pointing out the importance of having a publicist for this kind of situations, I pulled my laptop from the bag and opened it.

Sa tabi ko, panay ang check ni Ms. Zoe sa Twitter kung saan iba't-ibang opinyon ang naglipana tungkol sa issue. The backlash and varying opinions occupied most of the trend list.

Nabasa ko ang ilan sa mga ito kanina habang stuck sa traffic:

"Hindi ko talaga bet 'yang guitarista nila sa totoo lang."