“I can’t step away right now. Gather the Public Rtions and Marketing teams and stay on top of the situation. And make sure Liam and Tristan both keep a low profile-no rash moves. Once I finish up here, I’lle over.”


    Alessia wasn’t worried about her staff at A&C Entertainment-she trusted their efficiency. But those two, Liam and Tristan, always looked calm on the surface; in reality, they were both firecrackers, ready to p back at anyone. Letting them jump into a fight with the fans would only backfire.


    “Before I get there tomorrow morning, I want a n that I can get behind. Reach out to both of them, have them share the official statement, but nothing else. No interviews, no posts-just wait for me.”


    “Understood.” Lillian was giving Alessia a heads-up; since this mess involved her, she wanted to keep her in the loop.


    After ending the call, Alessia didn’t give the whole thing much more thought.


    Online scandals came and went like summer storms. The key was to nt your g, control the narrative, and let the initial frenzy burn itself out. Once the trolls ran out of steam, that was the time to strike back for


    maximum effect.


    “Lessie.” Cole hurried in from the adjacent office.


    “How’s it looking on your end?” she asked.


    “All good. Did you catch what’s happening online?”


    “Yeah, I just talked to Lillian. I’ll go over in the morning-they’ll keep things under control.”


    “I’ll have The Whitley Group release a statement, too.” Cole pressed a gentle kiss to Alessia’s forehead. “Didn’t you say that charm was supposed to work wonders? Then why are there still so many snakes out there?”


    12:18


    He was talking about the lucky bracelet he’d gotten from the church for her. His slightly petnt tone made Alessiaugh.


    “I still like it,” she said, cupping his face and giving it a yful shake, her eyes full of affection.


    Cole pressed his lips together, holding back whatever he wanted to say. Instead, he reached out and ruffled her hair, unable to hide the


    tenderness in his touch.


    “It’s probably The Winston Group trying to throw someone else under the bus. Don’t let it get to you.”


    The question was, were they just looking for a scapegoat to shift attention away from themselves, or did they have a deeper reason for dragging Alessia into this? It was hard not to overthink it.


    She wasn’t the only one suspicious-Fortune, too, thought Sienna had lost


    her mind.


    “How many times have I told you, don’t mess with Alessia’s people right now? I told you to find someone to take the fall, and look what you’ve done!” Fortune mmed his tablet onto the desk; the trending topic featuring Alessia and Tristan zed across the screen.


    Most people didn’t really know who Alessia was, but if you mentioned she was the CEO of A&P and A&C Entertainment-or that she was Moon-well, that changed everything. And Tristan? He was one of the industry’s biggest stars, a ma for gossip.


    “What’s the problem? Look-the heat’s off The Winston Group, isn’t it?” Sienna lounged on the sofa, scrolling through thements on her tablet with a look of smyg satisfaction, savoring the payback.


    “There are plenty of scandals you could have leaked, but you just had to target A&C Entertainment’s talent and drag Alessia into it! Don’t you know those artists are squeaky clean? And their PR team, not to mention Libra & Associates-none of them are pushovers!”


    Fortune felt like he was about to burst a blood vessel. He should never have given this idiot his number. What should have blown over in a day


    212


    12:18


    was now turning into a dumpster fire.


    “What are you so worked up about?” Sienna gave Fortune a baffled look, not understanding why he was so anxious.


    “The photos are real. That paparazzo took them years ago while staking out other celebrities. It was right around when Tristan was about to debut, and he and Alessia were inseparable for a week. But Tristan was still a nobody back then, so the guy just snapped a few shots for the hell of it.”


    She set her tablet aside and handed Fortune her chat history with the photographer, herposure unshaken.


    “He actually tried to leak them once before, but no one believed him. Now that this is the second time, people dug up his old posts, and that’s why it blew up.”


    Hearing this, Fortune’s expression eased a little, but he still couldn’t rx.


    12:19