Page 84 of The Titan and the Trainer

“I kissed him several times, I did some muscle poses, and I had an erection as well. Make sure one of you writes that down, for fucks sake.” Julian was annoyed now, at himself mostly, but also at having to tell this story to a room full of people he barely knew.

“Well,” Agatta drawled, “let’s just hope they didn’t capture that on film, otherwise we are in serious trouble!” She paused, frowning hard at Julian. “Go on.”

“After that we got up, put our shirts on and left the park. We walked back here, but apart from getting food at a deli, I don’t think anything else happened?” He looked at Callum. “Cal, can you think of anything else?”

“No, that was it.”

“OK,” Agatta said in a clipped tone. “My team and I need some time to discuss this.” She got up and came over to Callum. She stood him up and took both his hands in hers.

“Well done, Callum.” She was genuine, her eyes locked on his. “You’ve not had the PR training Julian has, and I know it’s hard to understand how such a beautiful moment can somehow feel sullied when it’s been violated by some pap. bastard with a zoom lens. You lock those happy memories in, please, no matter what they print.”

She drew him close to her and hugged him.

“We will deal with this, ok. It’s just what we do.” She stood back and winked at him as she added, “I might just have to text my good friend J-Lo and ask her to fall out of a limo tonight. Give them something else to talk about, hey?!”

With that, she moved over to her team, who were all excitedly chatting, comparing notes and pointing at the picture of Julian on the big screen.

Julian stood. “Cal, let’s go and get a coffee.” Callum noticed that Julian looked beat as he guided him outside. He walked them into a small meeting booth around the corner.

“Are you okay with all this, Cal, I know it’s a lot to deal with?” his voice full of concern.

“I’m fine, honestly. I’m just really hungry!”

Julian smiled. He was constantly surprised and regularly delighted by Callum. “Come on then, big boy, let’s see what we can rustle up.”

They returned to the meeting room. Someone was dispatched, and soon fresh BLTs and other subs and pastries were laid out in the centre of the table.

They all tucked in whilst the timeline was pieced together using Callum’s phone pictures and their help. Each photo timestamp and location allowed them to track their path.

Agatta took a phone call and quietly stepped out of the room. She came back in excitedly, shouting to her team and gesturing at the TV.

“WDN News, quick! They are about to run the piece.”

The remote was found and the channel selected. They were currently reporting on a house fire in Hoboken. The programme was ‘The Larry & Sally Show’ with a female presenter on one side and a male on the other, content being a mix of news and gossip. Easy watching for the masses.

The next item was about a lorry crash in the Lincoln Tunnel which had caused a three-hour traffic jam and chaos for commuters.

Suddenly a familiar corporate headshot of Julian appeared onscreen.

“Turn it up,” Agatta shouted.

The female presenter led. “Scandal has hit the headlines today as Julian Newman, CEO and owner of Vance Global, who recently completed a $10bn deal to acquire Totantu Enterprises, was pictured in Central Park in a compromising position with another younger man, who it seems may be his personal trainer.” She paused as images filled the screen.

The first one was from a distance, just the two of them shirtless, sitting on the grass. This dissolved to a close-up of Callum leaning over Julian, kissing him; the third, Julian straddling Callum, doing a muscle man pose.

At this point, the male anchor took over. “Mr Newman has always shunned the public eye, never confirming either his sexuality or relationship status, whilst Vance Global has grown at exponential speed over the past nine years.” He paused. “Vance Global has been contacted for a statement, but so far they have not responded.”

The female took over. “Rumours suggest the two men took part in the Central Park half-marathon, after which these images were taken.”

Male anchor. “Looks to me like two fit guys relaxing in the park after a long run, don’t you think, Sally?”

She fanned herself with her script and blew out air. “Two very fit guys, I must say, Larry. I think if I saw either of them running, I’d probably run after them myself…”

Larry laughed as she continued, “They make a very handsome couple. Good luck to them if they are in a relationship. We’re happy for them here at WDN, and if they’d like to give us an exclusive, with all the juicy gossip, we’ll air it.”

After that, a group of school kids was pictured on rafts as the programme continued, and the TV was muted.

“Well, that could have been worse,” Agatta said thoughtfully. “It will be more interesting to see how the business channels pick this up.” She looked to Julian. “I think we’re good. I can deal.”