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The members of X69 went up on the half-lit stage among the applause and shouting of the audience.
The guys smiled as every time they took their places they were prepared to give their best with their instruments on stage.
They were born for this. Fifteen years of playing together and gaining more and more fame weren’t in vain.
Although, in the last years their fame was also a product of their recklessness when they would party. Well, the ones who were not married or engaged. Like Liam who was the vocalist and guitarist of the band and Cole who was the drummer for the band. Alex and Harry, the bassist and keyboard player, were happily married. Jamie, the second guitarist, had just gotten engaged.
Those guys just fed the press with their top songs. Which reached the highest positions on the Billboard Charts and most of the times stayed there for many seasons.
But reporters didn’t care much about that. They had other members like Liam or Cole who were ready to feed them with compromising pictures and behavior. Like the scandal of the police finding Liam with his pants down and a beautiful blonde performing an oral favor on him.
He was a man. What else could he do? Besides, he found easy women everywhere, and it was a bit stupid go and pay for sex when other girls would serve themselves up on a silver platter, and he didn’t even need to buy them drinks.
And well, yes, the other members of the group were right, even Cole. Liam could have looked for a hotel to have fun with a little more privacy but the thing was that Liam didn’t care about keeping up appearances and didn’t plan his personal parties with a bit more care.
Liam Woods followed his urges, no strings attached. To him, there was no such thing as a “future” on the personal level because he never believed in love, either romantic love, family love or any kind of it.
All the bad experiences he had been through since he was very little had led him to think that love wasn’t for him. An alcoholic mother, an unknown father, foster homes when the state decided to take custody away from his mother after she put Liam’s life at risk by falling into an alcoholic coma.
The time he spent at foster homes was the worst of his life. He never felt like he belonged in of any of those families. Even though some of them had been caring and kind to him. However, he wasn’t organized, methodical, a good student, and didn’t have good habits.
In general, the rules didn’t suit Liam.
So one thing led to another. When he became a legal adult and was finally on his own Liam felt happy.
However, his happiness would last only a couple of days because he decided to leave the last house to go wherever life would take him. As usual, his decision wasn’t the best because he found out that in mid-winter it wasn’t a good idea to let himself get carried away by an idea. Life left him abandoned in a homeless center begging for shelter and food because he couldn’t return to the house that he had left for very powerful reasons. The first, pride. The second, he didn’t want to hurt again that nice and kind woman who made him feel loved for the first time.
He still remembered sweet Helen. Who could have been his mother and had it been true his life would have been different. But he didn’t complain about all the things that he had been through because thanks to all that suffering and “bad luck” he’d had the opportunity to work in a bar. There he learned to serve drinks, and he found his real passion, music.
It didn’t take long for Liam to save money and buy his first guitar. He played every free time he had and soon luck found him.
First, he met his best friends, the members of X69 and after the first show at the bar; Sean McAdams took them straight to fame.
Now they were there, on a huge stage in front of an audience. The audience was overwhelmed by their best songs. They were part of a team that seemed good. Although, it wasn’t Liam’s favorite due to the woman who was now the public relations assistant for the band.
He had always been against of those people for the simple reason that he wasn’t interested in anyone coming in to clean up the mess that, according to everyone, he caused. Whatever they thought made no difference to him. This time Liam allowed himself to be convinced because three of the band members were in favor of Sean’s suggestion to participate in the campaign offered by the fashion magazine. However, he’d mentioned that they would have to follow some “rules.”
Of course, that had already freaked him out. Sean knew it, but the only thing Liam could do was accept all the nonsense after Alex, Jamie and Harry agreed with the idea of someone cleaning up the group’s image and showing publicly that some of its members were willing to settle down and do things right
Women... they were everything, and Liam knew it.
Women changed men. Before meeting Emma, Alex was about to be considered a porn star and had the internet existed at the time that Harry did so many stupid things; the good and marvelous Lucy wouldn’t have married him, because funnily enough life was full of contradictions. Lucy resembled a nun in her lifestyle and Liam couldn’t even think about the bad time she would have if she saw for herself the evidence of Harry’s folly with women, drugs, and alcohol, or what was worse if those things came to light.
But now he was a decent man who hid his tattoos under the immaculate suit he wore on Sundays when they went to church.
