Chapter 1 #2
The fun never stops here.
A blast of warm air greets us when we finally get to the safety of the arena.
Cai’s entourage waits for us in the entryway, but it’s a tall, leggy blonde who steps forward from the group, thrusting her hand at him.
An orange lanyard hangs from her neck, resting over tits too perky to be real.
His gaze lingers a little too long – he’s a single guy, after all, and always eyeing his next conquest – but mine zips further down, searching for her name and permissions on her event ID.
The picture matches the too-sweet smile she’s giving Cai, long dark eyelashes blinking rapidly at him from behind pink glasses. She’s legit, and a little too flirty to be a risk to his safety but you can never be too careful.
‘It’s so good to have you back here at our Halloween bash, Cai,’ she chirps.
‘What’s it been, five years on the trot?
I mean, I only joined the company after last year’s concert, but everyone’s told me how lovely you are to work with.
We’re excited you made time for us while you’ve been abroad.
Where did you fly here from? Australia?’
‘Cuba.’ He sidles up to her, his phone already in hand to show her his photo collection. He’s spent the past few months recording with the best Latin performers in the world, but it’s his sightseeing trips he wants to show off.
Eager to please him, she coos and wows over everything he shows her. Sucker.
My irritating-as-fuck best friend has an MO, and the way she giggles tells me he’s hit his mark. Gross. Now I’ll have to do a background check. Just what I need: another job to do today. At least I can access the paperwork on my phone. Save the trees and all that shit.
‘We’ve reserved the best dressing room for you,’ she simpers at him, ‘and I personally made sure everything you need is there. Your rider was very detailed.’
I cut in, ‘I didn’t get an email showing the access to the stage and the route to the emergency exit.’
Someone has to keep track of the important things, not the fact he prefers crudités over sweets before a show. Sure, he’s performed here a million times already, but if they’re not willing to take his safety seriously, I’m not above pulling him out of the concert.
‘Cai has been allocated to the same dressing room every year,’ she replies, her attention firmly on him and not me. ‘Fire escape three is only four corridors over, and the room is one floor above stage access. Perfect for such a busy, busy man.’
I tick my requirements off my list, letting myself relax a notch. Not too much, though. I’m here to work, after all.
She continues, ‘The sofa in there is lovely and big. You know, for napping and… stuff. Beer and water in the cooler, and catering added a tub of homemade hummus for your veggies. Your soundcheck is at five and your call time is nine fifteen. The rest of the time is for you to do whatever you might want. You could watch rehearsals, or I can—’
‘All fine, thank you.’ I’m bored with her spiel and any other services she might want to offer him will have to wait until the NDA is signed.
I can protest all I want that she won’t get within an inch of him, even if she passes my checks, but the way he’s trailing after her down the corridor tells me she’s already won him over.
Like it’s hard. Cai loves most people who talk nicely to him.
‘My name’s Jessica, by the way.’ She’s still only talking to him. Not that I care. I’m used to being ignored by now.
‘Hi, Jessica.’ He lays his Welsh accent on thicker than usual, his words coming out like a song. ‘Neis cwrdd a chi. It’s lovely to meet you. What time is Topaz’s sound check?’
‘Half past five.’ The sweetness is gone from Jessica’s voice. Poor Cai. He’s ruined his chances there. Though, I’m not pulling my bet on her yet. Not many people give up the chance for some one-on-one time with him.
I give it a whole minute and…
Yep. She walks in an over-the-top supermodel way, leading us down one more corridor and up two flights of stairs.
‘I’m surprised Topaz came,’ Cai adds, trotting alongside her. ‘Events like this are usually beneath him.’
‘He arrived a little before you. Perhaps he heard how successful these concerts are for you and wanted a bite of the action? He’s in room tw—’
‘It’s not your job to give out dressing room numbers, is it?’ I don’t care if I sound too harsh. I’m already drafting a complaint in my head about how lax she is with everyone’s details. Might add in her lack of professionalism while I’m there.
‘They’re on all the paperwork. You get your own copy.’ She pulls a piece of paper from her clipboard without breaking step and passes it to Cai, who straight away shoves it at me. ‘I thought, given your history…’
‘Ignore the grumpy one,’ he placates her. ‘Some creep’s been sending me weird letters and Rhys has an even bigger stick up his arse than normal. I was making sure Topaz was well out of the way, so we wouldn’t have to worry about him interrupting us.’
He’s a walking fucking cliché.
Jessica pushes out her chest a little bit more. She’s back in the game and acting bloody obvious about it, too. Don’t worry, love. I’m sure I’ll be sending for you once his soundcheck’s over.
