“Hey, I don’t know why you’re mad at me. It was all his idea.” He motioned towards Chris who had now turned a funny grey colour. “He asked Jez to get her on her own, prove to you she was just like all the others. I just made sure they weren’t disturbed. I don’t knowwhat the big deal is; you never used to complain when we shared the chicks.”
The room fell silent as all faces turned to take in the sight of Chris now stuttering out his denial.
“You. Did. What?” Alex roared as his whole body shook with anger. The man he had trusted with his life for the last five years had betrayed him. “You fucking bastard! My girlfriend was almost raped by someone who was supposed to be my mate and you put him up to it?” His voice was low with disbelief.
“Izzie has bruises on her arms from that prick.” Ben’s voice was a growl. He pointed at Max, not able to look at him anymore. Disbelief washed over him as he realised Chris was backing the other two band members. Alex shifted out from behind the table ready to show their manager exactly what he thought of him. Jack, his lawyer, jumped in front of him along with Ben, desperate to hold him back. They both knew hitting Chris was not the answer.
“Look, let’s just calm this down, shall we? It wasn’t how it sounds, Al. I just asked Jez to find out if it was serious, that’s all. You know I have to protect your image.” Chris struggled to string the sentences together. He could see the rage in Alex’s his face. Standing up, the weedy man knew he was no match for the singer should he decide to attackhim but at least if he stood he could maybe get out of the way.
Max snorted at their manager’s last statement, “Protect his image? Aren’t you the one that sells all those photos to the press? You told me it would increase our saleability if he was seen with all those women.” Ben scraped his chair backwards, rising to stand also, aghast at the situation that unfolded before him. He had been certain that Jez and Max would be sacked but here he was listening to Chris defend them.
Before he could say anything Alex lost the grip he had on his temper. Flying around the table he made his way towards the man that had effectively ruined everything. Chris tripped over the chair leg as he tried to put some distance between the pair. Grabbing his shirt in his fist, Alex dragged him to within an inch of his face.
Almost spitting his words out he spoke. “I’m done. We’re done. Do you understand? This shit is over.” He pushed the trembling man backwards sending him crashing into the wall behind. Grabbing Chris’ paperwork from the table Alex ripped it in half, allowing the pieces to scatter on the floor. “Uni-Fi no longer exists.” He turned his back, making his way towards the door.
Ben stood to join him. Disgust etched across his face, his illusions of the band and its future nowshattered. “I’m out too. This is fucked up.” The pair exited the room to Chris shouting after them.
“You’ll never work again after what you did to Jez. I’ll make sure of it!”
Alex stopped in his tracks, turned abruptly and re entered the room. “Jack, I wanna sue the prick.” He counted on his fingers as he spoke. “Breach of contract, loss of income, defamation of character. Whatever. You decide. If you can make it stick I want you to throw it at him.” Raising his attention to Chris he spoke directly to him now. “You will not win this. Oh, and Jack, the statement I gave you about what happened to Grace, I want to go to the police with it. You have her statement too?” His lawyer nodded. They had discussed the options earlier during a conference call with Grace. She hadn’t been keen to go to the police but after speaking with his lawyer she had felt reassured enough to allow him to record the events just in case. Izzie had pointed out to her that the next girl might not be so lucky; she had a chance to stop him. Chris didn’t need to know they had no intention of ever involving the authorities. He just needed to know that they could, and Jez needed a wake-up call. The threat of prison may just be enough to ensure he wouldn’t do it again.
“The band doesn’t need you, Alex. Jez can takeyour place. You’re not irreplaceable. Singers like you are ten a penny,” Chris retorted.
“Try it. I think you’ll find buried somewhere in your paperwork it states that the band name belongs to me and Ben. Use it with Jez involved and I will clean you out.” Alex was done arguing. He didn’t need to say anything else.
Chris knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on as he watched his cash cow disappear through the door. Panic washed over him as he shouted after him. “Come on now! This has just got out of hand; we can sort this out, Alex!”
The singer didn’t turn around or acknowledge his former manager. He had allowed him his bravado but he wouldn’t allow him to destroy his future.
Chris turned to address Ben. “Come on, man. You know what it’s like,” he pleaded with the guitarist.
A solitary laugh escaped Ben’s throat. “You chose the wrong side, Chris.” Ben followed his best friend out of the meeting room.
Standing outside the room Alex took a deep breath. For the first time in months, if not years, he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. All the stress he had suffered was gone. If he never wanted to perform on stage again he now didn’t have to. Alex had spent the last two years envisaging this moment,running it over and over in his mind. It had been a long time coming. All the things he thought he would feel like the fear, the uncertainty, weren’t there. Instead the only thing he could think about was how excited he was to have quit. He felt giddy knowing that tomorrow and the days that followed were his; he didn’t have to answer to anyone else now.
