Alex had warned me that LTZ fangirls would annihilate me by using either slut-shaming tactics or the tried and true “she’s too ugly for him” method. She tried to prepare me for what would happen when the world knew that Ty was back together with Z by showing me some of the brutal things that people had said about Ronni Miller. The stuff was awful and Ronni was a very popular and well-liked actress. Z was hated but also revered. I only hoped that at some point Zoey, the woman who loved Ty with all her heart, would supersede Z.
Before we left, Alex had also given me some sound personal advice. She felt that while it was important that I listen to Jace and the publicists about the band strategy, I shouldn’t lose myself and my own brand as a lawyer and professional, and especially as the woman who not only was Ty’s significant other but would be running Ty’s foundation in a year.
She also did me a solid by helping me pack the right clothes and accessories so I could hold my own on the arm of one of the most photographed men in the world. We had fun putting together outfits and makeup looks, and admittedly it reignited my appreciation of fashion. I was ready for prime time regardless of my lack of high-end designer clothes.
When the plane landed, two black cars were waiting. Zane and Connor took the first one to the hotel. I rode with Jace and Ty and Sergey to the midtown management offices for the meeting with their publicists and Katherine Sauer, LTZ’s manager. My nerves were frazzled as we waited in Katherine’s office overlooking Times Square. Sitting on a gray, tweed couch watching the hustle and bustle down below, Ty kept his arm curled around my shoulder. Jace paced in front of the window, occasionally tapping texts to unknown recipients.
Bursting through the floor-to-ceiling glass door, Andrew and Sienna were chatting animatedly. They crossed the room to Jace, who gave them both halfhearted hugs. Andrew was slight with thinning brown hair and wore a skinny, gray-plaid suit with pants that were pegged at the ankles, and Louboutin loafers without socks. Sienna was supermodel skinny with flawless skin, her nearly black hair was slicked back in a long, sleek, ponytail. She wore a beautifully tailored caramel jumpsuit with gorgeous black Mary-jane Valentino pumps.
“Andrew, this is Zoey. Sienna, you met my girlfriend at the Space Needle.” Ty introduced me without moving from our place on the couch.
Sienna’s gaze on Ty lasted a second longer than I liked, but I tamped down my jealousy and stuck out my hand and gave her a smile. I wasn’t going to fall into a trap of wanting to kill every woman that ogled Ty in front of me, or I’d be in jail within an hour.
Both Andrew and Sienna looked me up and down, assessing. Sharing a secret eyeball communication. They both made me uncomfortable.
“You’re so adorable.” Sienna was condescending as fuck, looking through me as though I were invisible.
“Um, thanks?” I pasted a fake smile on my face, wondering how I’d survive the whirlwind of smarm.
“Katherine’s still stuck in a meeting, but we should start without her.” Andrew took a seat.
Rather than sitting next to me, Sienna sat on the other side of Ty. She familiarly placed her tablet on Ty’s knee and thumbed through some screens, showing him something I couldn’t see. My blood boiled when she reached up to brush a hair out of Ty’s face. I felt better when he flinched and scooted closer to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and kissing the side of my head. I placed my hand on his thigh possessively.
My hackles were up again with this chick, this time I was going to pay closer attention.
“We’ve decided that the best way to handle this is to get a cover story about Zoey out there from one of our trusted partners, that way we can control the narrative.” Sienna was undeterred by my staked claim and wasted no time before trying to bulldoze her agenda. “Zoey, I’ll be taking over your social media for you. That way I can post on your behalf. I’ll need your passwords.”
“Wait, I need to know more details, S. You know we’ve already been photographed in LA. My main objective is to make sure the fans know that I love Zoey and I’m not going to stand for any hate toward her.” Ty tried to assert some control, but I was thrown by his nickname for Sienna. He called me Z. He called her S. If he had a nickname like “ladybug” for her, shit was going to get real.
I trusted Ty, but every bone in my body knew that Sienna was not my friend.
“Tie-son,” Andrew drawled. “We’ve already set the wheels in motion. I mean, this is freakin’ Z in the flesh. We have a real opportunity to answer a lot of the questions on her mystery and why she dumped you.”
Ty winced and clutched my hand to his, rubbing my palm with his thumb soothingly. Sienna looked back and forth at us and our clasped hands, her face a smooth mask of hidden agenda.
I wanted to speak up, but I didn’t know what to say.
“Guys, that’s not what we’re going to do. We will not exploit Zoey like that. She is LTZ family. Understand that. She’s a person with her own career and her own privacy.” Jace held up his own tablet and showed all of us an admittingly cute picture of me sitting on Ty’s lap, which he had obviously taken on the plane ride. My hands cupped Ty’s face, his arms were wrapped around me and both of us were looking at each other with
