Page 33 of Take What You Want

It doesn’t surprise me that this was her idea, but she’s playing it all off like she’s the one doing me a favor in all of this. I’d argue it’s the other way around.

“It’s beneficial for you, too. Let’s be honest. You’ve become irrelevant in the last year and a half.”

She opens up her mouth to protest but I continue.

“And doing this song is going to get you back onto the charts and into the spotlight. But that’s not enough for you, is it? Attaching your name to mine romantically would do leaps and bounds more for you than a one-off single.”

“So what if it does?” she asks haughtily.

“Nothing wrong with it,” I concede. “It’s a smart move.” After all, I have to give credit where it is due. “But I don’t want a part in it. I just wanted to get back into music, and doing this song was a condition of it. I want to do it and be done.”

“And what if you can’t?”

“Can’t what?”

“Get back into music.” She steps closer, shoulders back and staring me down. “What if we do this song and it’s only mildly successful? You think that bodes well for your solo album? What if you make that and no one cares about it because you don’t have three buddies with you to back you up on it? What if no onecares because while as a group you may have been huge, but as an individual, you’reirrelevant?”

She throws the word back at me with such spite that I know I hit a nerve earlier with her when I lobbed it at her.

I clench my jaw, inhaling sharply through my nose as her words are like missiles, finding those exact insecurities I’ve been plaguing myself with and hitting them with explosive accuracy.

She arches a perfectly styled brow and smiles victoriously.

“Just think about it.” She drags her hand across my chest, nails scraping over the fabric in an intolerable way, and I brush her off. With a flip of her short bob, she strides out the studio.

I stare at the door, stunned for a moment.

“I’ll uh…I’m gonna go grab lunch,” Kyle says, startling me. I forgot he was even here. “Do you want anything?”

I shake my head.

He pats me on the back sympathetically before he also leaves. The studio is plunged into silence as I’m the last one here.

What the hell was that? I flop onto the leather sofa behind the sound board and pull out my phone. I need to load this off on someone else.

Me: Kerra wants a PR stunt

My best friend is quick with his response.

Reid: Fuck that

Me: Right?

Reid: No way Arun’s on board with that. It would just be another headache for him

Me: She said it was both of our management's idea

Reid: And you buy that?

Me: I don’t know

Reid: Do you want my opinion?

Me: You’ll give it anyways ;)

Reid: She’s a snake.

Takes one to know one. But Reid has always been more of a ball python with me and saved his venomous snap for others.

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