No Control | Holding Me Ransom (Book 2)

2 - For One More Day

Thanks for the amazing reactions to the sequel so far! I'm glad you're all so happy the story is continuing! Keep the comments coming, I love reading them all!! :) xx

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"How are you?" Karen asked.

"Insulted that you think I believe you care," I snapped. "Cut the bull, what do you want?"

"Look Jess, I'm sorry if you think we got off on the wrong foot," Karen began. "I never meant for that. I just have the boys' best interests at heart and I meet a lot of people who just use them for their own gain. I'm sure you can understand that."

She paused, and clearly this was my cue to make sympathetic noises and agree. I stayed deliberately silent, just to make a point.

"Anyway," Karen continued, clearly thrown by the awkward atmosphere I'd created on purpose, "um, it's my job, among other things, as you know to, um, protect the boys' public image." She cleared her throat and I gave a loud sigh and looked at my watch, and then remembered she couldn't see me. "I need a favour from you, Jess," she said brusquely, back to business again.

"No," I said.

Karen faltered. "I haven't even told you what it is yet."

"I don't care what it is. The answer is no."

"Jess, I know you're angry, but please hear me out."

"Karen, you don't know the first thing about how I feel, so don't pretend you do. I distinctly remember telling you not to ring me again. Yet here you are, three days later, asking me for a favour! It's a joke!"

"If you ever loved Harry, you'll hear me out," she said, with the air of someone playing their trump card way too soon in the game. It worked though.

"Fine," I growled. "You've got about ten seconds left."

"Those photos of Harry in New York have caused a media storm. Coupled with your public rejection -"

"What public rejection?" I demanded.

"The Twitter unfollow."

"Oh for God's sake," I said in disgust.

"It's made everyone think you dumped him because he was unfaithful."

"So?" I snapped.

"Well... That's not strictly true is it?"

"He slept with a matchstick behind my back!" I shouted, and Amy on Reception looked up in confusion.

"Yes but... technically you didn't dump him, did you? It was..." (She had the decency to sound uncomfortable.) "It was the other way round."

"Did you actually just go there with me?" I said in disbelief.

"Harry's getting bad press for something that didn't actually happen," Karen bulldozed.

"No, he's getting bad press because he couldn't keep it in his pants," I argued.

"But it's worse because you unfollowed him. You practically announced to the fandom that you're not together -"

"Hold on - we never announced that we were together!" I interrupted.

"- and that's not how things are done in our world."

"I'm not in your world," I reminded her. "Your fake, pretentious and superficial world, to quote your client." I literally spat the words at her.

"I need you to be - just for one more day," she said in a rush.

"What do you mean?"

"I need you to be seen out with Harry, one more time, just to show the world he isn't as bad as they all think, and that you don't hate him."