Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Midway through the second verse, Savage taps my shoulder and motions for me to come with him toward a bedroom in the back. When I look at him, like, Now? he nods and shouts above the music, “I need to talk to you in private!”
Well, fuck. This can’t be good. In a flash, my drunken brain goes straight to my upcoming stint on Sing Your Heart Out. The show begins shooting right after we get back from tour. Is Savage pulling me aside to break the news that the show’s cancelled me for a bigger name?
Savage motions to Laila, who joins our trek to the back bedroom. Maybe this is good news, after all? Like, maybe news about Ruby being approved as Laila’s guest mentor this season?
We reach the room, and Savage closes the door to muffle the blaring music.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Eli texted me,” Savage says. “Your phone is off. He told me to find you and ask you an urgent question, because he needs your answer right away.” Eli is our manager. Which means this must be something work-related.
“Am I being dropped as your guest mentor?” I ask before Savage gets his next words out. The producers of the show are notoriously fickle and scheming, as they connive to achieve maximum ratings for the show. In fact, as Eli explained it to me, the standard guest mentor contract includes a loophole clause giving producers the right to cancel any guest mentor at the last minute, as long as they do it before the dog-and-pony-show press conference that announces the upcoming season’s full cast.
“No, they still want you,” Savage says. “Now more than ever, thanks to Cooper’s song breaking the internet. Eli said they’re seriously considering Ruby, too.”
“Really? That’s awesome.” What does Cooper’s song have to do with it?
“But first, the producers want assurances from you. Confirmation you’re willing to play along with a certain storyline they’d want for Ruby that would involve you.”
I scowl. “What’s the storyline?”
Laila says, “The whole world knows Ruby is ‘Ruby Tuesday,’ and mostly everyone thinks you’re the ‘brother’ she wants to fuck from the song. The producers see all the buzz, and they’re excited about the possibilities.”
My eyebrows ride up. “People think I’m the brother guy—not you or Kai?”
“Everyone thinks he’s you, KC.”
“Well, no, I’d say over half the internet thinks he’s you,” Laila interjects. “Second place is Kai. Savage is a distant third.”
“It’s so insulting,” Savage quips.
I don’t know whether to smile or scowl at the revelation that I’m the world’s front-runner, so I work hard to keep my face neutral. “So, what’s the storyline? A romance between us?” That’s what they required of Savage and Laila their first season. In fact, that’s their origin story as a couple: the show required them to fake a passionate relationship as a prerequisite to them both getting signed for the judging gig. So, it stands to reason the producers are reaching into their old bag of tricks.
Savage shrugs. “You’ll have to ask Eli for specifics. He said something about them wanting to make sure you and Ruby wouldn’t publicly deny her being Ruby Tuesday and you being the guy in the song. You know, leaving everything open to speculation, at least. But who knows.”
I shrug. “I’d be willing to do whatever it takes to get Ruby onto the show. I know for a fact this would be a dream come true for her. Life changing.” I pull my phone out of my pocket. “I’ll text Eli now and let him know—”
“No, not yet,” Savage says. “There’s something else.” He looks at Laila and grimaces before returning to me. “Cooper. Eli said they’ve confirmed him as a guest mentor this season.”
“What the fuck? Seriously?” I look at Laila, frowning. “I thought you were the only judge without a guest mentor confirmed.”
“I was, which is why I asked for Ruby. They initially said no about her, by the way. They said she’s not a big enough name yet. But then, Cooper’s song came out and took the internet by storm, and since they already had you, they decided to bump the guest mentor lined up for Jon and replace him with Cooper.”
“Poor Ruby,” I murmur. “Talk about an impossible choice to make. Saying yes to her dream opportunity and working alongside Cooper or turning it down and getting the biggest case of FOMO ever.”
“I know,” Laila says. “It sucks.”
I rough a palm down my face. “So, are they gunning for a love triangle storyline here, then? Is that what’s really going on?”
“Eli seems to think so,” Savage says. “But for now, I guess they’re being pretty vague about their intentions. First things first, they want to know if you’ll play ball. If not, they’re not going to make an offer to Ruby.”
“Like I said, I’ll do whatever Ruby wants. The question is whether Ruby will want to do the show with Cooper. Honestly, I don’t know. The past few days have been pretty rough on her.” I turn on my phone, and a bunch of texts and missed calls from Eli pop up. “I’ll let Eli know I’m in Ruby’s corner, no matter what.”