Ben looked a little shell shocked but assured him he was fine; it had been the right decision. The boys watched as the suits started to exit the meeting room. One by one they passed offering nods or handshakes to the united pair. Alex hardly noticed Chris or Max exit the building. It had been Ben who had nudged him, signalling that the pair had left. The boys were too busy accepting business cards from various people at the record label offering to sign both of them as solo artists. Sticking to his roots and his inbuilt good manners, Alex graciously accepted all the cards offered to him. Promising to give his future some serious thought he insisted he would be in touch once he had spoken to Grace. Ben on the other hand was being selective in who he spoke with.
His lawyer, poised at his side, was also busy fielding questions whilst trying to organise a press release. The problem being that Alex no longer had a PA; Izzie was due to start her new job next week. Shehad negotiated a great deal making sure she had some very reputable bands on her books. She was going to have her hands full but for now she was enjoying the down time. His phone buzzed against his leg, the now familiar ringtone echoing out of his pocket. Grace. He had promised to ring her as soon as he was out of the meeting; she had almost bitten her fingernails down to the bone over the last few days. Still she was convinced that she had ruined his life.
“Hey, babe...no, I’m fine...no, I quit.” He instantly held the phone away from his ear, protecting his hearing as she shouted. “Gracie, it’s fine, stop worrying. I made this decision a long time ago it just took you to make me realise it...I know. Forever and a day, babe.”
By the time he had finished his call to Grace, Jack and his agent had organised a press release stating that Uni-Fi was no more. It would go out at three that afternoon and then there would be no going back.
The hysteria that followed the press announcement was phenomenal. His phone had been ringing off the hook for days. The first few he’d answered had been reporters desperate for an exclusive but he had stuck to his guns. No interviews. He and Grace had been through enough in the last three days; he didn’t want what had happened to her getting out. So now his phone was switched off and it would stay that way for the foreseeable future. Anyone important in his life had Grace’s number; if they needed him they would ring her.
Telling his parents had been easier than he thought. They were always supportive no matter what he did in his life. They hadn’t batted an eyelid when he announced after college that he was concentrating on a music career instead of finding a job. They knew he was in a good position and had told him to take histime making any plans for the future. Grace had finally calmed down after she witnessed the discussion with his parents, realising that he had indeed been thinking about leaving for a while.
He had convinced her to take a short break away with him. Spending a week in the sun, lazing on a private beach had been the perfect medicine for both of them. He still refused point blank to discuss exactly what he planned on doing now that he no longer had a career. He wanted to enjoy the freedom first. He wanted to make sure that he and Grace were back on track. He needed to prove to her that she hadn’t destroyed his future.
They flew back into Scotland. The lease on the lighthouse was up at the end of the following week and he had wanted to make the most of it before then. Besides, Scotland was where Grace lived and he had no intention of being separated from her anytime soon. As the driver drove up the headland towards the lighthouse Grace became immediately aware of the amount of vehicles parked on the road. There was never any traffic on this road usually; it didn’t lead anywhere but the lighthouse. Nudging him, she indicated that he should check out the window.
“Ah shit! Are you kidding me? How the hell did the press find out I was here? I mean nobody knows Irented this place. I can’t stay here now.” He ran his hand over his face in exasperation.
“Hey, we’ll just go to my place. It’s fine. You can stay there, at least until they disappear.” Reaching out she squeezed his hand tightly, offering him the sweetest of smiles as she did. If truth be known she was desperate for him not to head back to London. They had spent every day together for the past two, almost three weeks and if she was honest, she kind of liked it. Knowing that he would be staying with her was the best feeling.
As they drove into the courtyard surrounding the lighthouse the camera flashes almost blinded them. Alex threw a protective arm around her shoulders. Using his hand he nestled her head against his neck, shielding her face from the intrusion, wanting to protect her anonymity for as long as possible. As soon as they found out she was a permanent fixture in his life she wouldn’t be able to move without being photographed or followed. When the paparazzi realised they weren’t staying and the car turned around they began chasing alongside them, banging on the windows, shouting his name. As soon as it was safe the driver put his foot down, speeding them away from the volatile situation towards the safety of Grace’s flat.
That had been three months ago and Alex was stillstaying in the flat with Grace. As the days drifted by she had become gradually more and more comfortable with him being there. The early niggles of sharing her tiny flat had vanished only to be replaced with the excitement of coming home to him every day. She went to work knowing that when she got home at night he would be waiting for her. He had become quite the domestic god – he had come a long way since the fish finger sandwiches! Grace couldn’t remember the last time she had to cook a meal or clean the flat; he took care of everything. He had even replaced the tiny little television she had been given years ago with a huge flat screen thing that now dominated her lounge. “How can you watch anything on that thing? I can barely even see it!” he had stated one evening. She had opened the door three days later to a delivery guy standing on her doorstep with the massive box precariously balanced in his arms.
