Elliot leaned forward slightly. “I listen. Not just to their voice. To how they talk about what they want. You can tell pretty quickly if someone wants to work or if they want to be famous.”
Rick’s stomach rolled. He took a swallow of coffee and barely tasted it.
The host’s expression shifted. “So… you’ve worked with artists who had massive careers. And you’ve worked with artists who had, let’s be honest, one moment.”
Rick felt it in his chest first. That prick of warning that this conversation might go somewhere Rick didn’t want it to.
Elliot laughed, and it sounded genuine. “Yeah.”
“One-hit wonders,” the host said. “We all know them. One song that’s everywhere and then… gone.”
Rick stared at the screen. His fingers tightened on the phone as Elliot lifted both hands like he wasn’t taking it seriously. “It happens. Sometimes it’s timing. Sometimes it’s label stuff. Sometimes they get in their own way.”
The host nodded. “Did you ever work with someone like that?”
Elliot didn’t answer right away. He glanced off to the side, like he was thinking, and trying to make it look casual. Rick recognized it for what it was because he’d seen that look on Elliot’s face.
“Sure,” Elliot said. “A few.”
“Any that people would know?” the host pressed, still smiling.
Elliot’s mouth twisted like he was trying not to laugh. “People would know the song. They probably wouldn’t know the guy.”
Rick’s face burned. “Don’t say it,” he whispered.
The host leaned in a fraction. “Come on.”
Elliot huffed a laugh. “It was a long time ago.”
“So it’s not recent.” The host smiled, appearing to be happy that Elliot might reveal something. “That narrows it down.”
Elliot glanced at the camera. “He had one massive hit, thought he was invincible, and then disappeared. That’s all I’ll say.”
Rick’s stomach dropped, and he sat very still. He could hear his own breathing, slow and controlled, and none of it matched what was happening inside his head.
The host laughed like it was a punchline. “Brutal.”
Elliot shrugged again. “It’s not brutal. It’s true. He didn’t want to work. He wanted the result.”
Rick stared at Elliot’s face. The easy smile and calm eyes. The way he sat there like he hadn’t just said something nasty. The host kept talking, moving on, asking about plugins and vocal chains. Elliot answered with patience, still relaxed, still likeable. Still the guy everyone wanted to be around.
Rick didn’t hear most of it. All he could hear was that line. One massive hit. Thought he was invincible. Disappeared. He hadn’t disappeared.
He’d been pushed out. He’d been managed into silence. He’d been told what to do and how to do it until there was nothing left that felt like his own voice. He’d been treated like a problem to solve. When it got messy, they’d moved on and left him behind.
Elliot knew that. Elliot had seen enough of it to know how the machine worked. He’d still said it, anyway.
Rick watched the clip again from the moment the host mentioned one-hit wonders. He listened to Elliot’s tone. The half-laugh. The easy shrug. The way he made it sound like a general comment while still making sure people would figure out who he was talking about.
It wasn’t an accident.
Rick put his phone down on the counter. He walked to the sink and turned the tap on, washing his hands even though they weren’t dirty. He dried them, then leaned both palms on the counter and stared at the tiles, jaw clenched so hard it started to ache.
Elliot was out there doing what he loved. In studios and on shows. Being called brilliant and amazing, and being treated like he mattered. Rick was here, alone, fighting for a scrap of attention.
Picking up his phone again, Rick opened the clip one more time, pausing it on Elliot’s face. The camera caught him mid-smile, eyes crinkled at the corners. Rick held it there for a long moment.
He didn’t need Elliot to say his name. He knew exactly who Elliot had been talking about.
