“Thank you for your time.” I close the door quietly behind me.
In the elevator, my hands shake.Girlfriend. Contract. Saint-Tropez. Sam. Slayer.
Once I’ve returned to the sidewalk outside Sterling Records, I text Zaza and Keesha, hoping they can help me decide.
CHAPTER 19
BIX
“Zaza, over here!” I say, waving at her from the park bench I share with Keesha in Washington Square Park.
“I only have an hour for lunch, so tell me the scoop fast!” Zaza says, wearing a black Equinox T-shirt that saysGreeterin white letters.
She hands each of us a fresh protein shake and looks at me expectantly. “How did the audition go? When will we see your name in lights?”
“Maybe never,” I say glumly. “It wasn’t an audition at all. It was a ruse to bring me into the studio and twist my arm into spending the weekend with Slayer in Saint-Tropez.”
"Bummer about the audition," says Zaza. "But congratulations on the glitzy weekend gig! Why did you call us here to meet with you?"
"I can't decide if I should agree."
“Yeah? Then tell this Sterling guy you have a friend more than willing to take that gig.” She strikes a pose that would fit perfectly on a yacht in the Mediterranean.
“You better start from the beginning,” Keesha says. “You’re not making much sense.”
I take a deep breath and deliver a carefully curated review of the morning’s events. I begin with my arrival at Sterling Records, move to the drama in the audition room, and finally to Sterling’s true offer.
I skip over the fact that I spent the night with a handsome, mysterious man who turned out to be Slayer himself.
“The bottom line is, when he saw me sing in the club last night, Sterling thought I was the perfect type to upgrade Slayer’s shady reputation with my sunny style.”
Keesha’s eyes pop wide. “Sunny? He hasn’t seen you in the morning before your coffee.”
“Yeah, well, I think he was just judging by my bouncy blonde curls and my upbeat singing. Apparently, Sterling and his team created an entire media campaign designed to showcase Slayer’s new girlfriend and downplay all the negative attention he’s getting in the press.”
“But they didn’t even know you then.”
“That’s just it. They created the fictional persona first, then I guess they shopped for the actress. The first person they had lined up bailed.”
“How much are you getting paid for the gig?” Zaza asks.
I tell them, watching their eyes widen.
The figure still makes my head spin. “If I accept, I return to the studio to work with the PR team to get my story down. But as I understand it, my role is simple. I just act like Slayer’s girlfriend, like I’m in love with him.”
“You are in love with him,” Zaza says with a laugh.
“Wasin love,” I say firmly. “Past tense. I’ve had a chance to get to know him, and I don’t like what I see.”
Keesha and Zaza exchange another look. “You’ve figured this out in the last hour?” Zaza asks.
Every fiber in my body wants to sayyesand move on. But I feel so alone. I would have told Hilary the truth, but she’s not here anymore.
“It’s a long story,” I say softly. “But in a total freak-accident kind of way, I ended up spending the night with him.”
Zaza’s protein shake freezes halfway to her mouth.
“You lost your V-card to the hottest rock star on the planet? And you’re wondering if you should spend the weekend with him in Saint-Tropez?”
