Page 130 of I Knew You Were Trouble

‘Of course, consider it done.’

The call comes when I’m in bed.

‘You, my dear,’ Simone hums, ‘have officially been given the green light. No changes to the documentary required.At all.’

I bolt upright, my hand at my chest. ‘What changed?’

‘Seems the members of Rebel Heart managed to get hold of a copy of your documentary. Do you know how that could have happened?’

I swallow. ‘No idea.’

‘Well, you might think he hates you, but Aidan McArthur got up and sang your praises to the entire room. He read the management company and the record company the riot act. He said that if any changes were going to be made whatsoever to your documentary, then the band would flat out refuse to either endorseorpromote it. He said that Ravi Bala was ready to announce his sexuality to the world and had already told those nearest and dearest to him, and was patiently awaiting the documentary’s release. He said that the band fully supported any covert filming completed without their prior knowledge because of its artistic integrity and overall contribution to the raw honesty of the piece. He said it with far more eloquence than I could, but that was the crux of it. He had Vaughn and the Silverpix creative team eating out of his hand. The management and record company guys went away with their tails between their legs.’

‘I don’t believe it.’

‘Well, believe it. It’s happening. Herrera is already talking about bringing the release forward. Maybe even a cinematic release before it goes to streaming. He’s completely ecstatic about your work. For your next project, I think we can be asking for awaybigger budget.’

‘Thank you, Sim,’ I breathe.

‘Get some sleep, Lexi. And well done. We’ll talk when I know more. For now, have a rest. You deserve it.’

I fall back against my pillows, my lips curling into a smile. I go back to my phone, navigating to the screen where my message to Aidan still languishes with no reply, and the single grey tick. Because I’m blocked, I can’t see his status.

I type the words ‘thank you’ then delete the message. There’s seems no point. Just because he’s apparently forgiven my use of concealed cameras doesn’t mean he still wants to be with me.

My smile fades as I convince myself of this fact, and it takes me a long while to drift off to sleep.

Chapter Thirty-Six

‘This Friday night. What y’up to?’ Duncan asks me over the phone.

‘Precisely nothing, I imagine,’ I say. ‘Why?’

‘Thought I could come over and keep you company. Cheer y’up.’

‘Great. How about we go for dinner?’

‘Takeaway is fine. I’ll come to you. I’ll be there before eight.’

On Friday, in preparation, I buy beer and bottles of wine. When the intercom sounds, I buzz him up.

I open the door to find Meredith standing in front of Duncan. ‘Surprise!’ she squeals, and, gasping, I throw my arms around her.

‘What are youdoinghere?’ I blurt.

‘Duncan invited me. Plus, I spoke to Vaughn about a possible move to the London office, so I’m scoping out possibilities.’

Later, in the kitchen, as she helps me cut ingredients for a salad to accompany takeaway pizza, I glance back at Duncan in the living room. He appears to be moving things around. I’m full of questions.

‘And, things between you two… are they…?’

Meredith blushes. ‘We’re…’ She flip-flops her head from side to side. ‘Righting a few wrongs.’

I raise my eyebrows. ‘And how’s that working out?’

She beams. ‘Pretty good so far. And if I can get a job with Silverpix in London…’

Smiling, I glance back at Duncan, who still seems to be moving furniture. ‘Whatishe doing in there?’

---