With that the band soared into action finishing the last few songs for the evening.
As they all gathered backstage again, Alex finally seemed relaxed and calm, chatting with the right people as he introduced Grace as his girlfriend to some but not all of them. Tapping him on the shoulder, Chris demanded his attention, guiding him outside, insisting he leave Grace with Izzie. “If you ever pull another stunt like that I swear to God, Alex...”
“What, Chris? You’ll what?” Alex roared.
“Don’t you fucking dare take that attitude with me. We had a set all worked out. Don’t you ever pull rank on me again. This isn’t the Alex Carter show.” Chris matched the singer’s tone, loud and clear.
“I fucking sang, didn’t I? I told you I didn’t wanna be here. They got their pound of flesh and you got your money’s worth so don’t give me that shit.” Alex squared up to the man in front of him.
“What? you show up with some two bit tart and everything changes for her? No way, Al. It’s not happening.” His manager was now almost nose to nose with the singer.
Alex reached out and grabbed Chris by the throat before he could blink. Tightening his grip, he spat out the words he needed to say. “Don’t you ever call her that again. You had better turn around and walk away or we’re through.” The colour drained from the putrid little man as Alex pushed him backwards. “Go, Chris. Now.”
“You should have punched him. I was ready to hospitalize the little prick.” Ben threw a bottle of beer to him. “You look like you need that. If it makes you feel any better it’s my favourite track too. Come on, dude. Will you sing it again for me, please?” Ben fluttered his eyelashes, pretending to act coy, laughing as Alex downed his beer.
“Shut up you dick.” The pair erupted into laughter, high fiving each other before rejoining the gathering.
The after gig party had moved from the club back to Chris’ privately owned house, or rather, mansion. There was a huge canopy stretched out over the patio area which was accessed via the three sets of French doors that had been thrown wide open. The well manicured lawns sprawled beyond the flagstones, lined with shrubbery that drew your eye down the perfect gardens. Winding paths ran around the edge, leading to a summer house. They had contract caterers provide a mammoth amount of food, and waiting staff drifted around the house and gardens with trays of champagne cocktails and miniature food. There was a full bar in operation in the office at one end of the luxurious hallway offering a range of drinks.
Only the major players from the relevant companies were left, along with the band and the invited few.Grace felt giddy at being in the middle of all it; never in a million years would she have imagined ending up here. Glancing around the house she took in her surroundings, catching Izzie and Ben holed up in one corner looking very cosy together. She smiled as Izzie caught her eye, offering her a reassuring grin. Grace returned her attention to Alex as he guided her across the vast space, weaving in and out of people as he made his way across to Max and Jez.
“So did you enjoy your own private little rendition of his song?” Jez quizzed her as Alex talked to Max. “I have to say you must be pretty special to get him veering off track.”
As she opened her mouth to reply Alex jumped in before her. “She is. What’s wrong with you? You’ve been shitty all night.” Grace watched the heated exchange between the two men, feeling a little uncomfortable to say the least.
“Me? What’s up with me? Hey I’m not the one that decided to stir up shit with Chris just to please this month’s piece of ass.” Jez sneered at Grace as he lifted his bottle to his mouth, draining the remaining liquid. Max tried to stifle a grin without much success.
“Oh, is someone jealous, Jez? Do you not have a hot piece of ass to show off to? I suppose that’s the benefit of fronting the band though. Alex can kind ofrun the show whereas you, you’re just stuck at the back, hiding behind your drum kit.” Grace held her own, not needing anyone to fight her battles for her. Alex stood next to her smiling as he saw Jez squirm under the retort. Max snorted with laughter, earning a shoulder punch from the heavily muscled drummer.
“Yeah, we don’t wanna upset your Chris now, do we? You are so far up his fucking arse. C’mon, babe, I need a drink.” He grasped Grace’s hand as he knuckle bumped Max. He fought to suppress a smile when he saw Grace wink at Jez over her shoulder as they walked away from the pair. Lowering his lips to her ear he whispered to her, making sure she was okay, which she assured him she was. It would take more than a drunken asshole to upset her. She was here to support him. The only thing that bothered her was that she had idolised Jez for years. Realising what a prick he was had been a blow but nothing she would lose sleep over.
