Becky's in her office late at night. She scrolls through paparazzi photos of Saniá and Justin from the MTV Awards and afterparty. Frustration clouds her face as she clicks on a tab displaying trending headlines: "Justin Jefferson and Saniá Bailey Spark Dating Rumors."
"This is getting out of control." Becky says to herself. She types an email to the group's PR manager, titled: "Crisis Narrative Adjustment." Becky picks up her phone and dials a contact.
"I need to kill this story before it grows. Push something about her next project—something big enough to drown out this nonsense." —————————————————————
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𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍 𝐉𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍| 10:21 AM| 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄
The next day, Justin is back at the LSU practice field, throwing passes to Ja'Marr. Between drills, Ja'Marr notices Justin's distracted demeanor. "Alright, man. What's up? You've been checking your phone every five seconds."
"I sent her a text. Just waiting for a reply." Justin grins. "You're already whipped, bro. What happened to playing it cool?" Ja'Marr teases him.
"I am cool. Just... curious, you know?" Justin says lying. Ja'Marr laughs, clearly unconvinced.
Justin's phone buzzes. He glances down to see a message from Saniá. "𝐇𝐚𝐡𝐚, 𝐧𝐨, 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐮𝐩?"
A satisfied smile spreads across Justin's face as he types back a quick response. "𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭?" He tosses the phone back into his bag, his focus renewed for the next drill. —————————————————————
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𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐀́ 𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐘| 11:40 AM| 𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐘'𝐒 𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓
Saniá is at home, sprawled on the couch with Chloe and Halle. She's absentmindedly scrolling through her phone, but her thoughts clearly linger on Justin's last text.
"You've been quiet. Spill." Halle says. "Justin texted me again." Saniá says hesitantly.
"Okay? And? Don't act like you're not into it." Chloe says. "It's not that. It's... complicated. Becky's already breathing down my neck about him, and I don't want to cause drama."
Halle sits up, her tone more serious. "You have to start living for yourself, Saniá. Becky's controlling everything, and it's not healthy." "Exactly. If you like Justin, see where it goes. You deserve to be happy." Chloe said.
Saniá smiles faintly but doesn't respond, clearly conflicted. ————————————————————— At a rehearsal later that afternoon, Becky pulls Saniá aside, clipboard in hand. "We need to talk about this Justin Jefferson situation."
"What situation? There's nothing going on." Saniá said already annoyed "Perception matters, Saniá. The media is running with this story, and it's making you look... unfocused." Becky says
"Unfocused? You drag me to events, pair me with random people, and now this is my fault?" Saniá said sharply
Becky lowers her voice but doesn't back down. "I'm looking out for your career. You're part of something bigger than yourself. Don't forget that."
Saniá stares at Becky, her frustration barely contained. After a tense beat, Becky walks away, leaving Saniá alone with her thoughts. ————————————————————— Later that evening, Saniá is in her bedroom, flipping through a notebook of song lyrics. Her phone buzzes with another text from Justin "𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲."
Attached is a photo of a peaceful sunset over a football field. Saniá stares at the message, her lips curving into a soft smile. She types back "𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬. 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐲."
Justin's response comes almost immediately "𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫." She hesitates but ultimately begins typing, opening up to him about the pressure she's feeling. The scene cuts between their conversation as Justin listens intently, his interest in her deepening. ————————————————————— Becky steps out of her car at a high-end PR firm. She's holding a folder filled with carefully selected photos and press materials.
"I'm here for the crisis team. It's time we controlled Saniá Bailey's narrative before it gets away from us." Becky said to the receptionist
As she walks into the office, she hold a folder, where a photo of Saniá and Justin laughing together is circled in red ink.
