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Like clockwork, a timid knock echoed through the door as my new P.A Shweta tried to gain my attention. “Mr. Ray, sir, your meet and greets are scheduled in five minutes. Thank you, sir.”
I groaned audibly. I had explicitly instructed her to refund all VIP tickets for tonight, fully aware that I wouldn’t be in the mood to interact with anyone, especially not overzealous fans prone to shrieking. I rubbed my temples, reminding myself that she was new and not to bite her head off.
Glancing down at my sweat-soaked sheer black blouse and ripped white jeans, I cringed. A shower was desperately needed, but I knew that if I indulged in the warmth of the water right now, Shweta would have to come in and wrap me in a towel to get me to leave and I didn’t want her to be more scared of me than she already was. Instead, I opted for my most worn pair of sweats and an oversized hoodie, looking more like I was preparing for a long-haul flight than stepping out as the famous pop star the fans were eagerly anticipating.
They’d just have to get over it. Grabbing a hair tie on my way out the door, I hastily pulled my shoulder-length locks into a messy bun. Unsurprisingly, Shweta was waiting right outside, looking terrified to be in my presence.
“Thank you for hurrying, sir. You only have one VIP to see tonight, and he paid for all ten tickets to ensure he has your undivided attention for the evening.”
Well, that wasn’t creepy at all…
I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “If he’s stupid enough to waste his money on meeting me, he’s about to be sorely disappointed.”
I made my way down the corridor and my shoulders relaxed as I rounded the corner and spotted two of my regular body guards, Steve and Roger, stationed outside the lounge, waiting for me. At least they’d keep me safe if this “super fan” turned out to be just as unhinged as my former manager.
They both nodded in greeting as I walked past them, but I froze in the doorway. What the fuck was he doing here?
His back was turned to me, but I could recognize that stupid big head anywhere.
“Remy,” I growled, my voice tinged with disbelief. “Long time, no see. To what do I owe the pleasure?” I’d literally spoken to him this morning and he couldn’t have bothered to mention he was coming?
His shoulders visibly stiffened at the sound of my voice, and he turned to face me, revealing Violet standing behind him. Unlike the last time I saw her, she was glaring at me like I’d personally wronged her.
I wondered what bullshit lies Gray must have fed her about me.
“Violet wanted to talk to you, so I pulled some strings,” he answered cordially, our relationship still strained despite our phone calls about Gray’s progress.
I looked from Remy to Violet and back again, dumbfounded. “Ah, I thought we cleared this up the last time we spoke. There’s this nifty invention called a phone. You know, that thing we spoke on this morning. Believe it or not, you can use it to ask me stuff instead of dropping thousands of dollars to get me alone in a room.”
Remy didn’t appreciate my sarcasm, his glare intensifying. “Unless, of course, you don’t really want to talk,” I continued, my mouth unable to resist needling him further. “If your plan is to murder me, I’ll have you know that there are two former Marines standing outside listening to this entire conversation.”
As if on cue, the walking wall of muscle also known as Steve appeared in the doorway. “Are we all good in here, Colton?” he asked me the question, but his gaze was fixed squarely on Remy.
“Yeah, we’re fine. Right, Rem?” I patted him on the ass, since I couldn’t reach his head, but the aim for condescension worked all the same.
“Define “fine”,” he grumbled under his breath, before forcing a smile for Steve and nodding.
Once the door closed again, Violet spoke up for the first time. “Can we please talk, Colton? Alone?” she asked, echoing Remy’s similar request he made back in the hospital.
“Absolutely not!” Remy cut in. “That wasn’t part of the deal, Vi.”
“Well, you two clearly can’t be civil, so I feel like I’ll get a lot further without you in the way.”
I resisted the urge to be rude to Violet. I wanted to point out that I had no reason to be civil to either one of them since they were the ones ambushing me, without any of the facts to back up their anger I might add, but I held my tongue.
“Yeah, we can talk,” I agreed reluctantly.
Remy looked like he wanted to say something, but something he saw on my face must have made him reconsider as he silently left the room.
Once we were alone, I crossed my arms tightly over my chest and faced Violet. Having kicked off my heels after the show finished, I had to tilt my head up slightly to meet her eye. “Alright, you wanted to talk. So talk.”
At least she cut straight to the chase. “Why did you leave?”
“You’re going to need to be more specific than that.”
She let out an irritated huff. “You know exactly what I mean. Why did you leave the hospital without saying a word?”
“Actually, no. I don’t know exactly what you mean. Because as far as I’m concerned, I didn’t just leave the hospital. I never should have been there in the first place. I’m not sure what your brother has told you, but he told me he didn’t want me there. I dropped everything to be by Gray’s side, even after he broke my heart and cut me out of his life. And like an idiot, I thought maybe he didn’t really mean it. But he did. He doesn’t want me, Violet, and I’m not going to keep waiting for him to see that I’m worth the effort.”