‘And this is your room. I’ll give the key to Ron.
’ It’s Rhys. She holds it between the tip of her pointer and middle fingers, her nose wrinkled.
The tip of the metal touches my palm, but she dangles it there instead of dropping it.
It’s on me to snatch it so she doesn’t have to touch me.
I could wait until she gives it to me, but I’ve got shit to do.
Once it’s in my possession, she ticks something off on her clipboard.
Job done, she leans against the wall and flutters her lashes at Cai.
Her voice drips with enough sugar to rot my teeth.
‘If you need anything else, come and find me. I’ll be backstage. Waiting to watch you play.’
‘Thanks.’ I step in front of her, cutting her off from her pop star hit.
‘I’ll see you later, Cai.’ Her long ponytail swings in time with the click of her heels marking her retreat. She gets to the end of the corridor and stops to wave at him before finally disappearing.
‘Jealous, my love?’ he teases with a poke in my ribs.
‘No. I just wish they’d find different ways of getting your attention. The tits and ass routine is getting boring. Plus, you know Bethan—’
‘—would hate her. I agree. Don’t bring her into this. You’re grumpy because Jessica wasn’t throwing herself at you. Can’t handle it when I get all the attention, can you?’
‘I’m not grumpy. I’m tired. Our red-eye from the Caribbean fucking killed me. How come Gethin gets to stay in Cuba and relax? He should be here working since it was his damn idea to come home early to make this thing.’
‘Perks of being the boss, I guess. Next time, I’ll ask him for more time to get over the jetlag.’
‘Yeah, and I’m sure he’ll fly us from further away for the audacity of asking. Fuck the fact the world’s burning, the damage to our atmosphere will be worth it to make us suffer.’ I don’t need to slide the key into the lock. The door swings inwards when I touch it. ‘Well, that’s fucking safe.’
‘Hello?’ A cheery voice sounds from within. ‘Can I help you?’
‘Oh my God, Lucy!’ Cai bounds into the room with all the excitement of a puppy with a new toy, stopping barely an inch in front of the woman sitting on the massive sofa Jessica was keen to tell us about. ‘What the hell are you doing in here?’
I hurry to enter with him, taking in the rails of glittering clothes and the champagne bucket with a bottle already chilling in it. Piles of make-up and hair shit waits at the vanity, and a team of stylists murmur over a sketchpad in another corner of the room. If Lucy is about, it means—
‘Topaz is doing a quick PT session,’ she explains. ‘I popped up to make sure the room was ready for him.’
‘But this is Cai’s room,’ I say.
‘No.’ Her plump cheeks lift upwards, revealing dimples in the corners of her lips. ‘This is Topaz’s room.’
‘The sign on the door and the keyring say Cai.’
She snaps her laptop shut and stands, tugging her charcoal pencil skirt straight over her curvy hips.
Nice to see she’s not relaxed since the last time I saw her, the night Cai broke things off with Topaz.
She has her brown hair scraped into the tightest, neatest bun I’ve ever seen.
It’s a surprise she can manage a grimace, let alone a proper smile.
She’s never worn it down, as far as I know. Probably because she can’t relax.
‘We swapped.’
‘Says who?’
‘Spectacular Events. I emailed the CEO last week and she was so pleased to have Topaz headlining, she was willing to do whatever she could to make him happy. Topaz gets the best room. He does have the bigger team, after all. It makes sense he uses this one and Cai moves downstairs.’
‘This room’s already been checked. Cai’s been getting dodgy letters, so—’
She scoffs, marching across the room towards me. Her stupid heels help her match my towering height. ‘Topaz gets threats on a daily basis. Like every star in the top twenty. It’s part and parcel of being famous. Doesn’t mean Cai deserves this room more than Topaz.’
The bath in the en-suite’s running. Lucy’s been here a while, fucking moving Topaz in. Where’s all the shit Jessica supposedly put here for Cai?
‘Oh,’ Lucy adds, reading my mind, ‘don’t worry. I had one of my people move all of Cai’s stuff down to room two. I wouldn’t want to put your team out.’
‘We literally got told this is Cai’s room. Unless I see some evidence, we’ll be swapping back over. Bring all his shit back up here now.’
‘What benefit would lying to you give me?’
‘Other than making sure Topaz has the best room? You’ll be putting Cai in danger.’
Her grip on her laptop tightens. ‘A change of dressing rooms will not hurt Cai and I’d never put him at risk.’
‘Rhys, it’s fine,’ Cai cuts in. ‘I can—’
‘I’m gonna get Jessica.’