C-Flat to C-Sharp (PR Girls & Instalove 3)

I would never have guessed that this level of connectedness would be so comfortable. Neither one of us expected anything from the other, we just shared everything naturally.

Yet I still had to separate the girlfriend from the PR person sometimes.

Sipping my morning tea at my desk while coworkers breezed by, it was incredibly odd to be going through personal messages on Ethan’s social media pages.

Sure, it was my job. But it made me feel like some kind of stalker or spy.

I had a huge selection of pre-written responses to copy and paste to most of the messages, with information on the upcoming concert, his upcoming tour, and where to purchase his album and merchandise.

Anything personal was ignored. As per Ethan’s wishes, anyone who sent a suggestive photo was instantly blocked.

Part of me felt a bit guilty for being so harsh, but on the other hand, if things were reversed and it was a man who had sent a dirty photo, people would be up in arms.

Coworkers in the coffee room just down the hall from my cubicle were chatting about the giant promotion event they were putting on this weekend. The contrast of me dealing with my new boyfriend’s would-be groupies was absolutely comical.

Taking a break from the messages, I flipped through some emails, immediately grinning to myself. All of the record company representatives were confirmed for tomorrow night.

I hadn’t gone into detail for fear of making Ethan nervous, but the last of the tickets had either been sold, or had gone to media covering the show, and local bloggers and podcasters as prizes for their audiences. The concert was officially sold out.

The free albums, buttons and stickers I had shipped the media in advance likely didn’t hurt. Buttering people up was something we had all learned on day one.

Plus, I had sent each creator a personal message talking about their show or website, and why I thought they would enjoy the concert. Of course I wanted them to cover it, but I left that as an implication, not a direct suggestion.

Returning to Ethan’s personal messages, I answered questions with the pre-written answers, until I came to a user named LeaT01.

“This is a really cute photo of us – feel free to repost it if you like!”

I almost didn’t look at the photo, assuming it would be more bare breasts, or a longing glance with her finger pulling out her bottom lip. I’d already gone through dozens of those this morning, and didn’t know how many more I could stomach.

A lurching feeling clenched my guts as I stared at the screen.

The photo clearly showed Ethan laughing with a willowy blonde knockout, as he playfully tugged on her earring, leaning in close.

Shutting the browser, I pushed myself away from the desk to take a few deep breaths.

I wanted to trust Ethan. I really did. But he seemed so infatuated with me that I couldn’t quite trust that. It was too much, too soon.

Was there any chance that he was like this with all women? It could make sense that a man who was a geek in high school would take every advantage of his new persona.

I didn’t think that was Ethan’s style, but anything was possible. When I really thought about it, I still didn’t know him that well yet.

***

By the time I got to his apartment at eight o’clock, my stomach was roiling.

I didn’t want to confront him about something that might have been innocent. As I knocked on his door, then smoothed down my skirt, I resolved to stay perfectly calm, and simply ask him about it. A mature woman should be direct. It was expected that people would ask questions of each other.

Ethan opened the door, with his dark eyes flashing, and his stunningly handsome smile directed straight at me.

To my absolute horror and embarrassment, I burst into tears.

12

_____

Ethan

I had been so excited to see Corina all day. After rehearsal, and going over a few technical details with the venue, I felt absolutely confident that tomorrow night’s show was going to be amazing.