I woke up with a huge weight pressing down on my chest. It didn’t even take me a minute to wonder why. The night before came back to me with clarity. I should’ve drunk more once I’d gotten back to my room. I felt so clear headed, without a single ounce of a hangover plaguing at me. Honestly, it would’ve been a nice distraction.
There was no way I wasn’t getting fired. It was literally my third day on the job, and I’d somehow found myself in the middle of a huge scandal. The only question I had was who would be swinging the ax. Wes? Or Tyler? I was sure the label would drop the small contract I had with them for album art. Maybe they’d have Chase do it since he was the reason I’d gotten the job in the first place.
Pushing myself up, I staggered over to the bathroom and took care of my needs. After washing my hands, I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked like crap. Hair all rumpled, mascara smudged under my eyes, and wrinkles from my pillow still visible on my face. Not that there was anyone here to see it.
I flipped off my reflection, then headed for the living room area of my suite where I’d set up a mini office for myself. I loaded up all the videos and pictures I took last night before we went out and quickly got lost in editing and stitching new videos together.
Then I posted like a fiend. The new Jesse striptease video from last night went on one social media platform. A series of pictures showing Chase mooning over his long distant wife went on another platform. A black-and-white photo of Xander looking all moody and hella sexy went up. I posted a video of Chase and Noah screwing around after the concert, but before the clusterfuck, on yet another platform.
Maybe if I fed the beast enough, last night’s brawl would get buried.
An ostentatious doorbell chime rolled through the suite. Sounded like the firing squad was early. I crossed the suite to peer through the peephole, then sank back onto my heels with a sigh.
I pulled open the door and held it for Chase. “Morning.”
“Morning, El.” Chase hugged me briefly before stepping inside the suite. “Didja order breakfast yet?”
“Um, no. I’ve just been taking care of a few things. Hadn’t gotten around to breakfast.”
“I’m starving.” Chase kicked off his boots and walked over to the room’s phone. He grabbed the room service binder and paged through the options. “You want anything in particular or you good for me to order for us?”
I sighed and followed him into the room. “You can order. You know what I like.”
I might as well get another free meal out of this before he dropped the hammer.
Chase called down and ordered more food than the two of us could ever hope to eat in one sitting. After hanging up, he sank back into the sofa and looked around the room, taking in my cameras and laptop still open. “You’ve been working?”
“Yes.” I darted across the rug to grab my laptop, but my brother was quicker, grabbing my laptop and holding it aloft.
He grunted at my attempt to take the computer from him, then stood and clicked a few buttons. “I didn’t know you took these.”
“That’s kinda my job.” Or had been my job, I corrected silently. “I thought it was better to flood your social pages with new posts in light of what happened. Redirect the public’s attention.”
Chase grunted again. “Good idea.” He clicked a few more buttons. “Don’t know what the hell to think about all this bullshit attention on Jesse though. I can’t believe some of these comments.”
“Jealous?”
Chase barked with laughter. “Fuck no. Better him than me. Just never knew he had it in him, ya know? He’s always been the quiet guy in the background.”
I didn’t know what the hell Chase was talking about, but I knew better than to say as much. No point in pissing my brother off more.
Chase closed the laptop and set it on a chair before turning to give me an annoyed grimace.
Here it comes.
“You’ve been avoiding Mom.”
That…wasn’t what I’d been expecting. What the hell? “No, I haven’t.”
“She called me three times this morning because she couldn’t get ahold of you.”
“Oh shit.” I swung my gaze all over the suite. “I don’t remember where I left my phone. It’s probably dead by now.”
“Find it. Charge it. Call her back. She’s freaking the fuck out. Gave me all kinds of shit for not watching over you better.”
“Last night was not your fault.”
“You’re right. It was yours.”
“What the fuck?” I boggled in shock. But my shock quickly fell away as anger took its place. “How? You think I asked for those douchebags to manhandle me and Harper? Do you seriously think I enjoyed any part of what happened last night?”
“Well, no.”
“Exactly. And don’t give me that bullshit line about how we were dressed or dancing or whatever else is ping ponging around in your little, tiny, caveman brain. I don’t owe a single person an apology, and that includes you.” I shoved my index finger into the center of his chest, pissed beyond belief that he was blaming me.
“Whoa. I’m sorry. Okay? I didn’t mean it like that.”
“How exactly did you mean it then? Because it sounded like you were blaming me for the actions of literally everyone else at the club last night. Including you. I didn’t touch a single person. Can you say the same?”
“I, uh, I don’t, well…”
“Exactly.”
Chase narrowed his eyes at me but didn’t have a cogent comeback to refute my logic.
I sighed and dropped it. “Have you talked to Shay this morning?”
“Of course. She’s my wife.”
“Was she pissed?”
“Of course. She’s my wife.”
I giggled and shook my head.
