by Terri Lane
“Actually, we’re going to meet her today.” Brian stood up and he motioned towards the door. “I’ve arranged a meeting with her and her manager in about…” he glanced at his watch. “Half an hour. We can discuss the finer details of it all then.”
“Oh, so I really don’t have any choice in it then.” I was a little taken aback. I didn’t like having stuff forced on me like that. I preferred to think of myself as free as a bird.
“Nope, you never do. That’s what makes Playing Hard so successful. Me and my hard work.”
I screwed up my fist, just barely resisting the urge to punch him in his stupid face. I couldn’t though, he was somewhat right…to an extent. We did the music, Brian did just about everything else.
“Whatever, Brian, let’s just get this over with.”
***
Thea
I couldn’t resist dancing around my manager’s office as my song played on the radio. I knew it was a little vain to be so crazy about something that I’d created, but I couldn’t help it. I was still at the stage where everything about my music career still made me really excited.
“Number nine in the charts,” Toby grinned at me. “That’s not bad going, is it? Especially for your second song.”
“I would like it to be higher, but I’m happy.” I could feel a thrilled flush in my cheeks as I took my seat opposite Toby. “It’s going well, isn’t it?”
“I think so.” He tapped his fingers on the desk and paused thoughtfully. “But, you know there could be a way to make things go even better…if you’d be willing to try it.”
“Sure,” I half shrugged with a grin. “I’m willing to try anything.” My music was everything to me, I wanted to throw everything that I had at it. Success was something I’d craved for my whole entire life.
“I’m sure you’ve worked out now that visibility is key?”
“Sure, that’s why I attend all those events,” I laughed. “Even the ones that I don’t particularly want to.” I wasn’t much of a party girl myself, I didn’t like drinking too much and acting an idiot, and I wasn’t keen on hangovers either, but I went to them and drank orange juice. Just to show my face.
“I know, I know. This would be something like that. A little bit.” He pursed his lip. “And it would also give you a hook. With a catch, an edge, people will pay even more attention to you, which will translate into more sales.”
“Okay, okay.” I held up my hands in a surrendering gesture. “You’ve sold it, what do I have to do?”
“You have to be seen on the arm of a famous man.”
My stomach dropped, I felt sick with worry, that seemed like the one thing I couldn’t do. “How can I make that happen? I don’t know any famous men well enough to start dating them.”
“No, I know that,” Toby replied with a knowing smile. “I have arranged for someone to be with you.”
“Like…what? How do you mean?” That made no sense to me. In fact, it sounded far too much like prostitution for my liking. “What are you on about?”
“Thea, don’t panic. This is something that people in the public eye do all the time. You will be seen on the red carpet with someone who gets photographed much more than you do, you will get noticed a lot more, maybe you’ll even do some cozy magazine interviews…then you’ll become a household name without much effort.”
Admittedly, that did sound good. I wanted to go far, I’d put so much into my singing career, I’d given up a lot for it. I left my home in small town Oregon and came all the way to New York alone, with no friends or family to support me. I needed to be a success. This was a bit like a short cut…that wasn’t too bad, was it? If I worked hard too…
“What’s in it for the other person?” I asked quietly. “If they’re already famous, why do they need me?”
“He needs to clean up his image,” Toby admitted. “At the moment, he’s got a bit of a terrible reputation and his manager wants him to be seen as a serious musician instead.”
“Who is it?”
Toby didn’t answer me, instead he peered above my head. “Ah, here he is now. Come in, Brian.”
Brian?
I spun around in my chair to see who this mysterious Brian was, but it quickly became obvious from his suited appearance that he was just another manager. It was the shadow behind him that was about to become my new fake boyfriend…maybe, if I agreed to it. I still wasn’t totally sure that I felt comfortable with the arrangement just yet. Maybe once I had all the information, namely who it was.
Oh…my…God…
As he came into the light, while flicking his dark long hair out of his eyes, my eyes inadvertently ran down his lean, muscular body that I recognized easily. He was everywhere, on all the TV shows, in every newspaper, on the front cover of every magazine, he was one of the most famous men on the planet. One of the hottest commodities, in every sense of the word.
James Ward from Playing Hard.
I glanced towards Toby for confirmation of what I suspected and the curt nod I got as a reply showed me all that I needed to know. I was supposed to be seen on the arm of James Ward. He would be the man who helped to boost my fame. To say he had a bad reputation was putting it mildly, he was much too much for me. I wouldn’t be able to handle him, plus no one would believe it. Lil’ Thea with James damn Ward. It was ridiculous.
I fixed my eyes on the desk as my heart thumped wildly in my chest, I suddenly felt like I was floating on air, dreaming or something. This didn’t feel real at all. I could hear Toby and this Brian talking above my head, but I couldn’t look up. I was far too nervous and embarrassed.
Me and James, it didn’t seem possible. Then again, it would help me be seen…
“So, what do you say?” I suddenly sensed that Toby was addressing me directly. I was going to have to weigh in on how I felt about this now, in front of everyone, when I wasn’t even decided. “Will you be seen out with James, act like you’re together for a while? It only needs to be until the impact has hit. We don’t want to do a dramatic break up too…more just a fizzling out.”
