Peyton adjusted the lavaliere microphone clipped to his black tee shirt.
Raji had insisted that he wear this particular shirt even though he thought was too tight. It rode up his biceps and showed off the Nordic armband tattoos that she had convinced him to get, practically marking him as hers.
He liked that thought.
The interviewer smiled at him as she adjusted her mic and read from the teleprompter just over his shoulder. Extra flood lights were stationed around her to illuminate her ebony skin for the cameras. Her dark plum lips curved in a smile as she read Peyton’s weird bio, from classical piano at Juilliard to Killer Valentine rock star.
Peyton reviewed his plan in his head.
As a paid contractor and not-quite-member of Killer Valentine, Peyton had done little publicity for the band over the years. When he’d done interviews or appearances, Xan’s publicity person and admin, Yvonne James, had handed Peyton an agenda, talking points, and death threats if he didn’t do it right.
For this interview, he was on his own.
And it was more important than ever that he say everything perfectly.
The reporter, Aubrie Bone, touched her fluff of natural black hair. “So, Peyton, did you join Killer Valentine to stalk Georgiana Johnson, who is now lead singer Xan Valentine’s wife? And didn’t you have problems with them the whole time you were there?”
Peyton breathed deeply and said, “Thank you, Aubrie, for this chance to set the record straight. When Georgie and I reconnected, I hadn’t seen her since we were seventeen, five years before. I stumbled over her and Xan Valentine in the hallway at Juilliard, quite literally. She was lying on the floor. She had tripped or something—KV’s wardrobe guy, Boris, always puts her in these stiletto high heels—and I went over to help, to make sure nothing wrong was going on with the guy standing over her. I didn’t recognize her until I was right there, right above her, making sure she was all right.”
He continued, “They were at Juilliard because Killer Valentine needed to replace one of their musicians. I was feeling unsettled with the classical soloist positions that I had been offered. They hired me. Georgie and I have renewed our friendship over the years, but that’s all. Nothing more. Neither Xan nor I stole her from the other one. No one has a broken heart.
“Also, KV and I initially had a three-month contract, and then we’ve signed one-year renewals after that. If I had been harassing Xan’s wife, I assume he would have terminated my contract at any one of those several easy opportunities. Instead, he offered me larger and larger signing bonuses and incentives each time. This is documented. It’s easy to prove. It’s also well known that Xan Valentine isn’t shy about throwing punches, so the fact that we haven’t put each other in the hospital also supports that I never harassed Georgie.”
Peyton’s other answers also rolled off seamlessly.
“Many of the other allegations from the magazine article a few days ago used to be true but aren’t anymore. Killer Valentine is a rock band, not a convent school. In the early days, especially before I joined, they worked hard and partied hard like many musicians. Rade Delcore’s heroin overdose and death caused a lot of changes. Grayson Jones is still in lockdown rehab. Cadell has been clean for three years. If his daughter needs another liver transplant, he will be a suitable donor again. Tryp’s wife is our pyrotechnics master. She would literally stash a bomb in Tryp’s drum kit if he got wasted.”
The reporter chuckled. “Sounds like Tryp’s wife is keeping him in line.”
Peyton nodded seriously, his eyes wide. “Everyone is very polite to Elfie. It must have been difficult for her when she first got hired by KV, being very young and a female roadie, so the occasional unorthodox application of high explosives probably worked well for her.”
“And Xan Valentine? How about the allegations of steroids and other drug abuse?”
Here, he didn’t answer the question she asked. He gave her the information that he wanted to be talked about. “Being a lead singer, especially with Killer Valentine’s punishing tour schedule, is physically demanding. Terribly physically demanding. Other frontmen don’t leave it all out on the stage the way Xan does, and they don’t tour as much or as extensively. Killer Valentine is devoted to their fans, and they give an all-out, total performance at every stop, and there are so many stops on the tours. Xan uses every anti-inflammatory agent he can get his hands on to survive it, including electro-stimulation, TENS therapy. It’s a medical device thing that he rubs on the outside of his throat. One of the reasons for the six-month sabbatical was to allow his cords to heal and regain equilibrium. It seemed to be working.”
No answer about steroids. Information about Killer Valentine’s devotion to their fans and a legal medical device. That should work.
More questions.
More very personal questions.
Some with some very nasty allegations.
Peyton answered, firmly, “Dr. Raji Kannan, now Dr. Raji Kannan-Cabot, and I are married. We had a separation in our relationship due to professional complications. I was on the road with Killer Valentine. She is doing her residency in cardiothoracic surgery.” Yes, he pronounced it correctly. “These are both high-stress, high time-commitment professions. We’re figuring out how we can make it work. She’s committed to saving lives, as I am to music and performing. We’re in this for the long haul.
“Raji was not the source for the Fame This Week interview. The source was someone very close to her, someone whom she confided in. That person was a false friend who betrayed her. If Fame This Week has any evidence that Raji was the source, they should publish it. It won’t be Raji’s voice on any tapes. It won’t be an email from her account nor from her ISP address. Raji didn’t betray me or Killer Valentine. I trusted her then, and I trust her now.” Peyton looked at the camera. “Go ahead, Fame This Week. Publish your raw source material. Let’s see your evidence. I know who it was, and she’s not a part of our lives anymore. You won’t be getting any more information from her.”
At the next question, Peyton forced a grin onto his face even though jealousy flashed through him at the very thought. “I didn’t ask her because it’s none of my business, but as for me, no. Since I met Raji, there’s been no one for me but her. Yes, even when we were ‘on a break.’ She’s the only woman in the world for me.”
An obvious question.
Peyton tried to spin it because he had no answer. “I’m not entirely sure what my next step is. I know I’m not going back to Killer Valentine. That bridge has burned. For now, I’m getting to know our daughter and settling into life as a husband and father. It’s important to me to do this right. After that, who knows? I’ve been writing music for years, but it wasn’t right for KV. I played a few songs for Xan and Cadell a few months ago, and they agreed. My music is too soft, too gentle. It’s certainly not ‘Rock like Rome Is Burning’ by any stretch of the imagination. KV is Xan Valentine’s project. I need my own project for my music. I’ve learned a lot from watching and listening to Xan about how to run a band and run it right. In a few months, I’ll explore my options. I’m looking forward to it.”
At the last question, Peyton grinned. “Gita Elizabeth Cabot. Gita is a traditional Indian name that means song or music in Sanskrit.”