“Nah, I mean she wasn’t happy about the fight or the articles, but she trusts me. She knows we can’t control what they write about us.”
“That reminds me, why didn’t you just answer the question yesterday in the studio? What’s the harm in saying that Shay is working in a restaurant and you’ll meet up later on during the tour?”
“It’s no one’s fucking business what we’re doing. Shay deserves to do her own thing without all the tabloid bullshit hanging over her head. She’s finally doing something she loves. I don’t want to take that away from her.”
“And I get that. Totally agree with you.” I bit my lip and debated how honest I should get with my brother what with all the very angry energy cascading off of him. “But you’ve kinda turned it into a whole ‘Find Shay Robinson Quest’ by being so secretive about it.”
“It’s safer this way.” But his bouncing knee belied the certainty in his tone.
I didn’t agree with my brother and judging by his body language, he didn’t really either, but I dropped it. No one ever got anywhere with him when he dug in his heels. “I need to get her new number. No one thought to pass it along to me.”
“Well, go charge your phone, and I’ll give it to you.”
I rolled my eyes. Brothers. He couldn’t just text it to me? Or ask Shay to? Sighing, I tilted my head, taking in the swelling around his left eye. “Did you put something on that last night?”
“No,” Chase pouted. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. You’re gonna look like a mess at the show tonight. Let’s see if I have anything.” I walked over to the kitchen area and pulled open the large fridge to find something cold to put on Chase’s face.
The doorbell chimed again.
“I got it,” Chase called out.
After a little fruitless searching in the fridge, I found a frozen cold pack in the freezer that looked like it was part of a med kit. Running to the bathroom, I grabbed a hand towel to wrap it in. When I returned to the living room area of the suite, I found Harper standing in place of where I’d expected our breakfast to be.
“So, not room service.” I gave Harper a pained smile as I passed the wrapped pack to Chase. I hadn’t anticipated Harper being the one to fire me. God, I hoped this wasn’t going to be awkward. I really liked her.
“Hey, Ella.” Harper smiled softly at me, looking all prim and put together despite our late night—and in sharp contrast to me. I was still in my sleep shorts and tank. “Sorry to interrupt your morning. I just have a few things to go through with you, if that’s okay.”
“Just do it quick.” I stayed standing with my arms crossed while Harper sat in one of the cozy chairs. “Rip it off like a Band-Aid, please.”
“Um, okay. Wes and I had a conference call with Tyler, and he was really impressed with your posts this morning. I was actually on my way over to see what we could cobble together when Tyler called.”
I shrugged. “I thought the shotgun method would be the way to go this morning. And hopefully something sticks and gets a lot of views. Anything other than the tabloids’ narrative.”
“Yeah, smart.” Harper beamed up at me. “A few of them are already gaining traction. Especially your new Jesse video.”
Chase scoffed next to me. “What a tool.”
I elbowed him in the stomach, and he grunted. “So…everyone is…happy?”
“Yes, of course. You’re doing an awesome job. Tyler already put out an official statement on what happened last night. Of course he named me and you to put any stupid gossip to bed about Chase being unfaithful. I don’t know if you’d seen that.”
I shook my head numbly. “I didn’t actually.” I took a few beats to absorb everything she’d said. And the tone she’d used. “So, you’re not here to fire me?”
“What the fuck?” Chase asked.
Harper blinked a few times. “Of course not. That wouldn’t ever be my job. I’m a lowly worker bee like you. And Tyler thinks you’re doing an awesome job. With zero input from anyone, you managed to do exactly what was needed. Sometimes before we even thought of it.”
“Why did you think she was here to fire you?” Chase pulled on my arm, forcing me to turn toward him. “And after you gave me all that shit for the stupid thing I’d said?”
“Even though the brawl last night wasn’t my fault, I still kinda expected to take most of the fallout.” I shrugged helplessly. “It’s not like they’re going to get rid of you or Jesse.”
Chase opened then closed his mouth. Finally he shook his head. “I wouldn’t let them do that to you.”
“I love you, big brother, but you can’t control everything.”
Chase squinted like he was thinking up his comeback when the doorbell chimed again. “Finally!” Chase hustled to the door. “I’m starving.”
“I’ll just head out.” Harper stood with a faint smile. “Let you guys enjoy your breakfast. Remember, you’ve got some free time today. We just need everyone at the venue by five.”
“You sure you don’t want to stay for breakfast? Chase ordered enough for an army.”
“It’s not the food!” Chase hollered. “Just a douchebag.”
“Fuck you very much, Chase,” Jesse’s voice came followed by some muffled thumps like the guys were tussling.
I turned back to Harper with wide eyes. “You sure you don’t want to stick around and save me from that?”
“No, thank you. It’s only a matter of time before the behemoth shows up.” Harper shook her head and dashed to the door. “Bye, guys! Have fun today, but please for the love of god, keep your noses clean. No more scandals!”
