Page 15 of I Knew You Were Trouble

My mouth opens, but my response is wedged in my throat. Because there’s no getting away from the fact that he’s angling for the truth.

‘The Chief Content Officer at Silverpix withdrew my funding,’ I confess after a moment. ‘The only way I’ll get my next project off the ground is if I film your tour first and turn it into a documentary.’

His look is thunderous. He looks to the ground, shaking his head. ‘I fucking knew it,’ he mutters under his breath.

‘With my portfolio, you didn’t actually think I’d be here willingly, did you?’ I snap, because I’ve had enough of his shitty attitude.

‘No,’ he seethes, and his fingers rake through his hair. The first smile I get out of him, and it’s a sarcastic one. ‘No, you just told me everything I need to know. Interview’s over.’

He stalks towards the unfortunate bodyguard, who stands to attention when Aidan McArthur snaps his fingers in his direction. The abrupt call to action makes me despise him more.

I watch them go then look to the sky. My eyelids slip shut. I feel raindrops.

I may have just completely messed this up before I’ve even begun.

Chapter Five

I wait in a hotel corridor on a bench outside a suite, next to Meredith and opposite Duncan, who is slouched over, reading the sports news on his phone. In our line of work, we’re used to hanging around. We’ve been kept waiting for forty-five minutes.

‘I’m sure he didn’t mean it in a negative way,’ Meredith says again, sounding hopeful, kicking her heels against the carpet.

‘It was pretty obvious how he meant it,’ I tell her. ‘Is anyone picking up at the office?’

‘In LA, no.’

It’s almost eight p.m. in Los Angeles. The Silverpix offices will likely be closed by now.

‘Vaughn was flying back to California today,’ Meredith tells me. ‘He might still be in the air.’

I lower my voice. ‘I just need to talk to him before the band’s management do. Or worse, before Aidan McArthur does.’

Duncan glances up and gives me a look like I’ve gone crazy. ‘Tell him to take a hike.’ He shrugs, and returns his attention to his phone.

‘I don’t know how much sway he has,’ I hiss. ‘If I screw this up, Vaughn Herrera will think I didn’t even try to get along with them.’

Duncan cocks a cynical eyebrow but doesn’t look my way. ‘One out of five,’ he says. ‘You’ve only met one out of five. Just go in there and sweet-talk the rest of them. Aidan McArthur will soon shut the hell up.’

‘He’s UBL.’

Duncan gives a sniff. ‘Aye, you said. I’m tremblin’ in my boots.’

‘You are not helping.’

Duncan knows me. Our collective pasts mean he knows me a littletoowell.

‘I’m just saying a wee bit of calm in this moment wouldn’t go amiss.’

I get to my feet, stretching out my back. A few nameless individuals have come and gone into the suite. I vow to accost the next person who comes in or out, whether they like it or not.

The unfortunate victim is a young South Asian-looking male with dark hair and a mountain of clothing draped over his outstretched arms. He marches past me, knocking hard on the door to the suite.

‘Excuse me,’ I say. ‘If Ziggy is inside, could you ask him to come out here, please?’

‘Uh, sure,’ the man grunts in an American accent, as the door is opened. ‘I can ask.’

He disappears inside. I sit back down, puffing out my cheeks. Across from me, Duncan’s lips twist into a grin. ‘I love that this is killing you. We should be in Bangladesh right now.’

‘Stop it,’ I chide him, planting a playful kick to his knee, which, due to the size of him, is taking up most of the narrow corridor.

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