Chapter 176 - To Katherine

"Let's keep it quiet for now for both of us. With the Keira thing happening and her not being from the entertainment circle, it's best we take our time before coming out. I don't want the press raining down on her. You know how my fans can get. They are mean and she doesn't deserve that." He shook his head. 

"Is she a fan, as well?" Irene asked. So she was calculating. 

"Yes, she is very vocal about it," Cage said readily. Irene and Demetri would find out if they simply google searched her, so there was no point in denying. 

"That will be tough. Fans think that their idol is untouchable. For them to be with a celebrity is fine, but with another fan? They think of it as traitorous," Demetri said before Irene could put her thoughts in. 

"But then you also have that part where fans think they have a chance because someone else is with their idol." Ah, Irene was using her cunning mind. "Mm. It's about how you spin it. I'll start preparing for all scenarios just in case. But I really think I should sit down to talk with her before she visits you on set." 

"I'll talk to her before confirming that." There was no way that they could keep it a secret for too long. If they were being ambitious and very careful with how they moved Cage and Katherine... They could maybe hold on for a year and a half. 

Fortunately, neither of them publicly displayed affection of liked to go out. So, it should be easier. 

"Okay, for now, let's deny any stories about him dating anyone and making sure that his reputation is stellar before we slowly introduce Katherine to the public. We can control public opinion in that way." Everyone nodded. 

Irene opened her planner and checked. "You have an interview with GC Magazine on Friday, two weeks from now." Cage quickly calculated. They would come back from the mountain the day before, so it was okay. "Ah, aren't you taking a vacation?" she asked. 

"Yeah." Irene made a face, realizing that Katherine would be tagging along. 

"Be careful. You deserve time off, you have convinced me. You'll not spend much time with her during the shooting anyway." There was a little glee in her voice. Less work for her, yay. "Hope you are ready to bust your ass."

He was. "Yup."

"GC will ask a lot of probing questions, so make sure you meet me. I will give you a brief and make sure you are media-ready." Cage sighed. He thought that they would have a little more faith in him after so many years of being extremely obedient and an angel to work for. He had never said the wrong thing! 

"Don't worry. I won't say anything about being with someone."

"The tabloids would hound you if you let anything slip. I trust you, but I like to be thorough." he nodded. 

"Protecting Katherine is the top priority. If they ask, I won't be able to deny it because that's wrong, but I would like to do it in a way that she isn't harassed." Cage was terrified that it would drive Katherine crazy and she would leave him. Once she found out how hard it was... she would realize why so many famous people dated within the circle. They knew what to expect. 

Would she be okay with the cameras? What about the scathing comments on the internet and tabloids? 

"Sorry, I don't care who you date. That is Irene's sphere. I just care that you get spokesperson opportunities and bring in the money." Demetri, always ruthless.

"Send over the proposals, I'll go through them." He then turned to Stephen. "Send me the scripts, too. I will read through them when I get time." As much as he wanted to talk to Katherine all day long, he would have to slip in time to read and train. Maybe, he could ask her to go over the scripts. She was a viewer, she would know what people would like to see him in.

The meeting ended soon enough and Cage had a lot of papers to go through and numbers to crunch. As he went towards the car, he heard some clicks of the camera and turned towards their direction. He waved, feeling a little pensive. Thank god they had not followed him before. 

He just wanted to go home. To Katherine.

- - - 

Katherine spent most of the day working and managing calls with clients. She had texted Cage while he was in the car but knew that he had meetings, so she didn't bother him after that. She missed him, but work was a priority for both of them. Romance flew out of the window when one didn't have money to spare.

When she emerged from her room, she was tired. She found Lily and Angelina sitting on the couch having a heated conversation. Katherine stared at them for a bit, not understanding their whispered words before finally asking them. 

"What are you doing?" She sounded more suspicious than was necessary. 

"We are trying to see who blinks first." Just another day at this household. 

"Ah, you guys continue. I just need some air before I head back in. Weren't we supposed to go out today?" she whined. The other two broke away from their Mexican standoff. 

"You need to spill first," Lily said. Angelina nodded vehemently. 

"No way," she said, glancing between her friends. "You know what happened. You had front seats to the show. I am with Cage. Period." Angelina scoffed. 

"Wasn't expecting it to be Cage, but good for you. Damn, you won the lottery." Angelina didn't sound salty, but it was probably because she had met Stephen on the same day. 

"You don't get to do that. I was there since the s.e.xting days and you promised to give me details. This is the girl code. You need to tell us the details." Lily, always the lecher. Angelina was too interested, as well. 

Katherine gulped. "That doesn't seem okay..." she said softly. "I can say that it wasn't just s.e.x."