“Bye, Harper,” the guys said in unison.
“Jinx!” Jesse shouted. “You owe me a Coke!” Followed by a few more muffled slaps.
“Damn.” I winced as Jesse stepped into the living area of the suite. “Do Noah and Xander look as bad as you two?”
Where Chase had a swollen left eye, Jesse had the opposite, on his right, and a gash through his eyebrow held together with butterfly closures.
It was twisted how attractive I found Jesse’s wounded face. How did he look hotter like this? Maybe there was something wrong with me.
“Very funny,” Jesse snarked.
“Actually, I don’t think the other guys even took a punch.” Chase collapsed on the sofa with a groan. “After this one went over the railing, I followed, and then security was there pretty quick to break it up.”
“Not cool, dude.” Jesse slouched into the other sofa, his arms stretched across the back. “You still haven’t ponied up a Coke.”
Chase rolled his eyes. “You can have my bacon if room service ever shows up.”
“Wait.” I waved a hand. “If they weren’t part of the fight, how did Noah lose his shirt?” I distinctly remembered him being shirtless as we were escorted from the club.
Jesse laughed. “He lost his shirt before we even showed up at Tidal. He was trying to entice Xander into doing body shots back at the Tiki Bar.”
“He was what now?” Chase snorted with laughter. “Where the fuck was I when all this was going down?”
Jesse’s eyebrows went up. “You had your face shoved in your phone. Jagger could’ve shown up, and I doubt you would’ve noticed.”
Chase huffed and shook his head.
I laughed. “He’s not wrong. I don’t think you said more than one sentence to me last night before everything went nuts.”
“I miss my wife.” Chase spread his hands out in front of him. “What’s wrong with that?”
Jesse batted his eyelashes at my brother. “I think it’s sweet. But maybe next time look up from your phone sooner, so I’m not the only one throwing down?”
“Hey, I was there!” Chase pointed at the icepack over his eye. “Where do you think I got this?”
“From tripping over the railing. I saw your not-so-skilled entrance.” Jesse laughed.
“What? Really?” My gaze swiveled from Jesse to my brother and back again.
The doorbell chimed again.
“Fuck off, both of you,” Chase muttered as he stood to get the door. “And that better be our room service, or some heads are gonna roll.”
“You mean yours because you tripped over the railing on the way over?” I laughed as Chase flipped me off over his shoulder.
“How are you handling all this?” Jesse asked me while Chase dealt with the room service waiter.
“I, uh…” I shrugged. “I’m just glad I still have a job. And um, I might’ve flooded your guys’ pages with more posts to help deflect from last night’s brawl which means—”
Jesse groaned, cutting me off. “Seriously? You posted another video of me?”
I shrugged helplessly. “What can I say? It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.”
“Do I even want to know how bad it is?” Jesse asked with a frown.
“What’s bad?” Chase asked as he followed behind the waiter who rolled a whole table laden with dome covered plates.
“The, uh.” I had to pause and cover my laugh with a cough. “The ab video I posted of Jesse from last night.”
Chase cackled with glee. “It’s awesome, man. You gotta watch it.”
“That’s not what you said twenty minutes ago,” I said with a raised eyebrow.
Chase grinned. “Yeah, but now it’s awesome because it makes Jesse twitchy. I’m all for that.”
Jesse sighed as he pulled out his cell phone from his jeans pocket.
“If that’s all, Mr. Pickles.” The waiter’s eyes bounced from Jesse and Chase. He didn’t even give me a glance.
Chase grinned. “Unless you have something you want us to sign for you.”
“Seriously?” The waiter’s eyes grew big as he patted his pockets, searching for something. “I’d love your signature, Chase. And Jesse too. That’d be awesome. Shit, I’m not supposed to address you as anything other than Mr. Pickles.”
Chase winked at him. “I won’t tell.”
“I have some paper in here.” I searched through my computer bag and came up with a blank sheet of paper.
Chase grabbed it and the pen I held up. After he signed it and passed it to Jesse, Chase pushed me toward the table. “Eat up.”
Jesse signed with a flourish and handed it back to the very thankful waiter who bowed half a dozen times as he walked backward toward the door.
Once the door closed behind him, Jesse held his phone out toward me. The video I’d posted played on a loop with the sound muted. “Seriously, Ella? It hasn’t been up an hour, and it already has twenty thousand likes?”
Chase snorted as he dug into his plate. “Sounds like someone needs to get to the gym. You don’t want to disappoint your public.”
Jesse didn’t break eye contact with me, and the smile slowly fell off my face. Tension thrummed between us, making my breath hitch. A smug smile curved Jesse’s lips. He tipped his chin at me, and my heart fluttered.
Holy shit. Was he…? Did he…?
Of course my brother had to go and ruin the moment.
Chase belched. “You guys gonna eat or what?”