Reckless

Chapter 24

Fisher Brown is waiting in the hotel room when I arrive with Luther. He’s a short guy, decent looking, with close cropped brown hair and a perfectly trimmed beard. Unlike my unruly growth. He has that whole short guy syndrome going on, and he tries a little too hard to fit in and assert his dominance. He’s going to see taking over Reckless Soul as a big leap with the label. I’m not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

It can’t get any worse than Cody.

He’s busy schmoozing with a woman in a red skirt and black blouse who looks over the minute I walk in, already forgetting all about Fisher. He glances me up and down too, his brows bunching. Yeah, so I didn’t make much of an effort, other than running my fingers through my hair and putting on clean clothes.

They could have at least briefed me before introducing me to the reporter. Two men are setting up their cameras in the corner closest to the window, making sure they get the best angles. One will be on me, the other on the woman to capture both our reactions and conversation. Another woman is standing behind them, staring over at me. I frown and look away.

“Jude, come on in. It’s great to see you.”

I nod at Fisher. It’s the best I can muster, without letting on to this reporter, I don’t like the guy.

“Can I get you a drink?”

Christ, Cody would never be this accommodating. It’s like he’s bending over backwards to make me feel better or impress me or something. Or maybe the label is hoping I’ll decide to give this up and come back if they’re nice to me. Not a chance. There are bottles of chilled water on the table, so I grab one to appease him.

I’m introduced to the reporter, Ivy Scholes, who gives me the look I know well. They couldn’t have taken this shit seriously and used someone who will not give me fuck-me eyes the whole time we’re talking?

My knuckles crack as I clench my fists and I catch Luther’s eye. He doesn’t say a word and to anyone else, nothing about his facial features changes, but I can read him. He’s saying do what they want, and I’ll get out of here quicker.

I smile at Ivy, shake her hand, and let her linger over holding it longer than is polite. Then we head over to the seating area as we talk about what is going to be discussed. Fisher at least makes sure she knows what we’re here for today, insinuating anything else will not be tolerated. Cody would have been flirting with her.

There is a large floor to ceiling window in the room, which is open, so the curtains are billowing in the breeze. It’s welcome because I’m getting hot and uncomfortable.

I sit down on the couch and take out my phone while the other woman starts to touch up Ivy’s makeup.

Jude

What do you know about Ivy Scholes? She’s interviewing me today

Solene

Hold on…

When they offer to put some make-up on me, I hold up my hand. Fuck that shit. I don’t really give a crap about lights and glare. The second woman clears up her things and moves back behind the camera, but she is still staring. It’s hard not to roll my eyes. They set me up with a mic pack, check it’s working, then go back to their positions.

Ivy sits opposite me, perching on the edge of the seat and crossing her legs so her skirt rides up her thigh. It’s nothing I haven’t seen a million times before.

Solene

She dated Elliott Parks from Dirty Crew for about six months. She’s been linked to an actor too. Looks like she likes to sink her teeth into the people she interviews. That’s who they got to interview you? Jesus. I hate Fisher

Jude

I can handle it

Solene

Text me when it’s done. When is it airing?

Jude

No idea, I just want it over with

Solene

I’m ready to take her down if need be

Sol takes pleasure in cataloging the so-called professionals who come on to us or behave inappropriately. She’s always ready to make a public comment or refuse to allow them near us again if she deems them assholes.

“I really appreciate you choosing me for this interview, Jude.”

My eyes flick to Fisher and back again. “Sure,” I say. She doesn’t need to know I have no desire to be here, never mind choose her.

“We’ll film the whole thing in one go and cut out anything that doesn’t need to stay in. Is that okay?”

“Fine,” I agree and just because I’m a dick, I check my watch.

“We must get approval of the final segment before it airs,” Fisher states from behind us.

“Of course,” Ivy smiles at him. “It’s in the contract.”

As she shuffles her notes and the camera guys do their thing, I think about Krista and what she’s doing right now. What would it be like if she were here with me now? What would she think of Ivy, who keeps uncrossing and crossing her legs trying to draw my attention to her thighs. My eyes never stray there. I’m not interested in the slightest.

