by Amy Brent
“So, she wants to use Taylor Swift’s transition as her entire career?” I asked.
“I swear you should’ve taken that internship my father offered you,” he said.
“Music is not where my passion is. Beautiful women walking in clothes, though? Much more my style.”
I looked over to a woman walking by and she was holding a tray of drinks. I plucked one for me and handed the other to Justin. I could hear his dad talking behind me on his phone, though he was having to shout a bit to get over the noise of the party.
And there was a particular part of the conversation that caught my ear.
“Of course we want you here. You really should come. I mean, there are trays of alcohol, but even with a baby you should be good to stop by for a few minutes. No, you don’t have to dress up. Yes, I want you here. Why wouldn’t I want you here?”
“Justin?” I asked.
“Yep?”
“Why the hell’s your dad trying to convince someone to bring a baby to the party?” I asked.
I watched Justin’s eyes dart to his face as he cleared his throat.
“Probably one of his artists. He enjoys cross-promotion and he’s probably trying to work some sort of angle,” he said.
“But there is alcohol here. It wouldn’t be smart to bring a kid into all this,” I said.
“That’s probably why the artist is currently explaining to my dad why he or she isn’t showing up.”
Justin’s response was very curt and I felt like he was hiding something. The way Justin’s eyes were panning around the party instead of meeting mine. The way his expression had fallen when I mentioned it.
Who the hell was his dad talking to?
“Just thought it was weird, that’s all,” I said.
“And don’t worry. I agree. This place? Way too loud for a kid,” Justin said.
“You guys miss me?” his father asked.
“Who was that on the—?”
“Oh, hold on. My artist is beckoning for me. Let me go see what she wants, then we can get this show on the road. You guys are gonna love this song. Real game changer.”
“Game changer?” I asked.
“Yep. It’s the term my father uses when he’s got an artist that won’t make it past their first single,” Justin said.
“Why the hell does he call it a game changer if it’s clearly not?” I asked.
“Because he can get sued for a hell of a lot of money if he downplays the artist and someone hears.”
“Well, shit. Sounds like a fun situation to be in.”
I threw back the rest of my drink before I grabbed another one from the tray. All sorts of people were filing in filling up the venue for this party. Actors and actresses. Other music producers and their budding artists. Infamous musicians were making their way in and greeting the newcomer with smiles. Some guys were staring at her tits while the women on their arms were glaring at her. She was a small fish swimming in a tank full of sharks, and I could easily see why Justin’s father wanted to keep an eye on her.
She seemed airheaded, at best.
“Come on. Let’s go get into some trouble,” Justin said.
“The redhead not coming tonight?” I asked.
“She will be later tonight,” he said with a grin. “But she’s not free until almost eleven.”
“Uh huh. Any idea what she’s doing until then?”
“Probably some other guy, but why the fuck do I care?”
“Wrap it up then. I don’t need you calling me up saying your dick fell off from some unknown disease because you have no standards.”
“I do too have standards. They just aren’t as stringent as yours,” he said.
“Stringent? I’ve watched you throw three drinks back, and you can still come up with words like stringent? Here, obviously you need another one.”
I threw back one last drink and handed one off to Justin before we found us a couple of hot chicks in the corner. I had no idea who the hell they were or what they were doing here, but Justin sat down right between them. He put both of his arms around them and turned on his charm, and I backed him up whenever necessary. One girl was not into him at all, but the other was very interested. So I focused my sights on her and tried to make him seem as good as he wanted to look for her.
But deep down, I wished Jessi was here.
It wasn’t like I could party with her like I wanted. I couldn’t hold her close or kiss on her during the party. But I’d be around her. I’d get more of an opportunity to talk with her. Her dressing room had been a prime opportunity for us to indulge, but I didn’t want her to get the wrong impression. I wasn’t here to fuck her then leave. I wanted to see how she had been doing. I really did want to talk with her. To see if that connection between us on an emotional level was still there.
It sure as hell was still there sexually. But she wasn’t giving me much opportunity to talk to her outside of that.
“Settle down, everyone. Settle down. Can you guys hear me on this thing?”
We all turned towards Justin’s father as he stood on stage with his artist at his side.
“For those of you who don’t know, this is Angela G. You’ll know her name soon enough, because her single drops tomorrow morning.”
We all applauded as the girl at his side blushed.
“Don’t let her small frame fool you, however. She’s got a massive voice that’s going to turn this industry on its head.”
“Yep. Won’t make it past the first disc,” Justin said.
“So, without further delay, here is her debut single, ‘Good To Be Me.’ Remember the name—Angela G.
The song came on and it was actually pretty catchy. I even caught Justin bobbing his head with the girl he was slammed up against. She was practically in his lap at this point with the other girl nowhere in sight. I leaned against the wall and sipped on my drink, watching everyone get up and start dancing to the song. Producers were bobbing their heads and actresses were swiveling their hips. Justin’s father was talking with someone off in the corner as the artist sat front and center, with all the attention on her.
It was catchy, but it wasn’t some big game changer.
