“Harper, there you are,” Liam says in my ear a few minutes later, interrupting my conversation with a producer. “I’ve been looking for you.”
I excuse myself to the producer and turn to him as he gives me a kiss on the cheek.
“You disappeared earlier,” he notes.
“You seemed busy,” I reply sharply, but he doesn’t seem to notice my tone.
“Hasn’t this been a great night? I have met so many people,definitely got some potential clients!” he says enthusiastically, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze. “Did I see you chatting with that actor fromDon’t Give Up Hope,or whatever that Netflix show was called? You can introduce us, right?”
“He already has an agent.”
“Yeah, but no harm in a chat to make sure he’s got the right person representing him,” Liam tells me, swigging his champagne. “I won’t have the chance to meet him tonight, but if you chat with him again, pass on my details, yeah?”
“Why won’t you have a chance tonight?”
“I’m going to shoot off because, get this—you know Halo Skewed?”
I stare at him blankly.
“They’re this fantastic up-and-coming band,” he gushes. “I was talking to them earlier, and they’re about to go play a gig in Soho. They’ve invited me to come watch, with potential for me to represent them!”
“But Liam, what about… this?” I say, gesturing around us.
“I know, I’m so sad to leave, because it’s been so great, but I think I’ve talked to enough people and I’ve officially run out of business cards,” he says gleefully, his eyes twinkling. “What a success! Better get some more printed. Watch this space, am I right?”
“Liam,” I begin, trying to remain calm, “have you been telling people that I’m writing a feature on talent agencies and I’m including you in it?”
“I mentioned it to a couple of people. Good to get the buzz going.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “But I never said I’d write that piece!”
He looks confused. “We talked about it.”
“I said I’d consider it, but I didn’t say it was a done deal,” I explain, trying to keep my cool but feeling really quite irritated.“Someone brought it up in front of Ryan and it was really embarrassing. He’s our features editor. It can’t look like I’m writing features without his knowledge.”
Liam wrinkles his nose. “Since when do you care about what Ryan thinks? I thought you didn’t like the guy. And it’s not like he’s your boss or anything.”
“It’s nothing to do with personal feelings. It’s about being professional. Look, you can’t assume I’m writing something and then go around telling people about it just because it makes you look good, okay?”
“Got it,” he says coolly, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Right, I better shoot.”
He leans down to give me a kiss on the cheek, before he hesitates and adds, “You’re okay getting home, right? Because I really should go to this gig, it’s an excellent opportunity and—”
“It’s fine,” I snap.
“Great!” he beams, either too stupid to read my tone or deciding to ignore it. “I’ll call you in the morning, babe.”
As he turns round, he bumps into a striking raven-haired woman wearing an incredible black figure-hugging dress, heavy dark eye shadow, and bright red lipstick. I assume she is part of this Halo Skewed band he was talking about because her eyes light up on seeing him and she quickly ushers him to follow her through the crowd to where a group of guys are waiting by the door. Moving to the side of the room where I have a clear view, I watch as they clap him on the back and then exit together.
I sigh heavily, snatching a drink from a passing waiter’s tray, before Ryan appears out of nowhere.
“Is your boyfriend leaving?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.
“Yes,” I say breezily, as though I’m on board with it all. “He’s got a meeting with a client now, so he had to go.”
He nods slowly. “Late meeting.”
“They’re a rock band,” I explain through gritted teeth.
