Page 41 of Perfectly Wrong

“These are lyrics from Sam’s latest songs,” Jeremy explained, gesturing for me to sit. He hit play on his computer, and the opening notes of a track filled the room. “Track number two, Anxious.”

My stomach dropped as Sam’s voice started singing lines he’d once sung to me in my living room. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. He couldn’t have…

“Martin mentioned meeting you at a coffee shop when we first spoke. Then on track nine, It Was For You, he sings about seeing you with someone else but thinking you looked unhappy. There’s no mistaking how irritated he was by you and John at that party.” Jeremy’s words cut like a knife. “What was that, Elena? He was practically performing for you. And when you left, he bolted out like he’d been shot.”

“Jeremy, this is ridiculous,” I said, tossing the paper back on the desk. “I didn’t know he had some kind of infatuation with me—”

“Elena,” Jeremy interrupted sharply. “He followed you to Japan.”

“He didn’t go to Japan because of me!” I snapped, raising my voice.

“Are you sure?” Jeremy clicked on another track. “Track three, You in Japan. He sings about it being more than friendship. Then Marco mentions seeing him there, and Rento claims a man kicked him out of your room. Who was that, Elena?”

“Rento shouldn’t be talking. He barged into my room, completely drunk, and was lucky to get out alive.”

Jeremy leaned over the desk, his face inches from mine. “Who was in your room, Elena?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“When Sam Martin goes to Japan and spends the night in your hotel room—paid for by this company—yes, it is my business.”

I didn’t know what hurt more—Jeremy’s words or Sam’s betrayal. I had begged him so many times not to write about us, knowing it would cause problems. Now, I watched my career crumble over a few stupid lyrics. How could he do this to me?

“I’m going to ask you one last time, Elena.” Jeremy’s voice was steely, his trust in me shattered. “What’s going on between you and Sam Martin?”

There was no point in lying anymore. Marco knew Sam had been in Japan, Rento knew there was a man in my room, and the lyrics were practically a confession. I shut my eyes, trying to find the right words. Nothing came out. “I’m sorry, Jeremy,” I whispered.

“Sorry?” he shouted. “Elena, what the hell is this? You just signed the biggest contract of your career with this company, you’re given opportunities people would kill for, and you’re telling me you’re sorry for sleeping with a nineteen-year-old? Are you out of your mind?”

I had nothing else to say. I knew I’d messed up. I’d berated myself so many times for getting involved with Sam. Now it was too late.

“What am I supposed to tell the board?”

“They can’t prove it, Jer.”

“They don’t need proof, Elena. They’ve got witnesses, and they’ve got a competitor for Martin who’s more than happy to use this against you.” His face turned red as he paced around the office, exasperated. “Did you stop to think, even for a second, about the chaos you’d cause if Rento decided to accuse you of violating the contract? You turned down the Japanese project because you were ‘too busy’ with the SM Project. And now I find out you weren’t just working on the project, but the artist too. They could sue us!”

My vision blurred, and I felt the room spinning. I took a few deep breaths to keep from passing out. I knew all of this. What I didn’t know was why Sam had decided to throw me under the bus like this. It couldn’t have been because of John. He’d been doing this for a while, and I couldn’t figure out why.

Jeremy ran his hands through his hair. “You could be fired, Elena,” he said, and I let out a shaky breath. “And you probably will be.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, a sharp pain stabbing at my heart. Icon Records was everything to me. My friends were here, my happiest memories. And now, they were going to kick me out because of Martin.

“Unless you can give me a damn good reason not to fire you. Did he force you? Is he blackmailing you?”

I shook my head. “Nothing I say can change what happened.”

Jeremy stared at me for what felt like an eternity before dropping into his chair again. “You’ve screwed up everything, Elena. Your job, your career… all of it.”

“Does the board know?” My voice cracked as I asked.

He nodded. “When I was listening to the song, Marco walked in with one of the directors.” Shit. “He started talking about seeing you two in Japan, how Sam freaked out when he saw you. The man heard ‘You in Japan’ and put two and two together. He demanded answers, and I told him I didn’t know what was going on. He told me to find out and report to legal.”

I closed my eyes. This was a nightmare. “And now?”

“And now one of you—if not both—is getting dropped from Icon Records.” If he’d slapped me, it would have hurt less.

“There has to be another way, Jer. This company is my life.”

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