A-Hole to A-List (PR Girls & Instalove 1)

ic, but I couldn’t help feeling that I wasn’t the right fit for him.

When PR campaigns weren’t hitting the right target demographic, it was time to cut everything and start again.

Putting my phone away, I stared up at the city’s bright lights. Andrew was on time, and did everything I asked him. That was a good start.

Then I thought again about Terry mentioning that Andrew’s erratic schedule was often his own fault, not Andrew’s. That would also explain why he seemed such a jerk about giving me information at certain times, and keeping things to himself.

Was it possible that he seemed like lousy boyfriend material because he was busy being a good brother?

As I jumped out of the cab, forcing myself to smile brightly, I looked for Cliff. Luckily, he managed to be right at the front of the media pit.

“Jenna!” He called out, and I instantly posed for a few shots, then went over to him.

“Your friend Andrew made quite a splash on his way in,” Cliff grinned, flashing me a wink. “He’ll get some good coverage, don’t worry.”

“That’s why you’re my favorite, Cliff,” I laughed, blowing him a kiss before walking inside. The gatekeepers were surprisingly friendly, and I was given a hot pink glitter wristband for free drinks.

I began by walking through the vendors’ area, noticing that the HarperTech booth looked even better than the photos and sketches Andrew had shown me.

He had a tall knockout blonde and two handsome young men taking questions and giving out flyers, hats, and water bottles. I knew that they would be saving the exclusive t-shirts for the VIPs.

Entering the large party room, it was like walking into a video game. Positively enormous screens on the north and south walls stretched up to the ceiling, showing the gameplay of some of the most famous gamers as they huddled in groups.

The east and west walls had giant screens as well, but those were filled with live mixed electronic art, courtesy of the VJ, who worked with the DJ to create different moods.

It was all a bit extreme and high-tech for my taste , but I kept my smile intact as I walked diagonally through the giant space.

In one corner of the hall was a stairway that clearly led to the VIP area. Security was at the bottom of the stairs, so people couldn’t even reach the top mezzanine without being approved.

However, once you were on the mezzanine it gave you a fabulous view of anyone walking in, as if you were a king or queen waving down at your subjects before entering the private chamber.

These exclusive events always made me laugh to myself. What kind of world was it where an exclusive event had to have an even more exclusive nook so that special people could feel like the very best?

Finally I spotted Andrew speaking with the representatives of Lightning Games – typical corporate guys who would normally wear suits, but were dressed down for the night. They looked slightly uncomfortable, as if casual wear were some sort of costume.

Andrew looked spectacular. My breath caught in my throat as he turned to me, those deep eyes fixated on my little blue dress, then meeting my stare. He gave me a nod, then laughed at something one of the other men said.

He looked me up and down again before turning away. His expression had been unreadable. As if he was in a good mood, but his energy wasn’t really directed at me beyond being polite.

Given how desperately he had been pursuing me yesterday, that made no sense. But he was doing exactly as I had told him, concentrating on being social with the right people, so I had no right to expect any of his attention. He was also wearing a gorgeous designer shoulder bag, but that wasn’t a fashion statement. I knew that he was packing a laptop or two that was loaded with their new processors.

Since Andrew was focused on his work, I decided to do the same. Walking around the perimeter of the space, I sent him a text every five to ten minutes, with key technology people’s whereabouts in the room.

He responded with “OK” and “Thanks,” but nothing more.

After about an hour, the music became too loud for me to handle, so I went back out to the convention area. When I saw a mop of messy teal hair in front of the HarperTech booth, I raced right over.

“Hey, Caitlin,” I said brightly, “How are you?”

“Fabulous,” she smiled, her cheeks slightly glowing, likely from the endless glasses of pink champagne that were circulating around the main room.

She leaned in to whisper in my ear, “I just saw Distrekxion wearing a really cool HarperTech shirt, and he said he got it here. I was just about to ask these guys if they knew where I could get one. Jimmy is wearing his tonight, and I thought it would be dope if we matched.”

“I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed. “I put one in Jimmy’s gift box with a note for him to give it to you.”

She rolled her eyes. “He was running around like a maniac today. No worries.”

“What size do you need?” I asked.