All the air has been sucked out of the room. I think I’m having a panic attack or something. I’m going to pass out.
“Take the call,” Vicky urges pushing the phone closer to me. “You can’t pass up this opportunity. The magazine can’t pass up this opportunity, Tru.” She looks at me wistfully.
But I just can’t move my hand to take the phone.
“An opportunity Jake didn’t even offer me himself.” My voice comes out croaky.
My phone stops ringing.
We both look down at it.
Vicky retreats her hand containing my bomb of a phone with it.
“Maybe Jake just wanted to speak to me first. You know with me being your employer. He probably wanted to check it wouldn’t cause any problems with your permanent job here first before offering you the job.”
“Did he say that to you?” I look at her suspiciously.
“Yes, of course he did,” she answers brightly.
She’s so lying. He never asked her. I can’t imagine Jake ever asking anyone for anything.
All he’s done by calling Vicky first, is put me in a position where I can’t say no.
Did he know that would be the case? And if so, then why would he do that?
“Call him back,” Vicky urges.
I shake my head, swallowing down my dry throat. “I don’t think I can. I don’t think I can do this. I can’t write a book, Vicky. I’m a journalist. A music journalist, not a novelist.”
“You can. You are a wonderful writer, my darling.”
I look up at her, mild panic in my eyes. I know what she’s worried about. She’s worried Jake will pull the bio from the magazine if I don’t write it.
But he wouldn’t do that.
“Jake will still have the magazine do the feature, even if I don’t take the job, Vicky. He wouldn’t pull it. I know him.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know, honey, I did sort of get the distinct impression you are part of the deal.”
“Did he say that?”
“Not exactly.”
Yes he did.
Crap.
“Why would he do this?” I say my thoughts out loud.
She smiles. “Maybe he just doesn’t want to let you go this time.”
“So he forces me to write his bio? No, that doesn’t make any sense. I’m his friend. You don’t force people to be your friend. I’d be his friend without this.”
I’m so confused. I need to sit down. I slump back into my chair.
Vicky moves round and leans against my desk. “Maybe he doesn’t just want to be your friend,” she says softly. “And if that is the case, then this way he gets to ensure he sees a lot more of you, for a long while.”
My eyes flash up to hers. “No.” I shake my head. “It’s not that.”
He had the chance to make a move on me last night, and if I’m being truthful, I probably would have kissed him back if he had kissed me, but he didn’t. And that’s how I know that’s not the reason.
I just have no clue what his motive is.
Maybe it’s a genuine one. Maybe he thinks I’m a really good writer.
I scoff at the very thought in my own mind.
“Well for whatever reason he is doing it,” Vicky says. “This is a huge opportunity for you and the magazine as a whole. It can only be a good thing, Tru. And maybe Jake recognises that. He’ll know what this will do for your career. Maybe he just wants to help you. He did say to me that he’s been considering doing a bio for a long while now, and with this tour it’s the right time. It was obviously just good fortune that you met back up with him, or it could be someone else getting to hop on that tour bus.”
Shit. I’m going to have to go on tour with them. Of course.
I’m so screwed.
This morning I was worried I was never going to see him again, and now I’m going to be spending a huge amount of time with him, following him around, watching him, learning all about him, while we tour around some pretty cool parts of the world.
Yes, I am so completely and utterly screwed.
“Call him,” Vicky urges one last time, placing my phone on my desk, tapping her nail on the screen before leaving me to it.
I stare at my phone and then with shaky fingers I pick it up and press redial on his number.
He answers on the first ring.
“Tru,” his voice comes deep and sexy down the line.
“Hi, Jake.”
Silence.
“So…” I say, not really knowing what to say.
“I’m taking it your boss beat me to it?” he states rather than asks.
“She did.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Will you do it – the bio?”
“Do I have a choice?”
There’s a really long pause. I can practically feel his tension radiating down the line.
“There’s always a choice, Tru.” He sounds a little pissed off.
“Sorry,” I recover. “That sounded a little shitty, it’s just a lot of information to process this early in the morning. Especially when I haven’t even had a chance to have a coffee yet.”
“You haven’t?”
“No, and I don’t function without coffee,” I say in a Spanish accent. I’m actually fluent in Spanish, something my mum insisted on, and it does comes in handy at times – well, mainly holiday’s in Spanish speaking countries. And my crap Spanish accent always used to make Jake laugh when we were kids, so I’m aiming for just that again.
He chuckles, deep and throaty down the line. It does incredible things to me. “I see you’re still an idiot.”
