Page 22 of Filthy Rich

And when you see the ugliness,

Call it by name, oh, call it out by name.

Total silence follows the close of the music.

“I didn’t really understand,” I hear the camera guy saying. “I didn’t, but now I do.”

If we reach anyone else, anyone at all, maybe this was all worth it.

“What didn’t you understand?” Jake asks.

The camera guy coughs. “No, I just meant that with her voice, I mean, I’ve never heard anything like it. It just doesn’t match. . .” He cringes.

A muscle in Jake’s jaw pops, and he opens his mouth.

Before he can say anything, I drop a hand on his forearm. “It’s fine. Please let it go.”

Jake’s head whips toward mine.

“It’s in the song,” I whisper. “They have to realize what they’re saying and thinking themselves, or it won’t change anything.”

“But, I have to say,” a small voice off to the left says, “White Knight looks good on you. Are you sure you’re not the one who leaked the video?” Bea steps to the side, her smirk front and center on her face.

“Do you really think I’d have done that?” He glances my way. It’s the first time I realize that he does get some things—he wouldn’t have released a video that let everyone see me being mocked, even if it would have shifted the public image in a way that helped me.

“I guess you’re right.” She’s frowning, though. “It’s someone who wanted to help, but didn’t really get it.”

We redo the whole thing another five or six times, but in the end, I’m pretty sure the studio’s going to use the first one, where I was crying.

“I think we can call it a day,” Eddy finally says, spinning his hand, index finger out, round and round. “That’s a wrap.”

“That went fast,” Jake says. “Right?”

“It helps that the singer you found never misses a single note.” Eddy’s half-smile is encouraging. “I couldn’t believe how in sync the two of you were. It felt like you’d performed together a dozen times.”

“Instead of the truth—that they barely know one another.” Patrice is leaning against the wall. I hadn’t even realized she stayed. I hate the thought of her seeing me performing at all, much less such a vulnerable song. Maybe her mean words bothered me more than I realized. Even after all these years, some barbs still slip through my armor.

“Oh, I don’t know. I think I know Octavia pretty well.” Jake wraps an arm around my shoulder.

Patrice frowns. “She’s your sister’s friend, and I heard Bea say they only met a few months ago.”

“In addition to being my sister, Bea’s my roommate and my best friend,” Jake says. “As usual, you’re totally wrong about all your assumptions.”

“I’m totally wrong about which ones, exactly?” Patrice steps closer. “Because it seems like a mistimed comment on my part is causing all sorts of problems. It might even put the movie’s success in jeopardy, and instead of shoring things up for the movie, you’re over here. . .whatever it is you’re doing.” She waves her hand. “You backed the wrong person.”

Jake’s arm tightens around my shoulders. “I backed Octavia because. . .”

It was the right thing to do.

He’s a good guy.

He couldn’t support Patrice when she’s a jerk.

I’m not sure exactly what he’s going to say, but I can almost hear his voice already, defending me in the same way Bea always has. She’s fierce, like a tiger. She’s strong, like a hurricane. And she’s determined, like a donkey.

“It’s fine,” Patrice says. “This will all blow over and you won’t have to do stuff like this with her anymore. By the time the movie comes out, everyone will have forgotten about all the nastiness, and they may even re-record this whole thing. You don’t have to worry about your image or being linked to her.”

Is that what Jake was worried about? Is that why he hesitated?

---