Chapter 915 Scandal Target
Phoebe knew the photos of Patrick kissing someone were definitely of him and Cindy, but she wasn't sure about their current situation.
Did Patrick want to go public?
If Patrick wanted to go public, he'd clear things up.
But if he didn't, how would he handle the PR?
She needed to discuss this with Patrick's team.
She instructed the driver, "Take me to the Empire State Building, and let me borrow your phone."
The driver quickly handed her his phone.
Phoebe took it and dialed a number with practiced ease.
Within seconds, Lori answered the call.
Phoebe said, "Lori, get the PR team back at the office ASAP. There's a rumor going around about me and Patrick."
Lori was so shocked that she dropped her phone, which hit her shin painfully.
She quickly picked it up and put it back to her ear. "How is that possible? You and Patrick have no connection."
Phoebe closed her eyes briefly. "We had some interaction at the party tonight. Hurry up and get to the office. I'm on my way there now."
"Got it."
Lori didn't waste any time.
She hung up, threw on a down jacket, and headed downstairs to her car, driving straight to the office.
Phoebe arrived outside the Empire State Building, where it was unusually quiet.
She hurriedly got out of the car, swiped her card, and entered the building.
As she rode the elevator up, she could hear employees joking outside the elevator doors. "Patrick is so controlling. Look at this hug; he's not giving Ms. Ziegler any chance to escape."
"And look at this one, the bite mark on Ms. Ziegler's neck is so obvious. People who don't like Patrick are saying he has a weird fetish."
"But don't you think Patrick is amazing? I watched one of his early indie films, and he was so intense."
Someone suddenly started coughing violently, but the person didn't catch on and kept talking.
Phoebe walked into the open office area and said, "Looks like you all have plenty of free time."
Everyone stood up and faced Phoebe, looking guilty. "Ms. Ziegler!"
They noticed Phoebe was still wearing Patrick's jacket. They exchanged glances, and Phoebe felt a headache coming on. "It's not what you think. The last two photos are indeed of me, but the first seven are not."
"Really?" Some were disappointed.
One person bravely said, "We thought we could use this opportunity to sign Patrick to our company. That would make us famous."
"Dream on," another person said. "Patrick has his studio and team. Even if he were dating Ms. Ziegler, he wouldn't sign with us."
"Have you forgotten that Patrick and Mr. Reynolds are good friends? If he did something like this, Mr. Reynolds would kill him."
"True."
Phoebe's expression darkened. "You all seem to lack a sense of urgency. This is no laughing matter. Patrick's fans might come after me tomorrow, demanding I clear his name."
Everyone sobered up and looked at Phoebe seriously.
Uriel handed her a piece of paper. "Ms. Ziegler, we drafted a statement. Please review it."
Phoebe took the paper and read it.
The statement was well-written and had no flaws, but they needed to coordinate with Patrick's team.
If their statements didn't match, it could cause trouble.
"The statement is fine, but have you contacted Patrick's team? What did they say? How are they handling it?" Phoebe asked.
Uriel had tried to contact Patrick's team after Lori's call, but the line was constantly busy.
"Patrick's team is probably swamped with reporters right now. We can't get through, and the situation is escalating. They might not have time to respond."
"Ms. Ziegler, Patrick just posted on Facebook. Wait, isn't that Ms. Croix?" An employee's eyes widened in disbelief.
Phoebe quickly stepped forward.
The employee held up their phone, showing a blown-up photo of Patrick holding Cindy in a very assertive and intimate pose.
Uriel said, "Ms. Ziegler, Patrick is admitting he's in a relationship, right?"
Phoebe hadn't expected Patrick to do this.
His post simply tagged Cindy and said, "Together."
This brief message was an admission of their relationship.
Phoebe couldn't help but want to give Patrick a thumbs-up, but Cindy's expression seemed reluctant, likely due to the circumstances.
The hashtag #PatrickAnnouncesRelationship quickly topped the news headlines.
Fans were thrilled to see that Patrick's girlfriend was Cindy, someone they liked, and had no complaints.
However, those who didn't like Patrick questioned if he and Cindy were just putting on a show to protect the real subject of the rumors.
Fans had previously been unhappy with Phoebe, as she had been linked to many people.
But Cindy had never been involved in any scandals.
The only time was in Canada, when she was seen with a man who, in hindsight, looked exactly like Patrick.
This news was quickly dug up, and comparing the two, it was confirmed they had been together for three years.
Fans commented on how beautiful their love story was.
Fans quickly drowned out the skeptical comments, and the headlines were filled with congratulations for Patrick and Cindy.
Some fans even used software to create images of their future children, who turned out to be very attractive, whether boys or girls.
Fans went from congratulating Patrick and urging them to have children, saying the kids would be even more beautiful than they were.
With this, those who disliked Patrick had no room to argue.
Patrick's announcement had quelled the storm, and Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief.
"A false alarm, Ms. Ziegler. We don't need to issue a statement now, right?" Uriel said, also relieved after seeing the Facebook post.
Phoebe had been having a streak of bad luck lately.
If she hadn't arranged with Facebook to block certain keywords, she might have ended up in the headlines again today.
Before Phoebe could respond, her phone chimed.
An employee picked it up and saw Cindy's response to Patrick's Facebook post, tagging him and saying: Together.
The photo showed their hands tightly clasped, Patrick's long fingers gripping Cindy's delicate hand, clearly showing their connection.
"Ms. Ziegler, Ms. Croix has responded. We're completely out of this now. But some people are still asking why the last two photos clearly show you. They won't let this go easily."
Phoebe thought for a moment, then turned on her phone.
It almost crashed from the flood of notifications, but after a few minutes, it started working normally.
She opened Facebook, found the selfie she took with Cindy at the party, and posted it with a caption congratulating Cindy on finding her love.
As soon as her post went live, her phone rang.
Seeing the caller ID, Phoebe felt a pang of fear, wishing she hadn't turned her phone on.
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