“What he said,” Jodi added. “But, that’s still not fair. That song has over a hundred million views on YouTube. Anyone could’ve heard it before.” She picked up her phone and bit her lip, searching for another song.
“Try this one,” I said, finally catching on to Lena’s trick. I thought this one might trip her up.
I pressed play on my phone from my curated playlist. Within moments the hard chords of the guitar began playing while the lead singer started in with the lyrics.
Lena’s face wrinkled, and I knew I had her.
That was before she surprised me.
She grinned and snapped. “That’s a good one. ‘Pull The Trigger’ by Tetrarch. Released in 2017 from theirFreakalbum.”
“No shit,” I exclaimed, stunned by her accuracy. “No way.” I shook my head. “You must be on the same record label as them or something.”
Her smile instantly dropped, and her eyes darted to the side. “I wish,” she mumbled.
“You’re a fan of heavy metal, too, huh?” Micah asked.
“Good music is good music. Tetrarch’s lead guitarist is a badass Black woman, too.”
“Diamond Rowe,” I said.
Lena smiled. “She’s cool in real life. I’ve met her a couple of times.”
“You’ll have to introduce me.”
She snorted.
Her mood lightened, but I hadn’t forgotten about the way she sobered when I mentioned the label thing. That was another thing I made a mental note to find out about.
“It’s time for us to get going,” Jodi said sometime later. “Love and Hip Hop: New Yorkcomes on in twenty minutes. I like to watch it when it first airs.”
Lena gave her a funny look. “You watch that show?”
Jodi let out a laugh. “Never would’ve thought I’d want to, but ever since leaving the PR business, it’s the closest I come to the messes I used to clean up.”
As soon as the words were out, Jodie slapped her hand over her mouth, and her eyes grew wide. “Shit, Lena. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Lena let out a humorless laugh. “Don’t be sorry. It’s only the truth.” Her voice was nonchalant.
We paid for our meals and exited a few minutes later. I held the car door open for Lena, observing as she got inside. She brushed against my body, and I caught sight of a vein in her neck pulse.
“Thank you,” she almost whispered.
“You’re into rock music, huh?” I asked, turning out of the parking lot to head toward LS Investigations to retrieve Lena’s rental car.
She gave me a sideways look. “What? You think because I sing one type of music, I can only listen to that type?”
I let out a chuckle. “Defensive much?”
“Sorry,” she murmured, relaxing her shoulders. “Often, in my industry, you come across people who like to put you in a box. It makes it easier to market you.”
“Is that why you’re down here in Texas?” I asked. “To break out of that box?”
She hesitated before answering. “Not quite. I’m just here to write music. Solitude helps.”
“And how is the writing going?”
“Great,” she responded.
