“The problem we face is the media tends to circle the wagons to protect their own. We have to be careful, or they’ll protect these women out of principle. What we’re doing here is showing them a way to distance themselves by saying, ‘it’s not us, it’s them, and we don’t need to protect them.’ Then hopefully, the mainstream outlets will throw the two women to the wolves,” Frank explained.
The last thing I wanted was to go to war with the press. Without creating some allies, this could go south on us.
“Now, we also talked about offering a carrot. If they report fairly, we’ll give them more information down the road. Especially if they include a link to your website in their reporting so the address is readily available to their viewership. For example, if CBS plays it straight, we’ll cooperate if they want to do a 60 Minutes report on malicious reporting,” Frank continued.
“Do you think that’ll really work?” I asked.
“Not everything will go according to plan; it never does. You should expect some station will have a sensation-monger who’ll try to capitalize on this and go after you with the ginned-up videos. Ms. Dixon has already drafted a boilerplate defamation lawsuit, though, and will be able to file on Monday anywhere we need to. That’s to send a message, more than anything else,” he said.
I had an errant thought: ‘That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.’ I hoped it wouldn’t be quite like that.
Frank had finally run down, but then he smiled.
“By the way, your mom’s been intimately involved in this. I think she’s better than any field general who ever ran an army.”
If only he knew, I thought, shaking my head.
“What you’re telling me is that you’re as prepared as you can be, you have a plan everybody has agreed to, and my mom is on board.”
“Yep,” he agreed.
It felt good to know that I had people and family that had my back. I extended my hand, and Frank shook it.
“Thank you. Honestly, I would have no idea what to do if it hadn’t been for you, Ms. Dixon, and everyone else. I get how serious this is, and I’m aware that you all have worked hard to get us prepared. And as much as I expect that the press will do the right thing, I realize that’s just wishful thinking. I really hate that I have to go to such lengths to protect my name. Please tell everyone how much this means to me,” I said.
Frank looked a little taken aback, but I could tell that he appreciated that I acknowledged what everyone was doing for me. Like I said, I really did hope that we didn’t have to pull out the stick. If I had to, though, I would. I couldn’t let this kind of attack go unanswered.
Then Frank said something I’d been holding back on saying.
“This caught us flatfooted. I promise it won’t happen again,” he assured me.
“Well, I should have bailed as soon as I recognized the woman. I have some responsibility in all this,” I added to make Frank feel better.
◊◊◊
We exited the conference room and continued to where the interviews were being held. Tami and Adrienne had stayed in the lobby to direct everyone to where they needed to go.
I had a moment of concern when I thought about the two of them comparing notes. Then I smiled again. It was nice to leave things in the hands of capable people so I could instead be concerned over two girls comparing notes on me.
The first conference room was where
◊◊◊
Tracy had set it up so that everyone would be at one large table so they could get to know everyone else. The meal at the Henderson was a good as any I’d had in LA or New York. Tami and I had a good time catching up. Tracy planned for everyone to go back to Pam’s old home, where most of the guys were staying, for a get-together.
When we got there, Pam put on some music. It looked like Zak had bought some booze and was mixing drinks. I grabbed a couple of Crown-and-Cokes and handed one to Tami. She took a sip and scrunched her nose.
“He made them a little strong,” she told me.
I tried mine and realized one would be my limit tonight, or I’d be in trouble. Everyone seemed to be getting along except Jim and Maria. Tami grabbed Maria so I could find out what was going on. Jim was a nervous wreck.
“Don’t you like her?” I asked when we stepped into the kitchen for some privacy.
“Well, I thought I’d be okay with this. But she wants to be a porn star,” he admitted.
“I don’t see your problem.”
“What if she … uh … doesn’t like me?”
