Apparently his caffeine has kicked in. I roll my eyes, in no mood for his energy level. "Henderson, you dog. Why didn't you tell me you were coming over to the dark side? Are you angling for a part this season?"
"What on Earth are you yapping on about now?"
Grayson flips his phone so I can see it. See us. Our duet.
"Don't watch that. It was late in the night, and we'd both had a lot to drink." I grab for his phone.
"There is no way in hell I'm not watching this." He pulls the phone out of my reach. After a split second, he puts the phone on the table, face down. "I'm sorry. I was only kidding. I won't watch if it makes you uncomfortable."
And now I feel like a shit because Grayson's girlfriend, Gloria, went through a lot of bad stuff when her ex-boyfriend released a sex tape of them and it went viral. She was super messed up for a long time from it.
"No, mate. It's not like a Gloria thing. I … well, you know me and singing." I shrug. "She wanted me to do a duet."
"I'm surprised you didn't tell her to take a flying leap. You're usually pretty adamant about not wanting to sing. At least with me you are."
"I don't want to sing around you because you never sound bad."
"But you just said you had already heard her sing."
I shrug lamely. "What was I going to do? You told me to do whatever I needed to do to get her to play a part at The Edison. I didn't want to piss her off. So really, this is all your fault."
"I suppose it's my fault that you've been mooning about like a lovesick teenager for almost two weeks now too?"
"Have not."
"Have too."
"Have not."
Luckily, Morgan interrupts our childish game. “Listen boys, enough of the tomfoolery. We've got someone who wants to squeeze in. Her agent called and begged me. She doesn't have a headshot and resume with her, but the agent is emailing one over."
I roll my eyes, sagging back into my chair, my singing video all but forgotten. I need to get my head in this game so we can be done with this part of the process. Tabitha will be flying back to California soon anyway.
That door has closed.
That ship has sailed.
Best to live in the moment, as I've been trying to do for the past thirty-five years anyway. I need to stick with my original philosophy of avoiding relationships. I'm much better off that way.
"Fine, Morgan. Send her in. She'd better be good." Grayson looks at me. It's his turn to roll his eyes. "What else do we have to lose?"
"Let me see what the agent is sending over." I pull the computer in front of me, minimizing our spreadsheet and opening up the email for The Edison.
Nothing in my account. I flip over to Grayson's. Nothing there either. Nothing in the main info. I repeat all three, refreshing constantly, growing ever more annoyed by the second.
"Welcome. Thank you for your interest in The Edison." I hear Grayson say for approximately the nine billionth time today. "What will you be singing today?"
Please not "A Million Dreams." I can't handle that again. I squeeze my eyes shut and hit the refresh button again. Still no email.
"I'm going to sing 'A Million Dreams' fromThe Greatest Showman."
Before I can even groan, "Shoot me now," she starts singing. My head snaps up so fast I may've given myself whiplash.
The blonde standing in front of us, clad in cropped leggings, a leotard, and sneakers, is the last person I ever expected to be standing in front of me during an audition.
Tabitha.
Chapter 15: Tabitha