And Jamie, the good Jamie was free from many vices. His main problem was casinos so as long as he stayed away from them, everything would be fine. He wasn’t a saint, but his actions weren’t noticed as much.
When the band finished playing the audience gave an ovation, and the lights turned off.
“All right, boys. We sounded great today.”
The audience clamored for more.
The guys looked at each other and smiled.
“One more?” asked Alex.
“Let’s go.” Cole sat again behind the drums and hit the drumsticks together.
The audience shouted crazily.
They played their first song to reach the top of the Billboard Chart.
People shouted madly.
Liam moved on stage, from one side to the other, squeezing out the sound from his guitar. He liked to feel free up there. That’s why he always asked for wireless microphones.
In one of his movements, he could see the woman who was now in charge of cleaning up the name of the band standing backstage. The woman was singing along, uninhibited.
He knew it. She was a fan of the band. He had realized that at the police station when he almost had to wipe the drool off her chin after she saw him in front of her.
Liam bet she was one of those women who considered him her impossible love.
Liam gave her a cheeky smile causing her to stop singing while the color drained from her face.
Yes, of course, he liked her. He smiled again. She wasn’t bad looking, and maybe they could end up in bed. Or better yet, in the back of a car, in front of a playground at inappropriate hours.
Yes, it would be interesting to see how she got the band out of that mess. And herself.
Maybe, Liam had a good opportunity to get rid of the stupid idea of doing community service, and causing the press to get bored of him.
***
Eve stopped singing as soon as Liam smiled. The same smile that had captivated her from the first time that she saw him on a magazine cover so many years ago. When the band was just starting out.
Liam was attractive. He was tall, thin, had black hair and had a scruffy beard that he hadn’t shaved in three days. The pair of tattoos that he wore on his arm and torso gave him that bad boy vibe that Eve had dreamed about. Because you only dreamt about that kind of guys. It was classic, but in real life, they brought a lot of problems.
Just like in this case. Eve tilted her head sideways and arched her eyebrows, trying to assert her own thoughts.
How many nights had she dreamed about Liam picking her up from her house and taking her to a concert as his girlfriend?
Thousands.
Thousands of nights and days, Eve didn’t just dream about concerts. No. She dreamed of taking Liam to family events. She dreamed of getting into the tub with him and taking a bath with him, sleeping with him and many more things with him.
And now she couldn’t believe she was there, in front of the whole group, backstage at the concert. Eve knew that the best was about to come: a cocktail that her mother had organized with all the campaign associates as hosts. Of course, she would be able to hang out with the guys without a problem.
“You will drool over him.” Brooke ended Eve’s charming when she approached her at the same moment that the band finished playing.
“Stop saying that. The man is an idiot.”
Brooke laughed.
“You’ve loved him all your life.”
Eve looked daggers at her.
“I’m not planning to have an affair with Mr. I-sleep-with-everyone.”
“Why not? Besides, you’re not going to take any relationship seriously. That’s what you told me the last time you went out with that charming guy who got fed up with your ‘feminism’.” Brooke used air quotes.
Eve rolled her eyes.
“Don’t you start, okay?” Eve complained to her sister. “I’m tired of being judged for defending women’s rights.”
Brooke hugged her.
“Sis, you’re the one who doesn’t understand that you missed the target of the real struggle a long time ago. Mom keeps repeating that to you.”
Yes, she did, but Eve’s pride couldn’t let her believe it. She found it really hard to change her attitude towards men regarding romantic relationships.
Her fight for the struggle of feminism had deviated a long time ago. Eve didn’t know when, but she realized that she made men feel useless and that wasn’t a struggle for equal rights.
But it was very difficult for her to change her attitude. Especially when she realized that she could fall in love with someone because the guy of the hour was charming with her. Those were the moments when she made them feel worse.
“Here come the lovebirds,” Brooke announced, shaking Eve out of her thoughts and letting her see the youngest of the Collins girl’s approaching them. She held hands with her coach and now boyfriend, Keith.
The girls hugged each other as usual.
“Are you nervous?” Brooke asked Cameron, and the girl nodded.
“Bah!” Eve smiled proudly. “I’m sure that you’ll be great. Besides, you look gorgeous.”
The workers walked up and down the platform quickly. They were arranging everything for the show to continue. The campaign was starting, and all the models who took part were ready to go out and win over the audience of the fashion show that Fashion View had organized for real women.
