Chapter 16 #2
‘I can’t believe she’s making us do this,’ complains Tash as we make our way into the Old Town.
‘She’s treating us like children,’ agrees Liberty. ‘It’s your simple power play. Well, it won’t work on me.’
‘Connie,’ says Big Sue, ‘I think you’re probably the best one to take the lead on this, seeing as you’ve been promoted back up to headline act.’
Nancy tore strips off us all for our unprofessionalism and our holidaymaker attitude to what is essentially a work trip and nothing else. She ended the call yelling, ‘Don’t you dare let me down or else you’ll all be coming back in body bags.’
I check the directions on my phone and stop abruptly outside an old building in a bustling, narrow street. There’s a sign above the ancient wooden door saying Jezebel Music .
‘We’re here.’ I hesitate, not looking forward to seeing Matteo under such disgraceful circumstances before pushing the door open, allowing the Dollz to troop through. Once inside, the reception area is surprisingly modern and spacious. The receptionist greets us in English.
‘Here are your passes for the festival tomorrow. Your maps for the site and the details of timings,’ she says, efficiently handing us a pile of papers.
Her smile fades as we hear a clip-clopping sound approach.
We all turn to see a very glamorous woman wearing a less than impressed expression.
I recognise her instantly. She’s the dark-haired beauty from The Jolly Roger who stood next to Matteo and followed him outside and who was with him yesterday outside Tiki Beach.
‘Hello,’ she says coldly in a thick Spanish accent. ‘I’m Alexandra. Co-owner of Jezebel Music.’
Nancy’s instructions were very clear. We were to come to Jezebel Music and essentially grovel an apology to the two owners of the company, Matteo and his business partner, Alex.
‘Hi,’ I say. ‘I’m?—’
She cuts me off. ‘You’re the singer who lied to me over the phone, ruined the gig at The Jolly Roger and,’ she says, pointing to the Dollz, ‘you’re the ones who ruined the gig last night.
It’s like you have come here to purposefully put me out of business.
’ There’s a slight pause as none of us are quite sure what to say.
She’s spot on with her assessment. ‘Follow me.’
We follow her into a sparse office and crowd in as she sits at her desk. There aren’t enough seats for us, so we stand awkwardly around the room.
‘I would have fired you after The Jolly Roger gig. What was that? It was embarrassing,’ she says to me. ‘We expect much better. We have a reputation to uphold. We are the biggest promoters in Spain and building our reputation across Europe. We can’t have artists like you making fools of us.’
My cheeks are on fire.
‘To be fair,’ says Tash, ‘it wasn’t Connie’s fault she was late. We accidentally left her behind at the villa with all those randy nuns. They can be a real handful.’
‘Which is why she turned up looking like she’d been standing in a wind tunnel,’ says Liberty, trying to be helpful.
Oh my word.
‘But more so because I got a lift on a motorbike afterwards from our landlord,’ I say. ‘Not because of anything I got up to with the nuns. Although Nacho’s driving was a bit wild.’
Somehow, this explanation doesn’t sound very convincing. It makes me sound like I was late due to bonking my way through half of Benidorm, but I’m grateful to them for trying.
Alex raises a pencil-thin eyebrow. ‘Yes, we all know how wild Nacho can be.’ She says ‘wild’ as though she means slutty and effectively ruins my case for the defence.
‘That doesn’t explain why you embarrassed my business partner by singing love songs and staring at him all night.
’ She gives me an evil glare. ‘And you’ve obviously been stalking him on social media.
He’s the boss. He’s paying you good money to do a job. Show some respect.’
Even the Dollz are rattled and, for some reason, I’ve lost my voice.
‘But she was great on the boat,’ says Cherry, leaping to my defence. ‘Apparently.’
She only has my word for it.
Alex sighs elaborately. ‘I know exactly what happened.’ She points angrily at me again.
‘We rented that yacht at great expense, and don’t get me started on how much damage you girls caused with the fire.
You ruined the event. We lost a serious amount of money because of you.
’ Our heads hang down as Alex tears strips off us.
‘If I had been there, I would have sacked you all, but Matteo seems to think we can’t replace you at such short notice.
He is furious with you all, of course. Furious.
’ Alex sweeps her disapproving gaze across us, resting it on me.
‘I advise you to stay away from him. Is that clear?’
She continues to stare at me.
‘I will be at the festival tomorrow to personally oversee your performances. Your only job is to warm up the crowd and create a good vibe before the real acts come on, understood? The real singers. The ones with real talent who write and perform their own music. All you have to do is show up on time and do your job. It’s not much to ask, is it? ’
We shake our heads.
‘She’s going on a bit,’ Tash mumbles.
‘If you let me down, you will never work outside of the UK again. Is that clear?’ Alex tuts and waves us away as though we are naughty children being dismissed from the head teacher’s office. It is humiliating.
Once we are back outside, we all look sadly at each other. ‘What is her problem with you, Connie?’ Tash exhales loudly. ‘Christ, babes, she really had it in for you.’
She really did .
‘Does anyone want to eat their feelings? Who knows where Tapas Alley is?’ asks Big Mand. ‘I could do with some comfort food.’
‘I hope they do kebabs and chips, dripping in garlic sauce,’ Liberty says as I lead the way.
You can take the girl out of Newcastle…