Justin was right. She’d be a one-hit wonder before she fizzled out in the populace.
“Hello there.”
I turned my head towards the voice and saw the second woman Justin had tried to score standing beside me.
“Hello,” I said.
“My name’s Jasmine. I’m the friend of the girl that seems to enjoy your asshole friend.”
I looked over at Justin, who was now tongue deep in the girl’s mouth. She was in his lap and his arm was around her, and I grinned as I shook my head.
“Eh, he’s okay once you get to know him,” I said.
“I’d rather get to know you, if that’s okay,” Jasmine said.
I ran my eyes down her body, unimpressed with what I saw. She had curves, sure. But they were nothing like Jessi’s. Her eyes were empty and glistened over with the alcohol she’d been drinking, which wasn’t how I liked it anyway. I was a fucking animal in the sack, and I wanted women to remember that. Her eyes weren’t as big as Jessi’s and her breasts certainly weren’t as nice as hers. She had a good set of legs on her, but they were toned and chiseled. Not soft and pliable like Jessi’s thighs.
Or the rest of her body.
I smiled down at the girl, trying to figure out how I could let her down gently. But before I could, a resounding slap came from behind me.
I turned around to see the girl pushing herself off Justin’s lap.
“You’re a pig,” the girl said.
“Never claimed to be anything else, sweetheart,” Justin said.
“How can you wingman for a guy like that?” the girl asked me.
“He’s not such a bad guy once you get to know him,” I said.
The girl huffed, linking arms with her friend before they both stormed off. I looked back at Justin with a grin on my face as a red mark rose o
n his cheek. Damn. She’s smacked him good. I went over and sat down beside him as he picked up his drink, then the two of us relaxed as Angela G. took the stage.
“She’ll perform it live now,” Justin said.
“But we just listened to it,” I said.
“That’s how it goes at these things. You’ll hear it four more times throughout the course of the night, too.”
“Far as I’m concerned, the night’s done. We had drinks, we mingled, and you got slapped. It’s been a good night for me.”
“And the best part? I get to end it with that fiery redhead. She’ll probably be turned on by this mark on my face.”
“Don’t tell her you got it from another woman, though. Might ruin the mood,” I said.
“Or she might be into it.”
“Take my advice. You wanna get laid tonight? Don’t tell her it was from another girl,” I said.
“Fine, fine. But I’m not done with this party yet.”
“You’re really going to try with another woman?” I asked.
“No, dipshit. I told my dad I’d keep an eye on the trash cans. Told him I could stay until eleven forty five.”
“Ah, so you’re the designated trash for the night.”
“Trash man. You forgot the ‘man’ in that statement.”
“No,” I said with a grin. “I don’t think I did.”
Justin slugged me in the arm as I started laughing. It was good to be with my best friend again. But as I looked around the room at all the men with gloriously beautiful women on their hips, my mind fluttered back to her.
To Jessi and how she wasn’t here.
Chapter 11
Jessi
My alarm started blaring at five in the morning. It was the big day. The fashion show that could change the trajectory of my career. I stretched and groaned, listening for Caleb to see if he was awake yet. I stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the light, cursing how shitty I looked. The bags underneath my eyes were heavy, no doubt from all the energy it took to volley Chris in and out of my life. I had to wrap this up somehow. I knew I had him close enough to do some damage, and I was ready for it. I wanted him hurt, then I wanted him out of my life.
I took a quick shower and stepped out just as Caleb started waking up. I threw my hair up into a messy wet bun and dried myself off quickly, then threw on some loose clothes. My mother would be coming over any minute to take Caleb for the day so I could give my nanny the day off. I always tried to do that for her. To give her the weekends off. Sometimes I couldn’t help needing her on Saturdays, but I made it a rule not to need her on Sundays.
My mother wasn’t normally my go-to choice, but after all the late nights my nanny had put in this week, she deserved the day off.
I sat Caleb in his high chair as a knock came at the door. I opened it and saw my mother smiling, though she looked pretty tired.
“Did you go to that release party, Mom?”
“Yeah, but my question is, why didn’t you?’ she asked.
“I know Dad said the baby would be okay there, but I wasn’t comfortable with it. I heard how loud the music was, and he said there was alcohol there. That just isn’t the type of place I want my infant son to be.”
“I get that completely. I didn’t get there until later, but you know who I ran into?” she asked.
“Who?”
“Christopher. You remember him? Justin’s friend?”
Did I remember him? Was she fucking nuts? I cursed the fact that my ears perked up at his name. I hated the fact that I wanted to know what he was doing there. Had he been with someone else? Was he hanging all over another woman all fucking night?
I hated that I was already so invested in this conversation, just by the mere mention of his name.
“Christopher was there?” I said. “How is he doing?”
“He seems to be doing well. He and Justin were connected at the hip all night, just like old times.”
“I’m sure,” I said, with a smile. “I’m glad he enjoyed himself.”
“He seemed to. He really enjoyed the song your father’s new artist created. He wasn’t there for long, though. Left around the time your brother did.”