“Erm…” I stared at Toby, then Brian, and finally I worked my way around to James. He gave me a slightly sorrowful smile, like he wasn’t quite as into it either. The dimples by his cheeks flashed up as he grinned, which somehow caused me to relax.
Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all…
“Sure, whatever. I’m in.”
It couldn’t be so hard. A few photos, some interviews, a bit of hanging out. Surely only good things could come from it? I had to at least give it a try.
***
James
“Where is your head, James?” Clint asked me while tossing his drum sticks to the ground in temper. “Our tour starts soon, we need to have our game faces on. What is going on with you? You aren’t doing your best at all today.”
I pushed the mic away from me and huffed loudly. “It’s just this thing with Brian,” I announced to the rest of band. “He’s getting all up in my business all the time and it’s pissing me off. I can hardly be expected to focus under these conditions.”
I watched Clint and Liam exchange a look. This was obviously something that they’d discussed behind my back. I probably should’ve felt annoyed about that, but I didn’t. I just felt relieved that I could finally discuss it more freely. They’d be as outraged as me, I felt sure of it.
“Yeah, do you mean this thing with Thea?” Liam asked cautiously. “What do you…erm, think about it?”
“Well, I’m outraged, obviously. I don’t want to be stuck having to behave myself, only being seen out with one woman. And this Thea, she’s so…stuck up.” I wasn’t sure how to describe her really, she was just so quiet. In front of the camera she acted like we were together but it seemed like she didn’t want to talk to me when we weren’t playing the role, and I wasn’t sure why. “She’s too boring for me, I don’t think the fans will buy it.”
“You don’t?” Clint didn’t sound convinced.
“No, of course not
.” I could feel myself starting to get on a roll now. “And I don’t think people are put off by my image, do you? Just because your lives are changing doesn’t mean mine has to.”
“Well, the fans are getting older…” Liam interjected carefully. The fact that he was repeating Brian’s exact words wound me up. I didn’t mind them talking to each other about me, but talking to Brian was a betrayal. “They do want to see your story as well as ours.”
“Oh, don’t give me that!” I exclaimed in temper. “Are you freaking kidding me? You want to see me fake settling down with some poppy princess?”
“Look, just hear me out, please. Don’t get mad, James. I don’t mean to be a dick about things.” I stopped to listen, just for a second. Maybe deep down in his stupid comments, Liam actually had something useful to say, we were great friends after all. “It’s obvious that people are responding well to you and Thea, and it reflects well on us. When you get positive press we all do.”
“How do you know that people like us?” I shrugged and glared. “We’ve only done that one photo shoot thing.”
“Yeah, and look at it. Go online and you’ll see, check out the responses to the photos. I truly do think that it’s a good thing for us. I know that it’s selfish of me to ask, but do you think you could stick it out for a little while longer?”
I didn’t answer Liam at first. Instead, I grabbed my phone to see what the hell he was on about. Usually I didn’t care too much for social media, I might occasionally post a tweet or whatever, but I never looked at the responses. The Internet was a horrible pit of hell that I did not need to get too deeply into.
‘@James_PlayingHard you are @LittleTheaButterfly make a cute couple!’
‘Nice pictures @James_PlayingHard, you look good sober!’
‘@LittleTheaButterfly I would’ve thought that you were too good for @James_PlayingHard, but this changes my mind.’
“Oh.” I was gob smacked, I never got reams of nice comments about the women I was seen out with. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Apparently sales have gone up too, on the back of this,” Liam insisted. “So, what do you think? Could you keep it up for a bit longer?” He clapped his hand reassuringly on my back. “I mean, she is gorgeous, right?”
“She is, I just… I don’t know if I’ll ever like her. She’s not really my sort of person”
“You only say that because she hasn’t jumped into bed with you yet.” Clint laughed at me. “You aren’t used to a girl who’s cold with you.”
Huh. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was just because Thea hadn’t shown any interest in me. I wasn’t used to it, to be fair. Even during my time at school I had girls throwing themselves at me from the first second I showed any musical talent. They seemed to know that I was going far and they wanted a piece of me. That got even worse when the band took off, so it had been a very long time since any woman had rejected me.
Maybe I just needed to up my game. Maybe if I actually flirted with Thea and I thawed that icy outer shell we could start getting along a whole lot better.
“Yeah, I suppose.” I half shrugged. “I could keep it up for now. It doesn’t have to be for too much longer anyway.”
“Good.” Liam looked visibly relieved as I agreed with his statement. “Because we have the awards ceremony tomorrow night and I think that’s a really good opportunity to showcase the pair of you. The press will go wild for the two of you, your picture will be on the front page of every newspaper.”
“When did you start getting so media friendly?” I demanded. “You used to be just like me. Now you’re starting to sound like Brian.”
“We have to evolve,” he replied as if it was obvious. “We aren’t the ‘hot, young, new thing’ anymore. We have to work to stay on top, and if that means working the media, then that’s what we should do. People love us, but we’re constantly in competition. I just think it’s wise to always stay one step ahead of the game.”