Knowing she makes a habit of getting involved with the celebrities she interviews makes her even less appealing.

The cameras roll and I wait while they record Ivy’s introduction and the reason we’re all here. Once that is done, she focuses on me. I look at her, not the camera.

“So Jude, first, I hope you’re doing okay during your break from Reckless Soul.”

“It’s not my break from Reckless Soul,” I say, keeping my voice light. “The band is still whole. We’re taking some time to recalibrate after a long period of touring. Everyone needs time off. I’m sure you’ll agree.”

“Of course, and that is great to hear.” She doesn't let on that my reply irked her.

She’s trying to dig and find out if there is a rift.

“Everyone is aware of the unfortunate news coming out about your manager defrauding the band and stealing money from you. How did you feel about that when you found out?”

Jesus Christ. Her landmines are coming in hard and heavy. I’m used to this shit.

“Not great, Ivy. Finding out our manager was stealing from the fans was hard to hear. We appreciate the fans so much. To hear they’ve been taken advantage of like that hurt all of us.”

Fisher puts a thumb up behind Ivy’s back. Dick. I know how this game works. I don’t need him praising me for knowing how to prevent myself from being backed into something that isn’t true.

“It must have hurt you and the rest of the band.”

“Of course, I mean, Cody was with us for three years and we never realized what he was doing. That’s tough, you know. When you trust someone and that trust is broken, it’s difficult to wrap your head around.”

She can see she will not get me to complain about losing money, making me look like that is all we care about.

“This all happened around the same time the band announced they were taking a break from performing for a while. Can you tell us a bit more about the break?”

“Hold up.” Ivy looks at Fisher. “We discussed this, Ivy. The band put out a statement two months ago about the break. And the reasoning behind it. That is old news. We don’t need to go over.”

“Right, I’m just following the flow of questions.”

“Well, skip that one.”

Shit. Maybe Fisher isn’t as bad as I thought. I remain quiet through the entire exchange. Ivy looks back at me with a smile, agreeing to skip that and repeats the initial part of her question, adding on ‘was it a coincidence?’

“We didn’t find out for a few weeks after the announcement. The first we heard about it was when the investigation started.”

“And your previous manager was arrested.”

“Yeah.”

Ivy’s face takes on a compassionate expression for the camera. “Quicksilver Entertainment has made a statement about refunds being made to fans, not just for the cancellation of the gigs you were scheduled to perform, but also for the additional money they were charged, which your previous manager was allegedly skimming from the label.”

I just stare at her. I’m not sure what her question is, and she’s answered whatever it was she is insinuating.

“That side of the industry isn’t really within my wheelhouse,” I say, because I need to answer her somehow. “We are working with Quicksilver to make sure the fans are returned what they’re owed. That is the most important thing to us.”

“That’s great,” she leans forward slightly, and her blouse opens a little, flashing her cleavage. “A few weeks back, it was reported you had gone missing while at an industry party in Montana. Can you expand on what happened there?”

“Nothing to expand on, really. I didn’t disappear. I’m taking some time away from the spotlight. There was a small misunderstanding when I left a party, but I was never missing. There was never a time when family, friends and Quicksilver weren’t fully aware of where I was.”

“Why do you think someone came forward stating you had disappeared?”

“I can’t speak for other people, but I can assure you, I wasn’t, and I’m not missing, as you can see.” I hold out my hands and smile for the camera.

“Can I ask where you’ve been?” she cocks her head. I glance at Fisher. I don’t know how much he is aware of where I’ve been. This is an innocuous question, but I’d still rather not answer it.

“The point of what we’re doing, in taking a step back, is to give ourselves space to be, for want of a better word, normal. We’re all human and sometimes, you need to exist in a smaller sphere. I’m grateful the fans have accepted this and are giving us the grace to take time away. In the end, it’s all about being able to perform at our best for them.”

“You don’t want to tell us where you’ve been?”

“No,” I smile at her. “That’s the whole point of privacy, Ivy.”

“You can cut that too,” Fisher says.

