Page 29 of For The Record

“Naoya Sugawa just released a brand new single,” he says. “And—wait for it—”

“I’m not about to wait for anything, Eddie, just give it to me straight.”

“It’s almost an exact copy of Ryder’s song. Some lyrics are changed, but the major difference is that it’s been heavily remixed,” he says. “Listen.”

With the click of a button, I hear heavy 80s-style synthesizers, playing over the clash of cymbals and an electronic trap beat. Then Naoya’s voice—the same voice that music enthusiasts and critics alike have proclaimed isthe voice of an angel, the voice of this generation—starts singing.

While the original version, Ryder’s version, was like the love child of 2010 One Direction, Ed Sheeran, and Shawn Mendes, this version is utterly uncohesive and yet… it works. It revamps the song in an entirely new way, one that is bound to get it stuck in one’s ear, not as a sappy ballad but an infectious earworm. The lyrics no longer sound like a plaintive, mournful lament over love lost, but like a club banger that happens to be a bit contemplative.

Driving through L.A. late at night

Thinking ‘bout you, girl

Tryna find the light we had, but there ain’t a star in the sky

“I’m pretty sure this is five kinds of illegal, or at the very least… sketchy,” I say when I’m done admitting, begrudgingly, that the song actually sounds better than Ryder’s version. “Can we sue? Who’s the producer?”

“He didn’t list a producer,” Eddie says. “I thought he might have done it himself.”

“Naoya’s not a producer,” I say. But then again, how well do I know the guy? Not well at all, not even a cursory glance at his Wikipedia page.Skye knows him, though.A voice whispers in my mind and I quash it as soon as it speaks. Yet even then, I remember how he called her on our date, how she was laughing at his jokes. “He’s a singer. I want to know who produced that song.”

I kind of want to poach them, too, but that’s beside the point. Eddie speaks. “Right, well, I’ll pass that info along to some guys who should be able to help you out or at least point you in the right direction. Also, Naoya’s claiming that Ryder sold the song to him. Where are you driving, by the way?”

“A date,” I say before I remember Ed’s irritating intervention into my love life. “What do you mean? How can he make that claim?”

“Who’s the lucky lady?” I can picture him waggling his eyebrows and completely ignoring my question.

“I’m not telling you.” I sigh. How did this day go from bad to worse? The only thing I was looking forward to was this date and now… I’m having the sneaking suspicion that Skye could have been involved in this. The team I put together to help with the investigation, as recommended by Mark Leong, has come up with inconclusive results.

Skye and Naoya seemed pretty close at Ryder’s party…

She took his call in the middle of our first date…

Shut up,a voice in my brain says. Small, but it’s there. Skye wouldn’t…

She could, though, and that’s almost enough for me.

Chapter 15: Skye Holland

I’m sitting in L.A. traffic, phone plugged into the car’s Bluetooth speakers, Poppy’s voice blaring animatedly when my car just stops.

Now, considering it’s Los Angeles, starting and stopping is pretty normal. But this is a different sound. My engine is stalling. Pulling over to one side of the street, I end up parked next to an ice cream shop.

“Poppy,” I say, mentally calculating the cost of a mechanic combined with rent, groceries, and utilities. “My car broke down.”

She narrowly misses rattling off a string of profanities, substituting them with Southern Belle-approved versions including “son of a motherless goat.”

“I think you should stick to ‘son of a gun.’”

“Rude,” she says, but I hear her mirth beneath the worry. “Are you gonna be okay? How will you get home?”

“I’m calling the tow truck,” I say. “I’ll keep you posted.”

The sign for the ice cream shop flashes in blinking neon letters against the peachy sunset. “In the meantime, do you want ice cream?”

“Your car broke down and you want dessert? I must be rubbing off on you.”

“I’m right next to Scoop and Scoop Some More. Last chance.”

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