All of a sudden I felt lost, like I’d been left behind while everyone moved on around me. The worst thing was I hadn’t even noticed them moving past me. I felt embarrassed to be in the position I was, I needed a distraction.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” I grumbled while picking the microphone up off the ground. “Now let’s get rehearsing. Like you said we have a tour coming up. I would rather focus on that for now.”
***
Thea
“Is he there yet?” mom asked me anxiously. I didn’t need to see her to know that she’d be freaking out on my behalf right about now. She was probably pacing the tiny front room in her small home, with her eyebrows knotted together. I pulled the same expression too when I was confused or concerned. Me and mom looked a lot alike in many ways.
“No, not yet.” I hopped anxiously from foot to foot while I waited for James. He was already late, and with each second that passed my nerves got worse. “I’m sure it won’t be long though, then we’ll go to the event. You never know, you might even see me on television tonight. Toby told me that with James by my side I would be.”
“It’s exciting, darling, and you know how proud I am of you, I just worry. I don’t know this boy and I worry about you being with him.”
“It isn’t like that, Mom.” I wasn’t sure how to explain it to her. “It’s just like…a thing. It’s for work, we just have to be seen with one another for photos and stuff, we aren’t actually together or anything.”
“That doesn’t sound right. I’m not sure I like it.” If I closed my eyes, I could imagine Mom shaking her head in dismay at me. It wasn’t that she didn’t support my dreams, it was just that she was so comfortable with her small town life, she couldn’t seem to understand why I wanted more for my own life. “It might be best if you don’t…”
“Oh, Mom, I have to go. He’s here.”
Relief flooded me as James strolled casually around the corner, commanding the room like he always did. For a second my heart beat faster, my palms stung with perspiration, my stomach flip flopped at the sight of him.
But it was only because I needed to stop this conversation with my mom, nothing more…
“Hey there, cutie.” His eyes twinkled in my direction as I smiled. The last time we were together the whole thing was awkward and uncomfortable, it seemed like he wanted to make it easier today. I wasn’t sure what to make of this new attitude, it threw me to say the least. “Are you looking forward to this?”
“Erm, I suppose.” As he extended his arm out to me, I slipped mine through his after only a moment of hesitation. We were going to have to touch one another to make this work, might as well start now. “These things are always a little iffy, aren’t they? Sometimes they’re awesome, sometimes less so…”
“Oh I don’t know, I think it depends who you’re with.” I gasped quietly, feeling like those words might just be for me. “You can have lots of fun wherever you are, if you have the right crowd by your side.”
James led me outside to the red carpet, where the press was waiting like vultures to pounce. They were a necessary evil in this world, and I honestly wasn’t sure whether I feared them or liked them. We shared a glance, trying to gear ourselves up for what was to come.
“Are you ready for this?” James tugged me a little closer to him. I could feel the heat radiating off his body, and for some reason that comforted me a little. I liked having someone who got me and what I was going through, because I didn’t really have anyone I could talk to about my new life. “Just a few moments of playing a role and we’re free to have some fun.”
He didn’t say the word ‘together’ but I felt like it was implied. I didn’t like this man, he was nothing like me or anything like the sort of person I wanted to associate with…yet his words stirred something deep in my stomach.
Uh oh…was I in trouble?
“Erm, yeah, let’s get this over with.”
Toby was right. The second me and James got onto the red carpet all attention was on us. The cameras swung towards us, I could s
ee us being filmed, journalists yelled questions at us from every angle. This was exactly what we both wanted, but it was a little intimidating. I concentrated on the way I looked to keep me distracted. That felt like the safest move.
“You look great, babe,” James whispered into my ear as he stood close behind me and he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist. I could feel my smile falter for a second in shock, but I quickly pulled it back onto my lips.
When the whole world was looking at me, I needed to keep my media training up. I couldn’t let James change that.
Ignore James’s heat, don’t pay attention to his arms, don’t worry about the way he’s making me feel…just smile.
There was an undeniable butterfly flapping violently away in my chest, but I gulped it down. This wasn’t the time to start responding to James in any kind of way.
No time was good for that actually. He was a player. He was a rep boost, nothing more. I had to keep that at the forefront of my mind at all times.
“Should we answer any of the questions?” I breathed quietly so that only James could hear me.
“Nah, babe.” His breath tickled my neck and it became even more difficult to keep up my composure. “Keep them guessing. That’s my motto; always leave them wanting more.”
Maybe that was my problem, maybe I was always too upfront and honest with people. It was nice to be squeaky clean, but I didn’t have any mystery about me.
Well, until now.
“Thea, what is it like being Mrs. Playing Hard?”
“How long have you two been together?”
“How did you two meet?”
“James, are you settling down with this girl?”
“Will you release a song together?”
Honestly, sometimes I felt like people had no idea. How could me and James ever release a song together, we were two very different styles. I would’ve yelled that back, but for now I liked the idea of having a little mystery. It was fun.
Maybe James was right, maybe he was my person to have fun with. Tonight was going to be very interesting.