“I hope so.” Cameron seemed to be looking for someone. “Where’s mom?”
“She’s downstairs in the event’s VIP area with the associates. You can go with her if you want,” Eve said to Keith and her older sister. “I’ll stay with Cam.”
“No way,” Keith answered, while he hugged one of Cam’s shoulders with one of his arms. “I’m going to watch this beautiful model from here.”
Eve smiled when the man kissed her little sister.
They looked so happy. She had the chance to see Keith’s declaration of love on the TV show, and she was glad that everything had turned out fine between them.
“By the way, you deserve all my respect and admiration after that declaration of love you made to Cam in front of millions of viewers.” Eve smiled at him.
“I was terrified about her rejecting me.”
Everybody laughed.
The flashes of some cameras went off, uncontrolled, behind them.
At the end of the hall, Eve could make out the shadows of two people who were swallowing each other’s tongue while kissing.
When the flashes lit up the area again, Eve realized that Liam and one of the employees were exchanging oral fluids. Giving juicy material to the paparazzi who had managed to get in.
“Today somebody’s going to die, I swear,” the public relations assistant announced before she started walking towards her new client.
***
Liam was holding a woman against the wall. She seemed to be ready to give him a good dose of backstage pleasure. Great! The perfect concert for Liam was one where he ended up between the legs of any fan after leaving the stage.
It didn’t matter where he did it. The place wasn’t a problem for him. Liam didn’t need any privacy to satisfy his sexual needs.
Of course, he wasn’t expecting that a hurricane in the shape of a woman would mess up his plans in a few seconds. Liam didn’t understand what the hell was happening until he realized that he was being dragged by the crazy profession image cleaner.
Liam let himself be pulled into the dressing room. The woman was strong and looked furious.
Eve pushed him inside and closed the door with force.
“What the hell were you doing out there?”
“Something that apparently you never do. If you did you would be happier.”
Eve pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Liam, please don’t make my job harder.”
Liam couldn’t help smiling because he knew what was going to happen and he noticed how his smile caused Eve to lose her focus. He had been in the media for years, and he knew when his smiles made women nervous.
He walked closer to her.
“Look, if you don’t like how I act leave and look for other clients who are more cordial and less exhibitionist.”
“What?” Eve blinked a couple of times.
Liam smiled again, and she was about to lose herself in his smile once more, but the singer was disappointed to see that she used her willpower to reduce the collateral damage of his smile.
“I’d love to go away, Liam Woods, but to my misfortune, we are bound to a contract.”
Liam approached her.
Eve started to breathe unsteadily. She was nervous.
Eve was a beautiful girl. That couldn’t be denied, and she had a good ass. Something that he found highly attractive in a woman. He looked her up and down.
“I’m making you nervous.” He winked at Eve. “You know that I like to have sex with my fans.”
And the women who didn’t dream about having sex with him were complete fools.
Her cheeks blushed.
“Yes, Liam. I’m a fan,” Eve answered nervously, “but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to have sex with you.”
Liam sighed.
“What a shame. We would have such a great time together.”
Eve burst out laughing, and Liam could see how she recovered the impetus she had when she dragged him into the dressing room.
“Well, I wouldn’t have a great time with a man slut like you. You use women as if they were sex objects and ...”
Liam interrupted her at once. No lectures. She might have a good ass, but he hated being lectured, and he hated women who were always saying that men treated them as sex objects.
“Listen, pretty. Please leave, now.”
Her ears turned red.
Eve approached him.
“Call me pretty in that scornful fashion again, and you’ll have to visit your dentist urgently,” Eve grumbled.
Liam burst out laughing and that irritated Eve even more.
“I’m sure you are like those damn chihuahuas that go around growling and don’t do anything because...”
Liam didn’t finish talking because Eve’s fist landed on his nose.
***
“Can you explain to me why Mr. Woods wants to sue us?” asked Mrs. Collins, Eve’s mother, and the general manager of the magazine Fashion View.
Eve sat on a couch in her mother’s office with her arms crossed over her chest and wore a hostile expression.
It was difficult for Eve to explain to her mother that she didn’t want to be the person in charge of cleaning up Mr. Woods mess anymore. Eve hated when her mother referred to Liam in such a respectful way.
