Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Ezra’s hand finds mine and gives it a firm squeeze, and as we walk across the room to where Dylan and Rock sit, Lenny goes on. “Despite this story breaking two weeks ago, it is still making headlines, and we will not be the reason for it to continue. When asked—which you will be—you are to divert your answers back to the show. We have brought a team on board who are able to give a crash course in media training if any of you would like some guidance on how to answer these questions.”
A heaviness settles into my chest, somehow feeling like I’m a burden on the rest of the team, and I try to keep my expression neutral. The last thing I wanted was to be a distraction to the team or to try and take any attention off the band. This is about them. The headlines should be about how magnificent the boys are, how they’re unstoppable in their prime, not about the lead singer’s girlfriend who was abused.
“We are still unaware of where these stories are coming from—” Lenny continues, making me cringe. We haven’t exactly told him our thoughts on that. I’m almost certain this is my father’s doing. It just doesn’t make enough sense for me to come forward with it. Why the fuck would he go bragging to the media about what he’s done? Does he think he’s untouchable? Does he think it’s something to be proud of? “—and until we’re able to get to the bottom of this, we all need to do our part. Raleigh is family, and we protect our own. Is that understood?”
There’s a unanimous yes that sounds through the room, only a soft scoff has my gaze flicking to the left, and unfortunately for the dancers, I wasn’t the only one who heard it. “You got a problem?” Rock asks, already on his feet.
“Come on,” Jessica says, her gaze flicking toward me. “You don’t think this is getting a little over-the-top? Everybody has stood by and watched Raleigh throw herself at Ezra, and that lap dance on stage? She’s not even a dancer. Clearly this . . . behavior is typical of her. She’s provocative. We’ve all seen it.”
My blood runs cold as every eye in the room turns toward me, horror sweeping through my body.
“If you’re trying to make a point, you better hurry up and make it,” Rock grunts, shifting closer to me.
Jessica lets out a sigh before waving her hand toward me. “She’s been acting like a whore since the moment she arrived,” she states. “She’s clearly in love with the attention she gets. Don’t you all see what’s happening here? She’s the one who’s leaking these stories. I bet they aren’t even true to begin with. Nobody fucking touched her. She’s just making up bullshit sob stories to keep her name in the media and have everybody feeling sorry for her. It’s embarrassing, and she should be fired for bringing all this heat down over the band. It’s making us all look bad.”
No, she fucking didn’t.
My hands ball into fists, humiliation and anger infecting my body.
Ezra doesn’t move even an inch beside me, just relaxes into his chair as though he doesn’t have a care in the world. “Jessica,” he says, watching her gaze sweep to his. “Pack your shit. You’re fired.”
“What?” she demands, her eyes widening in shock. “That’s bullshit. You can’t fire me for expressing an opinion.”
“I can do whatever the fuck I want,” he says, as my knee bounces, desperately needing to rearrange her face. “Now pack your shit. You’re out of here.”
“But . . . no. There’s a show starting in an hour. You need me.” Jessica gets to her feet, looking between Lenny and the rest of the band, waiting for someone to tell Ezra he’s being dramatic, but no one does, no one even breathes a word.
“We sure as fuck don’t need you. Your performances are doing nothing but cheapening our show. In fact,” he says, turning his gaze toward Stacey. “You might as well pack your shit too. I’m done having these two fawn all over me on stage. It’s humiliating.”
Stacey sucks in a breath, and I almost feel sorry for her. I don’t exactly like her, but she’s never been a bitch to me the way Jessica has. “But—”
“Don’t worry,” Ezra continues. “We’ll pay out the rest of your contract, and you’re more than welcome to stay here the rest of the week on us. Live it up a little. I’m just . . . The show doesn’t require dancers. We never should have hired them.”
Lenny cringes. “I’m sorry, girls. I’m inclined to agree with him. And of course, Stacey, we’ll pay out your contract, and you can stay if you’d like. As for you, Jessica, why the fuck are you still here?”