Estelle beamed at me. “I had a feeling,” she said. “Your eyes are brighter again.”
I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. “Just talk to me normally next time something like this happens.”
“So what’s up next? We’re putting the pressure on Krysten?”
Julie and I exchanged glances, everything exchanged without words. “We’re going ahead without her,” Julie said. “If we make it more frictionless to go ahead with it than to resist, then she’ll fall in line.”
“We’ve already been entrusted with all the actual groundwork,” I said. “So we have an outsized level of influence in this part of the operation.”
“If we reach the right audience,” Julie said, “we’ll have most of the work done already. We just need to get some of the talent agents on board, and then we’ll have an easier time getting the talent in line.”
“Then once we have promises made to everyone,” I laughed, “Krysten won’t dare back out.”
Estelle rolled her eyes, grinning. “Okay, you two.”
“Hey,” Julie said. “I like Krysten. This is all in good fun. She appreciates an audacious approach.”
“I was more talking about how you two are all, you know, finishing each other’s sentences, but sure! That too.”
“Oh, uh.” Julie laughed nervously. I tugged lightly on her shirt collar.
“She’s a very persuasive one,” I said. “Must be the cute face.”
“Ah.” Julie went red, burying her face in her hands. “Listen, Freckles.”
Estelle’s eyes shone. “Aw. She’s so shy when it’s you, Hellie. So, what do you need me for? I’m assuming it’s not as a third wheel.”
“We could use your help with the network,” I said. “You’re friendly with more of the existing Jewel clients than anyone, so if you want to start discussing the new changes and what it means…”
“I’m on it.” She smiled sweetly, eyes crinkling. “See, Cassandra and I… no. Julie. Forget it. Your girl and Iknewyou’d be good at this kind of thing. It’s good to see you happy and thriving.”
“Ha. Check in at the end of this project and see if you can still say that,” I said, even though I felt like I was glowing. Julie, meanwhile, was mostly just curling up into a little ball at being calledmy girl, but she was cute like that.
“I’m on it,” Estelle said, reaching out for a fist bump. “I’ll keep you posted. Good luck, team.”
With our meeting concluded, we got right into our work—Julie and I went side-by-side to the studios we’d been in touch with, like nothing had happened between us, and she was right that people were more interested now that we had this event honed down to a specific point, attached to a genuine industry event we could put a name to. Just a little bit of persuasion from both of us, and people were eating out of the palms of our hands—we were both good at this by now, especially when it came to doing it together.
And we rode that high back to her home-base studio, where she introduced me to her engineer friend Amber who flattered me by blushing and stammering a little when we talked. I talkedmore than I usually did, and Julie looked annoyed by the time we got into the studio room to wait for her little star.
“Something on your mind?” I said. She pouted.
“Nothing.”
“You’d better not be hiding things from me again.”
“No, I’m just moody because Amber is up there flirting with you right in front of me when she knows full well that…” She cleared her throat. “That we’ve got a song to work on.”
I laughed, nudging her side. “I’m not interested in Amber. You’re fine.”
“Oh, um. I’m not trying to keep you. I mean, you like to flirt. You’re unbelievably hot, so people are gonna flirt with you.” She put her hands in her pockets, hunching her shoulders. “You’re not? I mean, you seem a little like you’re feeling a rush.”
I smiled, leaning back against the wall. “I am,” I said. “Actually a little nervous.”
“So… she’s your type, huh?”
“It’s more that I’ve been waiting a while for this song.”
“Oh, you’re—” She laughed nervously, suddenly, bubbling out high-pitched. “Is that what you’re—are you—you mean that you mean it’s you mean you’re but what? No. Hold on. Sorry.”
