Chapters (28)
While Risky stares into middle distance, like a child who just found out Santa isn’t real, I concentrate on wrapping up the wedding details. The bill was paid in full within three days of the event. Or non-event, as it came to pass. The money came from Ross’ account, as opposed to Gavin’s, like the previous deposits had. This week has been busy for us, the contractors are all upset they haven’t had any mentions on Instagram feeds, and of course I am the contact for all of them. I’ve been filtering things through to Jenny, as I really don’t know what the answer is. Apparently, Lauren is willing to pay as opposed to post, so we need to work out what discounts were given and ask everyone to be patient. Risky is being quite useless. Following every mention of the saga in the press. Getting more and more upset about how Lauren is being portrayed in the thousands of tabloid articles that have come out about them.
‘Listen to this one,’ she says to me, standing up and coming over to my desk. ‘“Gavin was always unsure,” says a source close to the couple. “But Lauren’s drinking became too much in the end. In the final hour, he just couldn’t go through with it.” That isn’t what happened at all, she wasn’t drunk. That bitch Jenny, she’s out there making this stuff up when we all know what Gavin did and why the wedding didn’t happen.’
She’s right. Jenny is still the PR, but only for Gavin. We were sent a very aggressive email about how she’s representing only Gavin now, and how any queries about him should be sent directly to her and not mentioned to anyone. She sent more NDAs. No mention of Lauren anywhere. It’s like she’s been blacklisted from brand ‘Gavin’. Lauren hasn’t done a single Instagram post or answered her phone since the wedding day. The press has been making her out to have alcohol problems, drug addictions, eating disorders, the works. The public support is all for Gavin. There is no mention of his infidelity. Maybe Jenny is good at her job after all.
‘Why was he with her in the first place?’ Risky asks, making a fair point. ‘If he was just going to cheat on her then walk away without a fight?’
‘I think some men just like to have a woman at home. A security against their loneliness. Someone they can rely on to make house and make babies. It’s like money in the bank, they know they will always have it.’
‘Yeah, unless two badass wedding planners foil their plan, right boss?’
‘Right, Risky.’ The only thing getting her through the heartache of her two favourite relationships being crushed is knowing that she exercised her feminism goals and rescued Lauren from an absolute rotter.