The Faces Of Karl Jacobs

Chapter 13: Debut

Hailey's P.O.V.

"Hailey this is Katie, my publicist"

I attempted a polite smile at the woman standing in front of me. Katie's energy rippled through the room with a sour stench. Her unashamed glare leveled at me as she cast her gaze over my body judgementally.

"Nice to meet you..." I said hesitantly, sticking my arm out to shake her hand.

She cooed at me, "Pleasure's mine, please sit" She beckoned us with an insincere tight-lipped smile. Together, Karl and I took a seat parallel to her too frail body hiding behind the massive computer that sat atop her desk, "Well, let's not waste any more time on formalities. Tell me Hailey, how do you feel about red carpets?"

My eyes widened at the abrupt question, "Horribly" I answered out of instinct.

"Hmm," She hummed to herself looking down at her notepad, "Interviews? Stream appearances? Podcasts?"

"I'd rather not..." I said flatly, her persistently annoyed tone starting to offend me.

She scoffed at my words and rolled her eyes, "If you're unwilling to do anything how do expect this publicity stunt to pay off?" She said, shaking her head at me.

I bit my tongue, as I leveled a glare at the woman, "Forgive me, for being less than thrilled about the situation" I bit out through clenched teeth.

She rolled her eyes once again, "The dramatics..." She murmured to herself before refocusing her attention on the computer sitting in front of her.

I felt myself start to see red. But, right as I opened my mouth to respond with something less than kind, Karl cut me off, "Katie," He said in a stern tone, "Please save us the time, and do not act like there aren't complications to this situation"

She cut Karl a sly smile as she purred, "Oh come on Karl... I've been asking you to do this for years, let me have some fun!"

My head whipped in his direction, "You've been asked to do this before?" I asked in shock.

Karl shook his head slightly, clearly frustrated with Katie for exposing him, "...Yeah," He breathed out reluctantly, "It's uh-... not exactly uncommon in this industry..."

So many questions swirled in my head as I stared at him in wonder.

Why did he change his mind for me of all people?

I tore my eyes away from him and forced my attention back to Katie. Despite my gaze fixated on the witch of a woman, my mind rapidly spun with thousands of questions, each one making me more and more delusional.

"Anyways," Katie's shrill voice sliced through my thoughts, "Let's refocus on creating a mutually beneficial plan, yeah?" She suggested, directing her venomous stare at me once again.

I blinked, her viperous tongue drawing my attention back to her. A tight smile formed on my face as I hissed out, "Of course"

"Fantastic," She sneered at me, "Well here's what I propose; Due to this being a 30-day arrangement, I believe you and Karl should try to get exposure every other day. That would include things like paparazzi shoots, public appearances, talk shows, Instagram posts, whatever your heart desires!"

Despite her cheerful tone, I felt the weight of my anxiety begins to press down on me. I wasn't ready for this. My head spun with every word that dripped from her cherry-red lips. I felt my breathing become heavy, but my spiral was soon interrupted by the soft comforting feeling of a hand grasping mine.

I looked over at Karl who smiled softly at me. He interlaced our fingers beneath the desk before making comforting strokes on the back of my hand. I tried to ignore the butterflies that erupted in my stomach at his actions. I hated myself for the way he made me feel.