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"We're lucky none of them is quiet or shy," Roman remarked. "They actually seem to like this interview stuff."
"Have you ever met a shy rock star?" I asked.
He glanced at me and grinned. "I've met some introverted ones, but they didn't have much choice but to overcome it to some extent. When you get famous, people want a piece of you."
"The more famous, the bigger the piece," I agreed.
The guys were sitting in chairs arrayed around another chair that faced them. Strike and Cord sat in the middle, straight in front of the journalist. Jett sat the furthest away, tapping his hand on his thigh the way he did when he was anxious.
Harper and Ripley, as part of the regular performance, stood behind the guys. Mel stood on the other side of Roman.
The journalist, Anders Persson knew she wouldn't be answering any questions and not to bother asking any. That didn't stop him from giving her a long look when we first arrived. I could almost see him itching to sit down and get the scoop on Jude Harrison and Melanie Gregory: the true story.
In your dreams, I thought in his direction. Of course, I kept that sentiment to myself. When they were ready to talk about their relationship, if they were, they would. Until then, they were entitled to their privacy. Whether people believed they were not. Just because they were famous didn't mean people automatically got a piece of them.
"It's the downside of being successful," Roman said. "It would be nice to be a big, popular band and not have to deal with that side of it, but it is what it is."
"If it wasn't, my job would be a lot smaller," I said. Once upon a time, I was just supposed to let people know when and where the guys were touring and making appearances. The bigger they got, the more duties like this I had. It kept life interesting, so there was that.
"Some days I think the band exists to keep us all in work," Roman said. "There's a whole industry built up around them."
I laughed softly. "That's exactly what it is. It's a whole ecosystem."
"Ecosystem or ego system?" He joked.
"I choose C, all of the above." I nodded.
He grinned.
Anders Persson sat in his chair and looked over the notes in his hand. A printout of what I'd sent him, as far as I could tell. With handwritten notes in the margins in aggressive red pen.
Whatever. I wasn't paid to pander to his ego, or anyone else's. He was given an opportunity a lot of others would have given a leg or an arm for. He was going to interview the Rock Dragons and two of their backing vocalists. That would be a huge boost to his career. Unless he was the kind of journalist who thought he should be covering more hard hitting stories. At least he wasn't out in the countryside reporting on somebody who grew the world's biggest cucumber.
"Let's start with you, Mr West," Anders said to Strike. "Can I call you Strike?" In spite of everything, he had a charming, Swedish accent.
Strike grimaced. "Yeah, dude. Please don't call me Mr West. I'm not a hundred years old yet."
Anders laughed insincerely. "No, you certainly aren't. But all my readers have to know, how are you enjoying the tour?"
Roman turned and whispered, "Starting with the hard-hitting questions, I see."
I tried to keep my face neutral. "He's just warming up. Get them off guard and then ask them something they shouldn't answer."
They did it every time, but the guys were too smart to be caught out like that. Usually.
"It's been awesome," Strike said. "Best yet. I feel like we're playing even better than we used to and the audiences are next level excellent. I mean, without the audience there would be no tour, and concerts would be as boring as hell. Right?"
"Right, right," Anders agreed. "This is a longer tour than the last one too, isn't it? By—" he checked his notes, "two weeks. Is it harder to be away from home for a longer period?"
"Honestly, by the end of the tour you're so exhausted you wouldn't know if it's a week or month." Strike laughed. "Seriously though, it's our job to give the fans what they want and what they wanted was more concerts. Who can argue with doing what you love more often, am I right?"
"Right, right," Anders said again. "Mr Owens. Cord. It must be easier for you having your girlfriend along for the ride?"
"Yep." Cord shrugged.
Anders waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. "In what ways is it easier?"
"I don't have to miss her when she is standing right behind me," Cord said. He glanced at Harper over his shoulder and smiled.
