Page 445 of Rock Me All Night
"It belongs to the label. We're probably their third or fourth most popular artist. We only get offered it when the VP is in a giving mood."
"Who gets it first?"
Tom shrugs. "Some pop star who sings about being a bad girl."
"All pop stars sing about being bad girls."
"Not Taylor Swift."
"You're a fan?"
He shakes his head. "Not my kind of music. You?"
"If fits a certainmen are shit, they need to stop doing me wrongmood." The words echo in my head again.Please don't break my heart.
"The VP and I have had some tense conversations. Don't think he likes anybody in the band except Pete, and that's only cause he wants in Pete's pants."
"Oh. He's gay?"
"Bisexual. In his case, it means he has twice the potential sexual harassment victims. Gives other bisexual people a bad name."
"Did you fight about that?"
Tom shakes his head. "Our manager."
"The asshole?"
His face lights up. "You remembered?"
"Of course."
"A few years back, he was involved in our day to day. Back then Miles partied pretty hard. Mostly slamming vodka shots and fucking a different girl every night. Seemed normal. We were all excited to be playing big enough shows to feel like rock stars."
"I can't imagine you as anything but a rock star."
Tom smirks. "I always had the ego and the drive. But I had those moments during our first tour when we were packed into a van, playing for two-dozen bored people, sleeping on the floor, eating fast food off the dollar menu. Moments where I asked myself if it was worth it."
"Was it?"
"Yeah. Didn't really have much to go home to. Just my mom. She would have told me to suck it up and get back to chasing my dreams. Not to be cruel but because she knew I'd never forgive myself if I quit."
"She sounds amazing."
"She is." His expression hardens. Back to someplace ugly.
I clear my throat. We can't go there yet. "So, you were partying like rock stars and..."
"It became pretty obvious that Miles had a problem. And it only got worse once the label rented us this mansion in Hollywood and Miles got caught up in the party scene. Aiden was always pulling Miles out of meetings for some BS reason or another. One day I caught them doing coke. Aiden's, of course. Miles was never really into being up but then he'd do anything to not be in his head."
"How come I've never read a tabloid story about Miles using? Or going to rehab?"
"You follow gossip?"
"There could be something about Drew. I'd be a bad sister not to follow it."
Tom laughs. "You won't believe me."
"Try me."
