Chapter Twenty-five
“H e’s an ass,” I tell Daphne as I sip at my small glass of white wine at the bar, staying alert to my surroundings. I’ve been nursing the same glass of wine for the past forty minutes, watching and waiting for Adrien to show. I don’t know him well, but I know enough to want to remain sober and present.
The overly touchy way he is already has me on edge, but the way he flipped after the date tells me everything I need to know and the red flags he waves are clear, even on a foggy day.
“Just smile, be pleasant,” Daphne sighs, seemingly exhausted by our conversation, “You never have to see him again after this, though a quick fling between you two would have done wonders for your image. ”
My stomach rolls, “What did you just say?”
“I’m just saying,” She sighs, “He’s incredibly popular, imagine the deals you would have landed.”
“I’d rather go the rest of my life never landing a deal than be with him.”
“Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do.”
I’ve always known Daphne toed the line, she’s never been good or bad, but somewhere in between and I’ve learned to live with it. I get to say no, and she’s never pushed me too far but hearing this, from another woman who likely has her fair share of stories about men just like Adrien makes me feel sick.
For the first time in my career, I wonder if I need to move on from her agency.
The thought scares me because what if no one else wants me. What if no one will ever see me dance again?
My thoughts are halted for a moment when the crowd inside the club begins to shout and cheer and I know without looking, Adrien has just arrived. The crowd seems to converge in one area, only a select few, including me, hanging back.
“Fucking musicians,” Daphne hisses under her breath before she throws back her gin and plasters a fake smile on her face, “Smile, Savannah, the world will see this.”
I remain alert, placing my wine down on the bar so I can keep my hands free. Eventually, the crowd begins to part and Adrien, along with his security guard, makes his way toward me.
His eyes dip down to me and his face smooths of any emotion.
“Savannah,” He greets me, “A pleasure to see you.”
My spine straightens when he kisses me on my cheek, shoulders growing tight with unease, but I do as I am told and smile, “You too.”
“I guess we should get to the moment we have all been waiting for,” He winks at me but says it loud enough for everyone to hear. “You ready to see the masterpiece?”
I want to scoff but like the good girl they expect me to be, I smile and act just as excited as the rest of these groupies.
With a collective cheer of yes, Adrien puts his thumbs up toward someone behind me and the wall to the right of the bar suddenly lights up as the projector kicks in.
The first chords to his song play through the speakers and the video we recorded begins. Despite how much I despise the guy and the sickness he triggers; I am happy with my performance. My love of dance can never be snuffed out.
The music quietens, the video of our performance fades to black before it starts again anew, the volume decreases a touch so conversation can begin.
“What a team we make,” Adrien whispers in my ear, “I can only imagine how good we could be together.”
“I have a boyfriend,” I tell him, a lie really when I’ve no real idea what Killian and I are.
“The bodyguard?” Adrien rolls his eyes with a sneer to his lip, “I figured.”
I open my mouth to defend him and tell him he isn’t my bodyguard, but he wasn’t supposed to be on set, and I don’t particularly want to deal with the fall out so I close it and look away from him, searching for anyone I can use to escape being here with him.
“You owe me for the date,” He growls, “I expect you to pay up.”
“You want money for the date?” I snap at him and pull my wallet out, grabbing a wad of cash from inside before I shove it at him, “Here, have at it.”
But Adrien just chuckles menacingly and lets the bills fall to the floor.
“There’s someone over there I need to see,” I hiss, grabbing my wine from the bar, “I hope I never see you again.”
“We’ll see about that,” He says to my back as I retreat, heading for the small crowd in the corner where my agent is.
I feel his eyes burning into my spine as I cross the room, palms sweating. I’ve never been confrontational, unless it’s Killian of course but it makes me nervous and all I want to do now is leave .
“Daphne,” I touch her shoulder, my hand holding my wine glass so tight it feels as if it may shatter.
“Savannah, darling,” She gives me her, I’m doing business smile, “Have you met Christopher yet? He’s the editor in chief at–”
“Lovely to meet you,” I shove my hand out to the guy, not even sparing him a glance. Unsurprisingly he doesn’t shake it, and Daphne looks utterly disgusted at my lack of manners. “I’ve got to go.” I tell her.
“You haven’t even finished your wine,” She scolds lightly, “Here, have a seat, let’s chat.”
She swoops out an arm to show the vacant booth and when everyone piles in, I reluctantly take the seat on the end and bring my glass to my lips, downing the rest of it in one go. I stifle the need to choke on it but manage to force it down, putting my glass back on the table.
