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I scanned the spacious living room and then over to the kitchen, which looked brand new. “Really nice. When are you moving in all your stuff?”
He shrugged. “This is it. My old place came furnished, so all that crap belonged to the ladies. I didn’t have a bed, so I bought a mattress that could be delivered the next day. It was crazy; it came in a little box and expanded when I opened it, but my sheets from the old bed don’t quite fit on it. They keep slipping off the edges.”
I gestured around the sterile space. “You need rugs and furniture and stuff on the walls, mate. You need to hire someone professional or it’ll look like you’re slumming in here if you do it yourself.”
He frowned slightly. “Yeah, I’ll think about it. Maybe to help me take care of the basics. I only signed a 6-month lease, so I don’t want to go crazy. I don’t want to go through all the trouble of decorating the entire place if I end up leaving.”
“Why would you want to leave? This place seems okay.”
I followed him into the kitchen. “Who the fuck knows? Maybe I’ll want to live in a penthouse like Sid. I don’t know. I didn’t put much thought into it. Vector gave me a list of suggested places to look at and I picked the first one. I paid out the remaining months on my old lease and moved out right away. I didn’t want Edith and Rosie dealing with all my shit.”
The kitchen was amazing. Loads of cabinets, many with glass front doors, open shelving on one wall, top-of-the-line appliances, and a giant island with seating — all expertly finished with high-end materials. Ghost opened the refrigerator to grab a couple of beers. Besides the beer, a few takeout containers were the only things inside the fridge. I imagined his kitchen cabinets were just as empty.
I took the beer he offered me. “Sid’s penthouse is pretty sweet.”
“Yeah. I just didn’t need all that space. I didn’t even need two bedrooms, but this unit was available right away. A few one-bedroom units are becoming available at the end of the month if you’re looking. We could be neighbors, bro. This place has some sweet amenities.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s a lot nicer than my place. How much is it per month?”
“Twenty thousand.”
I rocked back on my heels and whistled. “Fuck, mate! You’re paying twenty grand a month? I pay four grand right now for a one-bedroom and I thought that was expensive.”
Ghost chuckled. “The penthouse in this building is three times what I pay.”
My eyes widened with shock. “Sixty thousand dollars. Per month? That’s fucking insane! Sid’s going to wind up in the poor house if he’s paying anything like that.”
We headed back into the main room and Ghost gestured for me to take the bean bag chair that was parked in the center of the room in front of the large-screen TV mounted on the wall. Those were the only two items in the room. Ghost went into a closet near the entrance door and dragged out a fold-up canvas chair. “Have you checked your bank account lately?”
I sank into the bean bag chair that had seen better days. “Not really. I’m using a financial planner that Donovan recommended. The planner told me not to let the money collect in the bank, so he’s been investing it. I’ve got an accountant who reviews it quarterly and says it’s performing well.”
Ghost unfolded the black director’s chair and sat down, stretching out his long legs. “You should still monitor how it’s doing yourself. You haven’t touched any of it yet?”
I took a big swig of the cold beer. “I bought a guitar I’ve had my eye on. $65,000. I’ve got nothing else to spend it on.”
Ghost rubbed the scruff on his chin. “You need a chick to spend your money.”
I grunted with disgust. “That’s the last thing I need. It was bad enough in the early days when the groupies were only out for a good fuck that they could brag about on social media. Now that we’ve hit the big time, we’re attracting nothing but gold diggers and fame whores. I can barely get my dick up anymore for those women.”
Ghost tipped his beer bottle to me in a mock toast. “Welcome to the top, brother.”
We both took a drink and then sat silently for a few minutes before Ghost cut into my sour thoughts. “You’re wearing the same clothes as last night. Were you able to get your dick up for that short chick with the nice rack?”
I sighed. “Yeah, but then she passed out with her hand down my pants. Maybe that’s why I’m in such a shite mood today.”
“You waited too long to close the deal.”
Probably. I’d been trying to talk to her. Get to know her a little better, but we hadn’t been clicking. “That club was fucking weird last night. No one had any clue who we were. I liked it, but there was a weird vibe going on.”
Weird was an understatement. The club was decorated with clowns, ugly dolls, and taxidermy galore, and had obscure genres of punk music pumping through the speakers all night. I stood out among the crowd for looking so normal.
“This guy Huxley told me about it. Said I could probably remain incognito there. He said that no one there listened to Top 40 music.” Ghost scoffed. “Christ, that fucking song changed everything. Ghost Parker is now Top 40 music.”
He was more joking than bitter, but I still wanted to lighten things up. “Yeah, but we’re set for life. If you ever get too sick of it all, you can leave the band. Do something else. The sky’s the limit, mate.”
Ghost shook his head. “I’ll be with Ghost Parker till the end, even if Vicious writes bubblegum pop and BVR turns us into the newest boy band. Ride or die, man.”
My arse had finally sunk completely through the beans in the chair and settled onto the hard floor, so I readjusted my position. “So, what happened to you last night? I never saw you take off from the club.”