Ivy looks down at her notes. Her shoulders shift a little, giving away that she is irritated. She was selected to do this interview over a lot of other news outlets. She needs to be careful and knows it. She’s learning fast. Quicksilver isn’t messing around with what they’ve said she can ask.

“It’s also been speculated that you might have been mixed up in the business with the theft of the money. I’m sure that isn’t the case, and your fans are, of course, defending you from the media speculation.”

This is the question we discussed beforehand and the reason for the interview, so I can’t get out of answering.

“I appreciate that. Reckless fans are amazing.”

“So, did you have anything to do with it?”

“No, Ivy. I didn’t. Like you said, it was coincidental my alleged disappearance and the news about what our previous manager was accused of doing occurred at the same time.”

“Have you spoken with the investigators?”

“There is no need for me to speak with them. As I said, I had nothing to do with it, and Quicksilver knows that. I’m not sure where the rumors started, but that is all they are, rumors. There is no truth to it at all. And, as I’ve already said, the only thing I care about is that the people who had money taken get that back.”

“How long is the break going to be? Do you have a date in mind when you’re going to be back in the studio?”

“We haven’t put a timeline on it, but the tour dates from the end of October will be going ahead as planned.”

I hope, fuck. I don’t know how far along Solene is. She may be close to her due date by then.

Ivy asks me a few more questions about the band, the music, and my plans during the break, all of which I answer in a way that she gets a response, but no actual information. She tries to get more out of me, but I’ve been doing this for eight years. I’m well versed in how to deflect.

“Before we finish up, there was recently a story published on social media about you being spotted in a park in Minneapolis with a woman.”

I give nothing away, just look at her like I don’t know what she is talking about. I’m waiting for Fisher to step in, but he is looking at Luther with a frown. I guess my bodyguard hasn’t let on about who I’m with.

My heart is racing. Luther doesn’t say or do anything obvious, but I see the subtle shake of his head. He’s letting me know it’s unsubstantiated, that they locked it down. Anything Ivy might have dug up is only what those guys have posted, which has no back up. There are no pictures.

“The last time I was in Minneapolis was about two years ago, when we were on our Lost Souls Tour.”

Her eyes narrow, but I’m pretty sure my face looks sincere enough she can’t see past the fa?ade.

“Are you dating anyone right now?”

“Really Ivy? That’s not on the approved list of questions.” Fisher steps forward.

“We don’t want to make this all about the investigation Fisher,” she says. “It will look too much like you’re trying to get out ahead of a story that will implicate Jude. That’s the only reason I’m going in a different direction.”

“Find a different direction then,” he says.

“Can’t blame a girl for trying.” Ivy licks her lips as she turns back to me.

I feel nothing but disgust. She is supposed to be a professional. I shrug like what Fisher says goes and don’t answer.

She asks me some fluff questions about music, the things I’m enjoying while on the break and if I’m excited to get back to touring. I answer it all, some less truthfully than others, but do it with a pleasant expression and tone. When we’re done, I get up and remove the mic pack and hand it over to the cameraman.

Fisher ushers me over to the far side of the room, out of earshot of the camera crew. Luther is making sure they’re packing up the equipment, and that Ivy isn’t getting too near.

“I thought that went okay,” he says. “I’ll make sure they remove all the shit we told her not to bring up. You did good.”

“Can I leave?”

His squirrelly eyes flick to Luther and back again, who has approached us.

“What?” I ask, suspicious.

“You’re not coming back to LA? The two weeks you were given are up.”

Why in the fuck is he saying this shit? “No one gave me any time limit, Fisher. We’re taking three months away from the band. Where I go and what I do with my time is nothing to do with you or Quicksilver.”

“Luther, I thought you told him?” Fisher turns to my bodyguard.

Luther glares at Fisher. “What I told you ,” he says in a low voice. “I work for Mr. Smallwood, not you, not Quicksilver.”

“But…”

Ivy moves towards us, and looks between the three of us, and senses the tension. I’m supposed to be putting the world at ease. To deflect, I give her one of my panty-melting grins. It works, but now I have to speak to her, instead of finding out what the hell Fisher is talking about.

Just when I was thinking the guy wasn’t as bad as we all thought. He goes to take a phone call while Luther stands nearby, watching.

