CHAPTER 12
“Katy, how long do we have to stand here?” Lily groaned, shifting side to side on her feet.
“Not for long,” Katy mumbled, lifting her head to peer ahead.
The midday Roman sun burned the bare skin on my back as we waited in line. Beads of sweat were already forming on the edge of my spine, sticking to my dress and making this all the more difficult.
“You’ve been saying that for the past thirty minutes,” Lily said in a dejected tone, resting her head on my shoulder.
“It’ll be worth it,” Katy muttered.
I suppressed the urge to sigh. Lily was kind of right. My knee was killing me at this point. No amount of icing was going to save my limp today. I’d tried so hard to hide it, but I didn’t think that would be the case anymore.
Katy decided she had to have the world’s famous tiramisu and wanted Lily to tag along. Lily, being a menace, dragged me along, which Katy didn’t like one bit. But she had to bite through because of Lily.
So now I was stuck in the middle of the most uncomfortable wait of my life.
“Finally,” Lily announced as soon as we all got ourselves a tub of tiramisu.
I must admit, it was the best thing I’d put in my mouth.
We strolled through the Piazza Navona, and the limp in my knee became prominent with each step on the cobbled floor.
“Wait, aren’t you going to finish it?”
My head snapped toward Lily, who eyed Katy with a frown.
Katy shrugged, placing the lid on the tub. It appeared as if she’d hardly taken a few bites. “I can’t eat much. I’ll save it for later.”
Lily’s violet eyes grew big as she stared at Katy in disbelief. “That is ridiculous,” she admonished, shaking her head.
My fingers lifted the spoonful of goodness to my mouth, the sweetness hitting my taste buds.
Hmm, Katy always loved to eat and never complained about how many calories she consumed. And she was in perfect shape, if not fitter than she used to be.
I remembered the days when she used to drink Luie’s chocolate milkshake like it was water. Guess things had changed now.
Katy was about to say something but stopped short when the shrill ring of her phone cut through the air. “I have to take this,” she muttered.
Lily and I watched as Katy’s face turned serious with each passing minute. Creases formed around her pale green eyes, and her lips thinned.
“I’ll be there. Hold the fort till then,” she said firmly and looked straight at me with narrowed eyes.
The tiny hairs on the back of my arms stood straight under her gaze. A shadow of unease snaked its way up my body.
“What’s wrong?” Lily asked.
Katy’s eyes dashed to Lily. “There’s been a leak. We have to go.” She threw away her tiramisu in a nearby trash can and whisked off to the car.
Lily and I exchanged confused glances but didn’t say a thing as we followed her.
I shifted my gaze to the window, taking in the sprawling ancient city as Katy received about a dozen phone calls. With each one, her tone raised a decibel, making the air inside this metal tin sizzle with tension.
She stormed through the house as soon as we arrived, and Lily followed.
I exhaled a heavy breath as I watched them. This must be a regular occurrence when managing rock stars.
I shook out of it and gathered all my strength to test out my feet on the ground. As soon as I stepped out, the soreness hit me in full force.
I guess this was my cue to retire to my room and rest. As I shuffled through the hallway, I could hear loud voices coming through the front room.
Whatever that leak was, it must be some big issue.
I could feel the palpable current through the air. For some reason, it made my stomach twist with anxiety. But I had to go through it to get to the stairs.
All eyes flashed in my direction as I entered. I gave them a jittery smile as I continued up toward my room. Fuck, my leg was killing me.
“You did this,” Katy’s cold voice thundered through the room.
I was startled, my heart almost stopping for a second. I did what?
A frown marred my forehead as I peered at her, confused. “What did I do?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know.” She pointed her finger at me.
I volleyed my gaze through the room. Everyone was staring at me with weird looks on their face. My eyes finally landed on Jay, his face unreadable as he stood by the Roman windows with folded arms.
I returned my gaze to Katy’s furious greens. “I don’t understand, Katy.”
“The leak, I know it’s because of you.” She took a step forward, waving her hand. “Thank God we were able to catch it before it got out to the media. But that doesn’t mean I’m letting you get away with this.”
My mind blanked for a moment as the hammering pain in my leg made white dots flash before my eyes. I had to lean against the stucco walls to answer her. Even though I had no fucking clue what she was talking about.
“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shook my head.
“For fuck’s sake.” She let out an exasperated breath and paced the room in fury.
“Evy, it’s okay to admit it. We’re not going to do anything.” Lily’s softening gaze met mine.
Annoyance hit me as I drew my eyes upward and clenched my molars; the pain was killing me. And I had no clue what they were accusing me of.
My eyes focused on the Renaissance painting flowing the ceiling as I willed myself to pull a calming breath to fill my lungs.
I brought my gaze back to her. “I still don’t know what you all are talking about.” My tone was a bit firmer this time, making Katy halt her pacing.
“Fine, let me spell it out to you. Someone sent an anonymous tip to the media that the band was leaving the label. Information that no one except for the people in this room knew. Lily here kindly informed me that she let you in on the news. News that you have no business knowing,” she hissed out, her fingers wildly dancing in the air. “Do you have any idea the kind of legal repercussions that we would’ve faced if this was all over the media before we put out the official word?”
A surge of annoyance filled my blood at her words. “I didn’t do it.”
“Then who would have?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered. My eyes dashed to Jay, whose eyes still held a blank look. The sight of it only made my annoyance skyrocket. Wasn’t he going to say anything?
Darting through the faces in this room, the accusation in their eyes was becoming more evident to me.
Katy brimmed with anger. “Emmie, I told you. You never should have brought her back. When are you ever going to learn?” she cried out.
“I said I didn’t do it,” I snapped with a tremble in its undertone. “Just because you have a personal beef with me doesn’t mean you can accuse me of everything.”
“If not you, then who!?” Katy asked, cocking a brow.
A painful breath escaped my lips as tears gathered in the side of my eyes. My knee was burning like it was on fire. My heart burned too, but it was a different kind of pain.
“Ms. Evans is right, Ms. May. It’s best if you admit it now, or it would be embarrassing for you. You’re under a tight NDA. You could face legal charges because of this.” Nathan, the fucking tour manager, joined in on the conversation.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What evidence do you have?”
He shrugged. “It won’t be hard to find. I’m sure you were compensated for your efforts. One phone call and I could lead the trail back to you.”
A throb started pulsing in the back of my eye.
“Nathan.” Jay’s cold voice cut through the air. “Don’t worry yourself with these matters. It’s not a part of your job description.”
Nathan’s smug face collapsed as his eyes widened. “But J.J.,” he said, but Jay held up a hand.
“I don’t want to hear it.” The tone in Jay’s voice left no room for argument.
“Guys, I think this is all getting out of hand,” Mikey spoke up. “Katy, you can’t just accuse someone like this with no proof. We’ve had a lot of leaks like this throughout the years, and it’s important for you to consider that. Just because E is here doesn’t mean she did it.”
The quiet in the room became louder with his words.
Katy stared at me for a second before nodding. “You’re right. But I’ll get to the bottom of this, and if I find out it was you, then this job is the least of your worries.”
I glared back at her. I was done with people treating me with no respect. “At the same time, Katy, when you find out that it’s not me, you will apologize.”
She looked surprised for a second before her lips curved into a small smile. “Fine.”