“I really need to go,” I whisper to her, giving a fake smile to the couple of guys opposite us who are glancing at us with curiosity.
“It has only been an hour,” She frowns, “We must socialize, market. These events don’t happen often.”
I wonder if she forgets how wildly successful I have been without the need for these get togethers. I sell out shows and people travel from across the world to see my solo performances. We don’t need this.
Well, I don’t need this.
“I’m sorry, not tonight,” I tell her, pulling out my cell and open my thread with Killian.
Me: Ready to go. Are you here?
“Well, I guess I’ll do the work for the both of us,” She complains. I could give her some snide remark, but I don’t and bite my tongue. For the most part, I like Daphne, or I used to at least, but she’s changed over the years into someone I don’t recognize.
“Don’t forget I’m taking time off for the next week at least, don’t book me anything.”
She pouts, “Good night, Savannah.”
I start walking toward the door and glance at my phone. I feel eyes on me the entire time, burning a hole through my spine. My inner alarms are ringing loud, warning me but I don’t turn, I already know who is watching me. He hides behind a mask, but he dropped it pretty quickly when he didn’t get what he wanted from me. Adrien is exactly the type of guy everyone warns you about, only this time they’ve given him fame and fortune and likely believes himself untouchable. He scares me, which is saying something knowing what Killian and the guys do.
Killian hasn’t read my message yet but he’s probably outside waiting. Rain has started to fall lightly, a drizzle that looks like mist under the streetlights, but the road is empty.
Me: Hey, should I grab a cab?
I send the message and then decide to just give him a call. He could have got caught up with something and I have no problem grabbing a taxi home. The phone rings and rings until it goes to voicemail, so I shoot him a message letting him know I’ll meet him back at the house and then walk around the corner to the cab station and hail one down.
The ride home is silent, the rain steadily increasing to a downpour which is thundering against the street by the time we pull up to my house.
I pay the driver and get out, rushing to the door with my keys in hand. A car pulls onto the street just as I step inside and close the door, shutting out the wet.
When another check of my cell reveals Killian still hasn’t messaged back, I shake off my coat and head through to the kitchen, reaching inside the fridge for the open bottle of wine.
Behind me, I hear the door open and the tension I hadn’t realized I was holding loosens from my shoulders.
“In here!” I call, “Do you want some wine?”
Steps echo behind me as Killian enters the kitchen, except it isn’t his voice that answers, “I would love some.”
The bottle dings against the side as I startle and spin around, finding Adrien standing in the doorway.
“What are you doing here?” I cry, moving behind the table so it’s between us. His head cocks to the side as his eyes drag down me.
“I told you; you owe me. ”
“I don’t owe you anything,” My cell is on the side behind me but I’m too afraid to take my eyes off him.
“Where’s your bodyguard?” He asks casually, stepping further into the room.
“He’s my boyfriend,” I snap, “And he’s going to be home any minute.”
A cruel smile pulls up his mouth, “I think that’s a lie. I think you’re all alone here and will be for quite some time.”
I shake my head, “You don’t have to do this, Adrien.”
“But I do, Savannah,” He sighs, “I get what I want, when I want it. And I want you.”
His feet tap on the tiles of the floor as he starts rounding the table, pushing me further away from my cell.
“My guy is outside,” He says, “You run, he’ll catch you and if your friend turns up, well, he’ll deal with him too.”
If I weren’t so afraid, I’d laugh. They have no idea what they’re dealing with, with Killian. But he isn’t here, and I don’t know when he’ll be back.
“Please,” I beg, “Don’t.”
“You’ll like it,” He gives me what I assume is supposed to be a comforting smile but all it does is churn sickness in my stomach. He keeps moving me around the table until I’m at the door. I could risk running outside but I believe him when he says he has his own guy out there waiting, which leaves the house to hide in. I need to get to the bathroom where I can lock myself inside and just hope that I am faster than he is.
“We can forget this happened,” I try one last time, watching him intently, ready to sprint if he makes any sudden moves.
“Now why would I do that, Savannah?” He asks genuinely, “When I came all this way to get what you owe me.”
I don’t waste another second.
I bolt out the door and toward the stairs, my heart beating so hard inside my chest I can’t hear anything else. I’m almost at the top, five steps away from safety when a hand wraps around my ankle and I fall forward, the ground rushing up to meet me.
No. No this can’t be happening. This isn’t happening.
I scream, but no one is here to hear me.