Author's note: I'm all about the Cressida/Johanna right now! This idea just formed itself in my mind. I'd love to know what you think. Come visit me on Tumblr (booksrockmyface).

Happy reading!

PR Nightmare

Cressanna One Shot

Cressida clicked the button to post and sat back in her desk chair, stretching out her back. It had been a long day. And it all started with that damn frog toy going off at three in the morning. She just had to write the new blog entry about it and she knew it probably wasn't going to be received well by the company. But who wants an expensive toy that only knows one trick and makes noise at the most random, inconvenient times?

"False advertising," she claimed because the commercials had promised a wide range of realistic movement and sound. All it did was jump a summersault and her son Evan found that boring after about twenty minutes.

And that was the last she really thought about it for a while. Sure there were plenty of people making all sorts of comments along the lines of, "Oh, we had the same problem. Wish the company would fix it or lower the price."

A few were negative. "That's what happens when you buy from Snow Industries. You should have known better. Expensive doesn't always mean good quality."

Cressida just responded to the ones that asked direct questions and moved on to her next blog entry. This one was about Evan's first day of preschool.

She was deep in the typing when she received an email marked URGENT. The company attached was Snow Industries.

The message read: "Ms. Beck, Please know that the post you have written about our REALISTIC FROG action figure is unacceptable. Remove the product review immediately."

It was signed by Johanna Mason, head of PR for Snow Industries Toy Division.

"Sorry, Johanna Mason," Cressida said, deleting the message, "no can do."

She got another message a week later stating, "We see that you still haven't removed the blog post about the REALISTIC FROG. Please do so immediately."

It was again signed by Johanna Mason.

Cressida ignored it. And she continued to ignore the messages, sharing the post in question on her Facebook and Twitter almost daily from that point on.

And then one day she got a call.

"Is this Cressida Beck?" The woman on the other end of the phone sounded bored.

"Yes, who is this?" Cressida said slowly.

"Johanna Mason, Snow Industries." The other woman said. "I need to speak with you about the frog toy."

Cressida spoke before Johanna could go on. "It's a piece of junk, I'm not taking the post down."

Johanna heaved a huge sigh. "I understand your point of view. However, the sales have started to drop ever since your post, so we need to fix this before it plummets."

"That's not really my problem." Cressida started.

"Yeah, it kind of is." Johanna said, her voice getting harsh.

"I'm hanging up now. Thank you so much for calling." She pressed the end button before the other woman could respond.

Any other call from the number was ignored.

Cressida and Evan were in the middle of their dinner a few weeks later when someone knocked on the door.

"Who could be here at this hour?" Cressida grumbled as she went to answer.

She glanced out the window beside the door and saw a woman with spiky brown hair and a slight smirk on her face. Her brown eyes locked on Cressida's and she gave a little wave.

She called, "I'm Johanna Mason."

Cressida took a moment to consider and then opened the door just enough to wedge herself between it and the frame. "Is it really so bad that I posted about the damn frog that I get a house call?"

Johanna heaved a sigh. "Look, I know the frog is shit. All the toys are. But we rely on good reviews from people that just want the chance at free stuff."

Cressida felt her face dropping into a scowl. "I just want my kid to have something fun. It shouldn't be too much to ask."

Evan tapped on her back. "Mama, who is it?"

Cressida looked over her shoulder. "Someone who's leaving in a minute."

Johanna's face softened. "Look, I'll try to do something about it if we can get a different review."

"You mean like giving me a toy that works and won't scare me to death in the middle of the night?" Cressida challenged.

Johanna looked her over. "I'll see what I can do about that."

Cressida nodded. She glanced behind her to Evan and then back to Johanna. "Thanks for stopping by." She started to close the door when Evan piped up.

"You should ask her inside, Mama." He said.

"We don't know her, Evan." Cressida said softly.

Evan pulled the door open and announced, "It's Taco Tuesday! You want some?"

Johanna chuckled. "I think I'll take a rain check. Like your mom said, we don't know each other."

Evan said, "I like your hair. My mama likes to shave hers off sometimes to show off her vines. She dates girls sometimes. And you're really pretty." He looked up at his mother. "Mama, she could be your girlfriend. You should ask her."

Cressida chuckled nervously. "Okay, enough, Ev. Go eat your supper and I'll be there in a minute."

Evan looked between the women and then shrugged. "I tried." He wandered off.

Johanna leaned close. "What do you say to a date on Friday and we can discuss this whole situation?"

Cressida considered it a moment and then nodded. "Okay."

Johanna winked. "I'll call." She turned and sauntered away.

Cressida closed the door and returned to the kitchen. "You're gonna pay for that." She said, tickling the back of Evan's neck.

He giggled. "But she really is pretty."

She sighed. "Yeah, she is." She kissed his temple and they went back to their meal.