I felt relieved that he hadn’t left with another woman. Then cursed myself for feeling that way. I was supposed to be playing him, not getting jealous because he was with someone else. It shouldn’t matter to me who he was with. He was nothing. Just some idiot that broke my heart and left me high and dry.
I shouldn’t give a shit what he was doing.
“Did you have a good time?” I asked.
“Oh, these things get old after a while. But I’m a co-owner in the business so it doesn’t look good if I don’t show up. You know how your father is sometimes,” she said. “But don’t you worry about little Caleb here. I’ll bring him to the show tonight so he doesn’t miss his mommy’s big show. We wouldn’t want that, would we? No we wouldn’t. Mommy’s gonna look so pretty, isn’t she Caleb?”
She sat down and started feeding Caleb as my heart sped up. They were coming? To the show? Were all of them coming? I didn’t have a contingency plan for this. I didn’t understand this was going to be a family affair. It was only another show. I’d done plenty of them in my career for them to come see. Why was this one suddenly so important?”
I tried to push everything from my mind as I kissed Caleb’s head. I hugged my mom tight and thanked her for everything, then told her not to bother about the show. If Caleb was cranky or gassy, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all if he didn’t show up.
But that didn’t deter them from coming.
The fashion show went well. All of the outfits I was in drew everyone’s attention and there was a ton of press there my manager was trying to field. Cameras were going off in every direction and my body was covered in flashes. Christopher was backstage, trying to make sure we all remembered the changes made to the routine. But each time I caught his eye I could see him linger on me a little longer than the rest.
Served him fucking right.
I walked down the aisle in six different outfits. That meant potentially thousands of pictures that would be posted everywhere for the world to see. From magazines to tabloids to people’s personal social media accounts. Not to mention I’d get formal and professional copies of everything to post on my accounts to link back to the designer. I’d be able to leverage all of this into a substantial growth in my career, and my manager felt the same way.
“You were phenomenal,” he said. “Fucking fantastic.”
“Thanks, Pierre,” I said, with a broad smile.
“I’m working with the designer to secure you three of those outfits in particular. Your Instagram account has over two million followers, right?” he asked.
“Three million as of last night.”
“Holy. Shit. Perfect. And Twitter?”
“Three and a half,” I replied, with a grin.
“I’m going to leverage your outreach to get you some of those outfits. You’ll have to wear them somewhere and post pictures, but it’ll all be free and will get you a great deal of exposure in the process.”
“Make sure the designer re-blogs and re-tweets things. This kind of exposure is necessary for a career like mine. We have to ride this momentum,” I said.
“I love working with you. Fabulous, beautiful, and business savvy in your industry. I’ll be right back.”
Pierre took off to field more press as my family came around the corner. Mom was carrying Caleb while Dad and Justin walked behind her. I embraced them all and took Caleb from my mother’s arms, hoping to heaven and high water that Chris didn’t find us.
Because if he did, I’d have to tell him I had a child.
“You were fantastic, sweetie. So beautiful in all those outfits,” my mother said.
“I liked that high-waisted skirt you wore. The one with the bow? Fantastic on you,” my father said.
“The evening gown was really nice, too. What was it—red and brown?” Justin aske
d.
“The one with the gold shimmer? Yeah, that was my favorite outfit, too. Pierre’s doing his thing right now with the designer. I hope that’s one of the outfits he can get me,” I said.
“I’m sure he won’t have a problem with it.”
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as Chris came around the corner.
“You did a good job today,” Chris said.
“Thanks,” I said. “The choreography seemed to go over well, too.”
“Christopher?” my mother asked. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Of course he is. He’s the one that choreographed the show,” my father said. “Didn’t you know that?”
“Why didn’t you tell me that this morning, sweetie?” my mother asked.
I could feel my brother’s eyes on my face as I tried to swallow my nerves.
“I was tired. Couldn’t have any coffee this morning and risk sweating in the middle of the limelight,” I said. “Plus, I was running behind. I didn’t have a lot of time to talk about dad’s party last night.”
“You missed a good one,” Justin said.
“Who’s baby is this?” Chris asked.
I turned my gaze to him as his eyes bounced between my face and Caleb’s.
“He’s mine of course,” I said plainly.
I watched his face drop as he parted his lips to speak. I tried to act as cool as possible, though I could tell my family was curious about the interaction. I nodded my head and turned away from him before he got a chance to ruin everything in one fell swoop. And in true Pierre form, he arrived at the perfect moment.
“Good news, Jessi. I got you four of those outfits. The shirt—but not the blouse, the evening gown, the jumpsuit, and the bathing suit with that wrap you wore,” he said.
“Oh, that thing was so comfortable. Thank you, Pierre,” I said.
“I’ll send you the terms of the agreement and have the clothes shipped to your place.”
“You’re a doll. Thank you so much.”
“But you might want to use the back exit. The press is stuffed in the front waiting for you, and with little Caleb here, I figured you wouldn’t want to talk to anyone.”
“Caleb?” Chris asked.