Besides, the news was already public knowledge. That idiot had made sure the press knew that he had been punched by his hysterical public relations assistant.
“Mom, I’ve got nothing to tell you. You know what happened. Stop acting like you don’t because you do.”
Agnes took a deep breath.
She pinched the bridge of her nose just like Eve did when Liam was getting on her nerves.
“In the first place, I’m your mother, and I deserve a little respect. In the second place, I’m your boss, and I deserve more respect and a damn explanation from you. In the third place, you are the only fool here. You have several days to explain to me why you punched him and how you are planning to clarify things for the press. They are desperate to know your reasons. The same as me.”
Eve snorted. “Can I quit?”
Agnes looked at her with doubt and sarcasm.
“That’s not like you, my dear daughter. You would face your problems even if you had a bullet in your head.”
“I’d be dead in that case.”
“Exactly, even dead you would solve a problem because those are challenges for you and the more intense or harder they are, the more you like them. So, I don’t understand why is it so difficult for you to stay calm with Mr. Woods.”
“He called me ‘pretty.’”
Agnes facepalmed.
“And that’s why you punched him on his nose?”
“It was the way he said it.”
Mrs. Collins stared at her for a few seconds.
Eve held her gaze. She wasn’t used to looking away from her mother. Even when she knew that she had made a mistake. As in this case.
Yes, actually she had crossed the line with Liam. She shouldn’t have punched him and Eve would take full responsibility in that regard.
Agnes took a deep breath again.
“Mr. Woods has agreed to forget about the lawsuit if you join him in visiting all the centers that you plan to take him to for his community service.”
This time the one who took a deep breath was Eve.
Her plan was to take him and leave him with someone, not to stay and take care of him.
“I’m not a nanny, mom, don’t do this to me.”
Agnes gave her a worried look.
“The lawsuit will be for assault and that, Eve, leaves you in a very bad position in front of the people who believe in your struggle against violence and for gender equality. Mr. Woods...”
“What the hell, mom! Stop calling him Mr. Woods!” Eve interrupted her mother. She was annoyed. “He’s no gentleman! If that jerk can be called Mr. I may as well be the Queen of England.”
Agnes raised an eyebrow.
“With that attitude, I doubt that you can possibly accomplish something. Much less become the Queen of England. I don’t quite understand your behavior and you don’t have many choices. Now that your sister is in Los Angeles with Keith and carrying out some tasks for the campaign. Your mission is to make sure that the group that the campaign represents has a good image. That’s what you’re paid for because that’s your job.”
Eve felt her upper lip start to tremble with rage. She wanted to quit.
“I won’t spend another day putting up with this Neanderthal.”
“You’ll have to find a way to work with Mr. Woods,” Her mother made sure that her last words placed a special emphasis on and dragged out the ‘s’.
Both remained silent for a few seconds.
Her mother was probably going to kill her after hearing what had crossed Eve’s mind during that silence, but she had to try it.
“What if I accept the charges with all that it entails?”
Mrs. Collins body was suddenly rigid.
“You’ll destroy everything that’s been so hard to accomplish in this campaign. Your image would be seriously damaged in spite of showing the world that you are a passionate defender of women’s rights who despises violence, especially gender-based violence. What do you think the press is going to say about you?” Agnes Collins frowned. She got up from her seat and walked to the phone that was on her desk. She dialed the extension of her secretary.
“Yes, Agnes?”
Agnes couldn’t stand being called Mrs. Collins. I reminded her of her mother-in-law. They didn’t have a good relationship with her.
“Yes, Carol. Can you make immediate appointments at the places where Eve is going with Mr. Woods to carry out the social service, please? When you have the list ready send a copy to Eve’s office and also to me.”
“Yes, ma’am. Anything else?”
“Yes, arrange an urgent meeting with Mr. McAdams, please. By then, I’ll need a copy of the centers they are going to visit for the community service.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thanks, Carol.”
Agnes hung up.
Eve was trapped.
“You’ve already listened to what I asked Carol. So, please, if you don’t have anything useful or wise to add to the conversation you’d better stand up and continue with your responsibilities, that’s what I pay you for.”
“You're not fair, mom.”
“Then, anytime you want, write up your resignation letter and look for a job somewhere else.”
Eve tightened her lips to contain the words that were threatening to spill out and were making a big knot in her throat.