“I am, and it still takes one to know one.”
“That it does … so you’ll do it?”
I get the distinct feeling he’s not asking me. And really in what world would I ever say no.
“I’ll do it,” I smile.
I can practically feel his grin down the phone.
“Okay, so as your new boss – well one of them – I order you to go get some coffee as I can’t have you talking in that cute Spanish accent of yours all day. You’ll drive me nuts.”
I’ll drive him nuts?! In a good or bad way…
“I’m seeing you today?”
“Of course. Go get that coffee and I’ll call you back soon.”
He hangs up, and I sit staring at the phone in my hand, feeling a little dumbfounded.
And somehow a little played. I just haven’t figured out as to how yet.
I’m also feeling a little excited – okay a lot excited. I’m going on tour with The Mighty Storm … with Jake.
Shit. And double shit. I’m going to have to tell Will.
Well that thought quickly dilutes my good mood.
I don’t go and get a coffee straight away, I go to Vicky’s office.
“You called him?” She looks up at me hopefully.
“I called him.”
“And?
“And of course I’m doing it.”
“Oh thank god! You had me worried for a moment there. Oh, Trudy, you are my superstar!” She gets up from her desk and hugs me in a cloud of her perfume and perfectness. “I knew from the second you stepped into the interview for a job here that hiring you would be the best thing I would ever do.”
She holds me back by my shoulders, smiling her gorgeous smile at me. “You, my girl, are going to lift this magazine off the bottom shelf and put it in its rightful place in amongst those glossy’s on the middle shelf.”
“You really think this exclusive with Jake will do that?” I know it will lift sales but I don’t want her to pin all her hopes on this.
“I do.” She nods emphatically. “This boy is unattainable. Getting a concise straight answer out of him is bad enough, but a full blown insight into his life – hell, all those women out there who sit listening to his album, watching him on TV, dreaming of Jake Wethers in their beds will wet their panties over this.”
I can’t help but laugh.
“And they are also going to love the fact that you guys grew up together and have just reunited to do this story. Women will envy you and love you for bringing that man into their houses.”
“Um.” I tuck my hair behind my ear. “I was thinking maybe we should keep that part under wraps.”
I’ve been thinking about this, and I don’t want all the attention it will bring me if people find out Jake and me grew up together. And there could be the chance that when the press is delving into mine and Jake’s history together, someone from our former years might just tell the story of what his dad did to him and his mum. I shudder to think. Somehow Jake’s managed to keep that part of his life out of the press, I don’t want to be the reason it comes out.
Obviously I’m not going to say any of that to Vicky. I’ve already quickly planned out what I’m going to say.
“I just think it will seem even better if they don’t know of my history with Jake. It might take the focus off the bio when they realise Jake and I have history, and I don’t want that to be the running feature. I want it to be about Jake and Etiquette.”
She grins at me. “Good thinking. Always the journalist. Have I told you how much I love you lately?”
“No.” I grin.
“Well I do, lots and lots and lots.”
“So the tour … Jake’s said he’s going to see me again today – assumedly to talk about the tour, but can you give me the heads up now?”
“You’re seeing him again – today?” she grins, sitting back down.
She’s like a teenager at times.
“Yes, about business. Brief me about the tour, please, boss?”
She leans back in her chair. “Seven weeks. Touring Europe for the first three, then America and Canada for the last four.”
“And I can come home in-between the dates?”
“There are a lot of dates in the tour. It’s pretty intensive – ten dates in Europe and thirteen in the US and Canada. There is a two week break between Europe and the US, and I can’t imagine you’ll be needed all the time – but check with Jake.”
“What about my column?”
“I was going to get Jane to cover what you couldn’t manage?”
“Sure. Sounds like a plan.”
I get out of my chair. “What did you think of the piece of the interview with Jake that I sent you?”
“Really good. I emailed back a few possible changes, have a look – let me know what your thoughts are. But there’s no rush on finishing it as I think we’re going to use it as the pre-cursor for the bio.”
I start to leave her office, then stop at the door. “Why do you think Jake never mentioned the bio to me last night?”
She shrugs. “You said last night was a catch up on old times, so maybe he didn’t want to talk business with you at that point.”
“Hmm, maybe… he could have called me first thing this morning … but I guess it doesn’t matter.”
She leans forward resting her elbows on her desk. “You want my honest opinion? I think he asked you out to dinner because he wanted to see you again. I think he hired you for the bio because you’re fabulous at your job – and also because he wants to have sex with you.”