“I have a room here.”

Here we go. Why does she have to be so damn predictable? Did she only get into the profession to get close to celebrities? It’s kind of sad. But I have no fucking interest in going anywhere with her.

“That’s great. I hear it’s a nice town. You should enjoy the sights while you’re here.”

That isn’t what she wanted to hear, but she goes in for the kill, not ready to give up. Or thinking I may have misunderstood her meaning.

“I’m saying if you wanted to get a drink in private, then I’ll be more than happy to do that for you.” Her eyes lower down my body, and she lightly touches the edge of her blouse, running her fingers over it so it opens wider, showing more of her cleavage.

All I can think about is Krista. Nothing this woman says or does, or tries to show me, interests me.

“Jude, the car is waiting,” Luther steps between us.

“Oh,” Ivy flushes.

“Thanks for the interview. It was great,” I say with a smile and walk past her when Luther ushers me along. The smile drops as soon as she can no longer see me. I don’t bother saying goodbye to Fisher, just leave with Luther.

We’re in the elevator alone when he speaks. “That was pointless.”

I snort a laugh. “It appeased the label. How did she find out about Minneapolis?”

“Those guys still posted stories, but they had nothing to back it up. I’m not worried.”

“Okay.” I trust him. He’s saved my ass more than once.

Putting my sunglasses on when we exit the elevator, we walk at a brisk pace across the lobby. The car is waiting for us when we get outside. I didn’t even notice Luther calling down for it to be ready, but that is what he is good at.

“Why does he think I’m going back to LA?” I ask once we’re in the car and pulling away. Luther shrugs. He knows something, he said as much upstairs. “Tell me.”

“You originally said you’d be with Krista for two weeks.”

“I don’t need to run my plans by them.”

“Which is why I said what I did.”

My brows arch. Luther wouldn’t normally get involved in decisions like that. “Okay. Thanks, I guess.”

He doesn’t acknowledge that. “Has this set things back, or are you still following Krista’s itinerary?”

“Why do you say that like you know what the itinerary is?”

“Because we talked about it. Following you around wasn’t an issue, but now you know we’re here, we can prepare, plan for things.”

“What? When?”

“When I asked her.” He doesn’t take his eyes off the road. “She’s good people.”

My lip twitches. I was about to give him shit for asking Krista where we’re planning on going but hearing him say that stops me. It takes a lot to impress Luther. He didn't want me driving around the country in a camper van, but it seems she has won him over.

It doesn’t take long to get back to the campsite and when I see the RV, a weird sense of coming home hits me. For the longest time, I haven’t felt as if I had a home. Sure, I own a house in LA, but we tour that much, I would say over the last three years I’ve spent about five months there at most.

The RV wouldn’t feel like home if the woman who owns it wasn’t there. I’ve barely been gone three hours, and I missed her. She was on my mind while Ivy was trying to flash her pussy at me, or offering to take me to her room. Ivy is attractive, with a killer body, but I don’t care. No one compares to Krista.

I’m about to get out of the car when Luther turns to me. His face is serious. “You don’t want us here. I understand that. We will maintain our distance, but we’re not leaving.”

“It feels a lot like no one trusts me.”

“It’s not you we don’t trust,” he says darkly.

“What does that mean?”

“It means it’s better to be safe than sorry. What happened in Minneapolis was mild compared to some of the shite we’ve dealt with over the years.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” I frown.

“Nothing. I’m just making sure you know we’re not here to get in your way or make you feel like you’re not trusted. Just don’t ditch us.”

“I’m not a fucking teenager.”

“Ethan did it, and he got arrested. Riggs is still smarting about that,” he mutters.

“I’m not Ethan.”

“You have more at stake than he does.”

Luther gets out of the car before I can ask what that is supposed to mean. I jump out the other side and hurry around to ask him, but the RV door opens before I can say anything.

Riggs steps out holding a mug of coffee. And I know it’s fucking stupid, but seeing him, then Krista appearing in the doorway behind him, looking all kinds of fucking sexy, pisses me off.

Luther has got me all riled up with his cryptic shit.

When Krista smiles at me, I forget all about both of them.