Grace spent the next hour making small talk with men in suits as some of them quizzed her, working out that she had been the one standing in the wings. The one he had sung to so beautifully. God, she would remember that for the rest of her life. If this dream ended today at least she’d have the memory of that.
“Babe, I gotta go talk to Chris for a minute. Willyou be okay with Izzie? I really won’t be long, I promise.”
Kissing her softly he left her with his sister as he walked out of the room and headed down to the makeshift bar in search of his manager. He wanted to make sure the meeting he had requested had been organised. He heard Ben fall in step beside him, “Is this what I think it is? You’re gonna tell him you want out, aren’t you?”
“Ben, the contracts are up for renewal. I just wanna make sure that I work in a lot of down time for me. The endless fucking touring is killing me. Anyway, since when did Jez turn in to a fucking tosser? You should have heard him with Grace earlier; I had to really rein it in.” They stood outside the office that housed the makeshift bar, both leaning on either side of the hallway mirroring each other’s stance, one foot firmly rooted to the floor, the other leg bent at the knee and foot rested against the wall, their hands firmly tucked into their jeans pockets.
“You only just noticed? He’s always been a prick. You’re just usually zoned out to it. No offence but your head’s not been in the game recently. He’s probably done a line or two as well as drunk his own body weight in booze.” Ben rubbed his hand along the backof his neck. “Look, just take it easy on Chris. He can negotiate a good deal if we keep him on side.”
Alex smirked at him, suddenly not understanding what this hold was that their manager seemed to have over the guys. He knew Izzie had never liked him, she could barely mention his name without shuddering. He was sure the feeling was mutual but that wouldn’t be a problem for much longer. Izzie was no longer his PA after tonight. Tomorrow she was his sister again.
“Right.” Holding his hand aloft, Alex high fived Ben before tapping on the door and disappearing inside to speak to the arrogant son of bitch.
Ben made his way back down to the room where he had left Izzie with Grace. Lifting a glass from the tray of a passing waiter with one hand, he collected something that resembled a miniature burger topped with green leafy fronds with the other. Scanning the room his eyes searched for Izzie. The amount of bodies had dwindled but he still couldn’t see her. Deciding that the pair must have stepped outside he made his way towards one of the open doorways. His eyes searched the sea of people swarming around the grounds; he still couldn’t see her. Strolling across the lawn he paused outside the hired in toilet bays – so over the top, why they couldn’t piss in the house toiletshe didn’t know – hovering for a few minutes, waiting to see if the girls emerged from there. That proved fruitless. Scanning the area again he realised he hadn’t seen Jez or Max either. His pulse instantly spiked. He knew the pair of them together was bad news but even more so when they’d downed who knows what. His need to find the girls became more desperate. Even both the girls together were no match for the two drunken men.
Alex jogged across the lawn, tense from his brief encounter with Chris. He had spotted Ben wandering around outside, presuming his girlfriend would be in the same vicinity. “Hey, where’s Grace? I can’t see her inside.” Alex ran his eyes over Ben’s face, the worry immediately apparent. If he was worried something must be really wrong. The guy was so laid back he was virtually horizontal.
“I can’t find her or Izzie, but more importantly I can’t find Jez or Max either. Al, we need to find them. Now.” The normally serene man now appeared to be stressed out; the beads of sweat running down Ben’s temples gave him away.
Alex’s fists clenched at his sides, his jaw working from side to side. He now scanned the grounds looking for his sister or Grace.
“They’re not out here, man. Believe me I’velooked. C’mon.” Ben grasped Alex’s shoulders, turning him and almost shoving him into action, pushing him towards the open doorway and back inside.
The distraught pair didn’t communicate, both still scanning the room as they walked through the main room before crossing the hallway to the bar area. Ducking his head inside, Alex ran his gaze over the room which was almost empty. It was way past midnight, the majority of the guests had started to drift off leaving mainly the band and a few record company or management people floating around. The familiar feeling of fear settled over him now; his arms were beginning to tingle. He could hear the swishing in his ears growing louder. Grace would know how uptight he would be if she hadn’t stayed where he left her. She wouldn’t have wandered too far; something was seriously wrong. Lifting his fist he punched the door frame as he exited the bar.
Standing in the hallway Ben ran his hands through his hair in frustration. It was then that Alex heard his sister’s voice. Loud and angry.
