“The girl in the video,” he said. “That’s you.”
Right.
“So apparently I have you to thank for the video being such a success.”
“Um… you’re welcome?”
He sipped his coffee. “Because, according to the gossip, we might be an item.”
Yeah, I’d heard “the gossip” too. Thanks to Devi. Though I’d chosen to ignore it, since it wasn’t true.
“I watched the video last night,” he said, and I felt the heat rise in my cheeks again. The mere thought of Jesse Mayes watching that video… all those close-up shots of embarrassing things like my fingernails digging into his skin and my bottom lip shaking as I breathed… “You looked like you were enjoying yourself.”
I blushed harder, but I couldn’t exactly argue with that.
“So did you,” I countered.
“I was.”
God.
“So what do you say?”
I cleared my throat. “You want topayme to pretend to be your girlfriend for six weeks?”
“Yes.”
“Like, twenty-four seven?”
“Yes.”
“Your girlfriend.”
“Yes.”
“Like I did in that video?”
“Exactly like that.”
Um. “Why?”
“Because this is my first solo album and it means a lot to me. The song’s doing well, and that’s got a lot to do with you. Even if you’re too modest to admit it, I can tell you it’s a fact. But since the breakup…” He glanced over at the kids and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, which I took to be Jesse Mayes in thought or possibly even nervous, which was hella cute. “Elle’s solo album did incredibly well. It’s sold more than the last two Dirty albums combined. Between the album and her other side projects, movies, cosmetics… she’s killing it. And there are a lot of people who think this album will only sell if she’s somehow attached. Some of those people are at the record company.”
“But… you’re the talent. I mean, not that Elle isn’t talented… but you write the songs, right?”
He looked at me like I was adorably naïve. “It’s not about talent, Katie. It’s about what sells. And if they’re right, they won’t back another solo album from me.” He leaned in, resting his elbows on his knees. “When Elle and I were dating, we were everywhere. We were visible. Everyone wanted to know every little detail of our relationship. Now that’s over. We haven’t exactly confirmed or denied, but there’s only so long we can avoid the question. Only so long I can expect Elle to pretend she’s still with me and not let her get on with her life, just to help my career. I need to let her off the hook, officially. I’m doing it tomorrow.”
“But I would’ve thought your female fans would love you going single.”
His lips quirked. “You might think so, right? But even so, I need some help staying in the minds of the fans. There’s a saying, you’re only as big as your last album. Or these days you could say your last single. Well, Dirty’s last album came out almost two years ago. The tour is long over. And I’ve never done a solo album before. But you, sweetheart, you come out of nowhere, and you sell.” His dark eyes blazed into me. “Or at least you and me together,wesell.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip. “So… basically… you want me to help you make money?”
“If you feel better about it, think of it this way. There are a lot of people counting on me to make money so they get paid. Brody and Maggie have been working their asses off, and every crew member we work with on the road makes a living because of me.”
Okay. I liked Brody—I mean, he’d hired me for the video—and I’d do about anything for Maggie. That girl had been nothing short of awesome to me. Though I was careful never to ask her about Jesse when we chatted, because A, I didn’t want her to think that was the only reason I was keeping in touch with her, and B, I didn’t wantmeto think keeping in touch with her would somehow mean I might see him again.
And yet here he was in my sister’s backyard, offering me a job. A fucking weird job, but still.
