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“IwishIhadn’t,”Ishouted, frustrated. “Thenyou wouldn’t be able to use the same money to destroy my family.You’renot supposed to punish someone for being kind to you.”
“Onthe contrary.Nogood deed goes unpunished.”
Hedropped my elbow, andIrubbed the spot he had gripped tightly with my other hand to circulate the blood flow.
“Itaught myself music and clawed out of my fuck-forsaken town with a scholarship,” he said quietly. “Iwas driven and hungry for success and had everything to prove.Evenif you hadn’t left me that money,Iwould have made it on my own.”
“Iknow,”Iadmitted in a whisper.Itwas the only thingIknew for certain.Axelwouldn’t have led a life of ordinary.ThemoneyIleft him might have fast-tracked his career, but even without it, he would have done it eventually.
“Sowhy did you have to go and do that?”Heran a finger down my cheek, andIstepped back to disconnect the contact.Axelmoved with me until we were close enough for our breaths to intermingle and the unique smell of his turned overpowering. “Youhave no idea what you started with one action.Mygoals suddenly changed to accomplish everything thatyouwanted for me.”
Darkeyes flickered.
“Exceptyou weren’t there with me.Youleft me,” he hissed. “EverytimeItried finding you, it was another dead end.Iwent by the name you dubbed me and had my hand in every type of music, knowing you’d eventually hear the name and recognize it.Despitemy manager’s prodding,Imaintained a home and presence inNewYork.Ihad been famous for years and knew that if you had any relation to music, you would have heard my name by now.Everychannel of communication was open to you.Still, you never reached out and made yourself scarce.”
Theominous threat in his voice sent a chill down my spine.
“Then, one late night, afterIgot home from a show, this commercial came onTV.Imaginemy surprise when the jingle happened to be the one you wrote while we were together.”
Icouldn’t hold back a sharp inhale.
Foryears,Iheld onto the jingle we wrote.Noadvertisement proved to be a good enough fit for the song.ThenJordanbrought me a condom commercial.Whilethe ad was superficially comical, the setting hit me hard.Itwas of a couple sitting on a beach blanket, with fireworks in the backdrop.Therewas a caption printed on the bottom.Onlyget caught up in the moment, not caught without a condom.
Eventhe advertisement slogan was tailored to us, considering we hadn’t used protection that night.Iknew the jingle belonged only to that commercial.Iwas paying homage to our night together.However, never in a million years didIexpectAxelto see the advertisement and remember the jingle.
“Youcontacted the agency who supplied the talent for the ad,”Iguessed.
Axelnodded. “Jordan’scompany.”
Hishand landed in my hair, tunneling through my locks in comforting strokes.Thistime,Ididn’t pull away.
“Despitemultiple opportunities, you hadn’t reached out all these years.Irealized either you changed your mind about us or you’d never wanted to hear from me, to begin with.”
Hisfingers suddenly closed in my hair to make a fist.Iheld back a yelp when his grip tightened painfully.
“So,IhadLevireach out toJordanwithout mentioning my name.Heasked to meet with the songwriter in question for an upcoming commercial.Butthe artist refused to meet in person.”
Ididn’t deny the occurrence and realized whyLevi’sname had sounded familiar.Idid hear of aLeviattempting to schedule a face-to-face appointment with me.Iworked under a stage name and never met clients in real life, petrified of someone from theAmbanifamily finding out about me.It’donly take one person to figure out what “Mrs.Ambani” did for a living and use it to bring down my husband.
So, whenever a client acted overeager about meeting me,Irefused all future projects and contact.Itwas howIhad managed to keep my secret career under wraps for years.Iremember askingJordanto block all future efforts fromLevi, fearful it was someone fromJay’sworld meaning to do us harm.Noone was this interested in meeting some jingle writer.Untilnow,Inever connected the dots.
“Levitried everything,”Axelcontinued. “Heoffered to do the commercial without meeting the artist, assuming he could build rapport and meet you down the line.Theartist turned down the offer.Healso offered to invest inJordan’scompany, promised to bring in high-profile clients like me, and even buy the company out.Nothingworked.Jordanmentioned her unmovable precedence to protect her clients at any cost.Shewas the type who’d go down with her damn morals instead of disclosing a name.”
Myheart warmed at the reminder.Jordanwas stringent about my real name and would never sell me out if a client wanted my contact information or to meet me in person.Shedidn’t even post about me on her social media.
“WhileIadmired the ethics, it was tiresome to my cause.Ihad to take action.Ihad made connections over the years, most of them in the music industry.Theywere all too happy whenIreached out and provided unsolicited advice on achieving success similar to me.”Axellowered the hand tunneling through my tresses to grabJordan’sfileIhad discarded on the desk. “Itwasn’t difficult to steerJordan’sclients in a different direction and drain her company.”
Icouldn’t hold back the gasp.
Axelwas bankruptingJordan.
“Withina couple of weeks,Jordanturned desperate.That’swhenIcame in as an interested potential client, offering a bail-out in the form of a large commission.Togain my business, all she had to do was show me what she could bring to the table.Iasked her to help organize networking parties and introduce me to everyone she knew in the music industry, along with all her remaining clients.Itwas unsuspicious enough, and she did it without a complaint.Afterthat, it was just a waiting game.Ithrew party after party, waiting for you to walk through those doors.”
Iglanced at the folderAxelheld in his hand.
“Inow understand why she did so much to protect one client.Becauseit was someone she loved.Sohow far are you willing to go for the best friend who refused to give you up?”
Mylips parted, my dry throat screaming in thirst.
