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“And we appreciate it, Tate. We really do. The scene you two made, with you singing to her in front of that restaurant? Pure magic, kid. Fucking social media gold. She looked like she wanted to run away with you, and you looked like you wanted to tear her clothes off and fuck her right there in the street. Couldn’t ask for anything better,” Roger says, rambling dirtily as he usually does.
“Thanks,” I say, wondering if he can even detect the sarcasm in my tone. “Why are you here, Rog?”
He glances over at where Scarlett is still treading water in the pool before he tilts his head toward the house, indicating he wants to talk to me inside. “I need to go over a few things with you.”
“Let’s go in the house,” I tell him before I check yet again on Scarlett, who’s watching us with those big doe eyes, a trace of worry in her expression. I know Roger makes her a little uncomfortable, and I can’t blame her for feeling that way. “I’ll be right back,” I tell her.
She nods. “Okay.”
Roger and I head for the house, and the moment the door is closed behind us, I’m talking. “You need to watch your mouth around Scarlett.”
Roger appears taken aback at my demand. “What’s wrong with my mouth?”
“It says some really inappropriate shit.” I rub at my chin, hating that I’m trying to be fucking serious while I stand here in my swim trunks and Roger is fully clothed. I should’ve at least pulled on a T-shirt. “And I don’t like the way you were staring at her either.”
“I can’t stare at a pretty girl when her tits are out in that bikini she’s wearing?”
Even hearing him talk about Scarlett’s tits infuriates me. “Not with Scarlett, you can’t. Back off.”
Roger studies me for a moment, slowly shaking his head. “You’re taking this boyfriend role of yours seriously.”
“I like her—Irespecther,” I tell him. “And if that means I need to tell you to check yourself when you’re around her, then I will.”
Roger throws his hands up in defeat, though he’s got a grin on his face, the fucker. “Noted. I’ll watch myself.”
That was easier than I thought. “Thank you.”
He drops his hands. “But that means you also need to watch yourself. I’m the one who gave you this record deal, and if you do something I don’t like, I have the power to take it away from you. Don’t forget that.”
Anger simmers in my blood at his obvious threat. There’s the Roger I remember from near the tail end of Five Car Pileup. The one who would kiss our ass one minute and then kick it the next. This guy had a serious Jekyll-and-Hyde thing going on back then, and it looks like that hasn’t changed. “I’m not here to fight with you, Roger. I just want to make sure you respect Scarlett.”
“Right, the hot little eighteen-year-old with more money than anyone else on this planet who can have whatever she wants as long as Daddy buys it for her deservesmyrespect.” Roger rolls his eyes. “How about your little girlfriend show me a little respect? I got you this record deal, this fucking sweet-ass house with a studio. When I showed up here, I fully expected to find you in the studio already trying to lay down some tracks. Maybe you’d be holed up somewhere writing lyrics, I don’t know. But instead, I find you playing grab-ass in the pool, looking ready to fuck her when she isn’t even your actual girlfriend. Like, what the hell, Tate?”
I’m flabbergasted the man thinks I’d be productive enough that I’d be ready to lay down tracks already. “We only just got here.”
“And time is money, my friend. You need to get on it. You have a month to get your shit together.”
“A month?”
“We need to strike while the iron is hot. You know this. In three months, your ass could end up yesterday’s news. Justin Bieber could get his hot wife pregnant or, I don’t know, Britney could finally come out with a tell-all book. A new album. Shit, maybe Bieber breaks up with wifey and gets back together with Selena. What I’m trying to say is, anything could happen and the public would forget all about you, just like that.”
Roger snaps his fingers for emphasis.
That anxious feeling returns, thumping hard in the exact part of my chest where my heart resides, and I rub at the spot, hating how Roger’s words make me feel. Like I’m already behind and it’s going to be impossible for me to catch up. “I’ll start working first thing tomorrow.”
“Might I suggest you start working tonight? Take your girlfriend out to dinner, and go someplace popular, where you’ll be seen. I’ll have my assistant text you a few restaurant suggestions.” Roger reaches into his back pocket and grabs his designer wallet, opening it up and pulling out a few hundred-dollar bills. “Dinner is on me, kid. Make sure she wears something hot and tight, and I want you to keep your hand firmly planted on her ass anytime you’re in public. Got it?”
I take the money from him, fighting the disgust that swirls within me at his demands. “Got it.”
The back door opens and in walks Scarlett, her hair twisted up into a wet bun on top of her head, that black sundress covering her voluptuous body, thank Christ. “Oh, sorry to interrupt,” she says when we both turn to look at her.
“You’re not interrupting anything, baby doll.” Roger approaches her, all smiles and softness as he leans in and plants a quick kiss on her cheek. “As a matter of fact, we were just talking about you.”
Scarlett looks like she wants to rub the kiss he left off her face, she’s so disgusted. “Why were you talking about me?” Her questioning gaze finds mine.
“I was just telling your boyfriend how I want you two to go out to dinner tonight. Show her the town, kid. Let her see all your old haunts.” Roger stands next to Scarlett and smiles that sharklike grin of his aimed right at me, pleased with himself.
All my old haunts. Please. Is he talking about the clubs where I got kicked out for being a belligerent drunk? The restaurants where I would throw a scene after I got caught doing coke in the bathroom? One time, I almost got arrested and had to be escorted out of the building. Oh, maybe I should show her the back alleys where I’d meet my old dealer.
