Publicity

Chapter 24: One Week

I looked around the familiar room. It was the same bland room where our meetings always took place. Instead of the usual business men in suits sitting around the table, this time it was just Kenneth and Claire. I felt uneasy. I guess I didn't exactly have a good reason to... I knew this was coming. It wasn't a surprise. I knew this stunt was going to end before I left for tour. I guess I just didn't expect to be this attached to Ray. But why do I feel like I'm losing him? Even after the stunt is over he's still gonna be my best friend. Breathe Zonnique.

"Hey guys." Kenneth greeted us as we walked in. We mumbled our greetings and took a seat on the two chairs positioned across the table from the two. "Lets get right down to business, shall we?" Kenneth asked and we both nodded.

"So, the stunt worked really well." Claire smiled at us. "It gave Nique the publicity she needed before tour and it gave Ray the publicity he need before releasing his new album. We agreed to have this stunt last for a month and we're keeping our word. So here are the details about your break up. Nique you're probably gonna be the one who has to talk about the break up first."

"Why me?" I whined. I'm terrible at lying. I'll probably find a way to screw it all up. Ray was always the one who had to talk about us in interviews.

"Because you're going to be doing a lot of interviews while traveling. You're stopping by at a local radio station tomorrow in Miami." Claire explained to me. "No doubt they're gonna bring up Ray and that's where you could break the news."

"I'm really not good at this." I groaned.

"Ray doesn't have any interviews scheduled. He's too busy with his record so you're the only one who can break the news." Kenneth insisted.

"Okay." I sighed. "But I don't want to be the most hated girl in America so please tell me you have an idea to make it seem like I didn't break Ray's heart."

Kenneth chuckled. "Of course. We know how Ray's fans can be so we planned this out very carefully."

I let out a sigh of relief and Ray rolled his eyes while grinning. "What?" I turned to ask him. "You're fans would hunt me down if they thought I hurt their baby boy."

"True." He laughed. "We thought you could blame your schedules." Claire went back to talking about the plan. "Nique you're gonna be gone for 4 months and Ray will eventually be gone when his album comes out. You both agreed that this wasn't the best time to date. You'd never see each other." Claire smiled, pleased with the idea. "Does that sound good?"

I thought about it for a while. "I mean, I guess so."

"Great. So are we done here?" Ray asked. "I'm starving so I'm gonna take Nique out to lunch."

"Uh..."  Kenneth and Claire exchanged awkward glances.

"What?" Ray asked. "We know you guys have become pretty close because of this stunt..." She paused, trying to figure out what to say next.

"And?" Ray asked, this time a little less patient.

"You guys are supposed to be broken up." Kenneth sighed, knowing whatever he was about to say was going to upset us. "You can't hang out the way you did when you were "dating"."

"Whoa, what exactly do you mean Kenny?" Ray asked impatiently. I just sat back and watched the scene unfold, not sure what to say exactly.

"If you guys hang out like nothings changed, the fans will think nothing has changed. Everyone will still think you're a couple. I thought you wanted to end this publicity stunt as soon as possible, not keep it going." He said, getting frustrated.

"We don't want to keep the publicity going." Ray replied, as if Kenneth was the dumbest man on the planet. "But we didn't think we weren't gonna be allowed to be friends after!" Kenneth didn't reply so Ray took it as an opportunity to continue talking. "You guys encouraged us to become friends, remember?" He shook his head, looking hurt. "You can't take my best friend away from me." My heart clenched. He sounded so hurt. I knew if I talked I'd probably end up hysterically crying. How could they ask us to stop hanging out? They know how close we've become. And Claire especially knows how much I need Ray.