Page 38 of Spark

“I agree.”

“Although that’s not saying much.” With a long, dejected sigh, she grabs her phone and places the call. And a moment later, she straightens up and says, “Yes, hi, Owen.” That’s a good sign. Owen is Reed’s longtime, trusty personal assistant, and he adores Ruby even more than his powerful boss.

After pausing for Owen to speak, Ruby says, “Unfortunately, not great. I just heard Cooper’s new song. Mm hmm. So, I called to talk to Reed about it.” She pauses. “Owen, I don’t care if he’s brokering world peace. This is my life we’re talking about, my reputation, and I—" Ruby pauses again, and a second later she exhales, shoots me an excited smile, and replies to Owen, “Thank you so much, O. You’re the best.”

I squeeze Ruby’s shoulder, and she flashes me a heart-melting smile.

“Put it on speakerphone,” I whisper, and she immediately grants my request.

A few seconds later, Reed says, “Hey, Ruby Tuesday. I’m assuming you’re not a fan of Cooper’s new song?”

“Don’t release it, Reed. I’m begging you.”

Reed audibly shrugs. “Cooper’s an artist. He’s entitled to express himself in his art.”

Ruby scoffs. “That song isn’t art. It’s slander.”

Reed chuckles. “Slander? My goodness.”

“Don’t mock me. It’s slander, Reed.”

“I disagree. In fact, if the tables were turned and Cooper called me because you’d written a breakup song about him, maybe one called ‘Flying the Coop’ or something, I’d tell him the same thing I just told you: Ruby’s an artist. She’s entitled to express herself in her art.”

“Except I’d never write a mean-spirited, whiny little bitchfest of a temper tantrum and try to pass it off as a song. And, please, let’s not pretend you give a flying fuck about art, okay? Music is nothing but a money-making venture to you. Period.”

“That’s categorically false,” Reed retorts, sounds surprisingly indignant. “I genuinely care about putting great music into the world. And Ialsoexpect that music to make me a shit-ton of money. The two things can co-exist, Ruby Tuesday.”

“Stop calling me that. Cooper’s so-called art slanders me, so I need you to pull the plug on it, right fucking now.”

Reed chuckles. “Explain this slander thing to me. I’m genuinely baffled.”

“What’s to explain? The motherfucker literally says my name, repeatedly, in a song that trashes me. How is itnotslander?”

“He doesn’t say ‘Ruby Connolly.’ He says, ‘Ruby Tuesday.’ That’s a term of art in the world of music.”

“It’s my name, Reed.”

“No. Ruby Tuesday is a phrase that’s so legendary, it’s transcendent. Poetic. For all we know, he’s singing about a woman called Sheila. Or a man named Bob. Or maybe someone who doesn’t exist at all.”

“Everyone knows Cooper was recently dating Ruby from Fugitive Summer. Don’t bullshit me.”

“Everyone? Maybe your short relationship with Cooper is a known fact in your tiny corner of the world, but casual fans ofboth your bands wouldn’t know either of your names, let alone that you dated.”

Ruby looks at me, like she’s losing confidence, so I gently squeeze her forearm and nod encouragingly.

“Even if ‘casual music fans’ of our bands don’t know about Cooper and me, they’ll find out soon enough after this stupid song drops, and everyone starts googling to figure out the lyrics. I hard-launched him while he traveled with me for two months, Reed. There are photos of us holding hands and kissing, all over the internet now.”

I grimace. There sure are. Because Cooper is an insecure little prick who couldn’t keep his hands off Ruby, especially when cameras and other people were around.

“You should wantpeople to connect the dots and figure out you’re Ruby Tuesday,” Reed says calmly. “Because that will help make the song a smash hit, which is in everyone’s best interests—yours, Cooper’s, and mine.”

“How do you figure? Why on earth would I ever want a slanderous, misogynistic breakup song about me to become a smash hit?”

“Because there’s no such thing as bad publicity. A rising tide floats all boats.”

Ruby looks at me for encouragement again, and I give it to her.

“I didn’t want to have to do this, Reed, but you’ve left me no choice. If you don’t pull the plug on this song, I’ll be forced to sue you, River Records, Cooper, and his band for defamation and emotional distress and whatever else my lawyer can figure out.”

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