Authors: Trisha Grace
Josh grinned. “I suppose you and Chloe made up. Is she working on another song again?”
“How did you know … I was with her?”
Josh shot him an are-you-serious look. “You shaved, and you’re smiling. I haven’t seen you smile a genuine smile in what? Eight years? And since you’ve been home, you’ve hardly left the house.”
Christopher gave Josh the same dirty look.
“So? You guys talked, right?”
He nodded.
“So all is good?”
“Apparently … I’m smiling.”
“That’s the Chris I know.” Josh’s lips curled into a rueful smile. “I just wanted to make sure all is well.” He stood.
Christopher grabbed a glass. “She … has a fiancé.”
“Fiancé?” Josh sat back down. “Jason asked her to marry him?”
“You know him?”
“I’m sure you know him, too,” Josh said. “Jason Morgan. His grandfather owns one of the largest music promotion companies.”
He knew who Jason was. He’d always thought the relationship between Jason and Chloe was a rumor. After all, he’d seen Jason at some of the parties, and he never would have thought Jason had a girlfriend.
“They’ve been together for over two years.” Josh laughed and took a gulp of water. “But it’s really more like two months.”
He didn’t understand what Josh was saying.
“They rarely meet each other. She’s in Rome most of the time unless she’s working in L.A. And even then, they may not even meet up.”
Christopher watched Josh as he rattled on. A strange sense of jealousy coursed through him when he noticed how Josh seemed to know everything about Chloe’s life.
“I’ve been keeping tabs for you,” Josh said and grinned.
He rolled his eyes and turned on the tap, filling his glass.
“There’s still time, you know. She isn’t married yet.”
His shoulders twitched. “She didn’t say … yes.”
“Then he’s not her fiancé,” he said. “So you definitely still have a chance.”
He didn’t reply. He turned to leave the kitchen.
It didn’t matter that she wasn’t engaged. She had a boyfriend, someone better and more successful than he.
“Come on. Don’t tell me you’re not interested. She’s the love of your life.”
He laughed once, a dry, humorless laugh. “The love of my … life?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re crazy.”
Josh glared at him. “You were happy whenever you guys were together. I thought you’d be happy being a superstar, but you weren’t.”
“Because I crashed and … burnt.”
“You crashed and burnt because you no longer enjoyed singing without her.”
Chloe’s words resurfaced in his head.
I think you’ve lost the heart to sing.
“I’m sure she cares about you, and I know you care about her. If anyone can help you sing again, it’s her.”
He sat on the chair across from Josh. “Thanks, Josh.”
Josh grew serious. “For what?”
“For always … believing in me.” For the first time since knowing he might never sing again, he felt he’d let someone down. “And I’m sorry.” He gave Josh a pat on his arm, then stood and walked away.
“The song she wrote for you, for the finals. It was a love song, right?” Josh stood and joined him by his side. “And you know how she writes her songs.”
He stopped and hesitated. “Did something happen to … Chloe after … after she got to London?”
“How did you know something happened?”
From what Chloe had said. Though she hadn’t said much, it was enough. “What happened?”
Josh shrugged. “She didn’t want to talk about it. I think it was something about college and her parents.”
Of course it had something to do with her parents.
He nodded and gave Josh another pat on his arm. “Goodnight.”
Chloe looked toward the door when she heard the key. She draped her coat over the couch and smiled when Christopher opened the door.
“I brought breakfast.”
“Thanks.”
Christopher closed the door. “Are you going somewhere? I thought … you’ll still be sleeping.”
“I was just about to call you. Can I borrow your mom’s car? I have to head to L.A.”
“You’re … leaving already?”
“Not right now,” she said and took the bag he was holding. “What’s for breakfast?” She peered into the bag and pulled out the sandwich. “Have you eaten?”
“Will you be … coming back?”
She nodded. “I should be back tonight. I was going to L.A. next week, but my friend called me last night and asked if we could bring forward the date. Since I’m already in the States, we decided to meet today.”
She needed to speak with Jason anyway. She knew how busy he was, but maybe she could drop by his office and take five minutes of his time.
She cocked her head toward the kitchen. “You really don’t owe me this house. You didn’t win the competition because of my song; you won it because of your voice.”
“You told my mom that … the love stories in your songs … were the singers’ stories,” he said when he was next to her.
“Yeah.”
“The song you wrote … for me.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“It was a love song.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Who … did you imagine me in … love with?”
Herself; but there was no way she was going to tell him that.
She wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “No one. It was just a life I imagined you having,” she said and turned to the fridge she had opened just so she could hide her head inside.
“You said something to me … the other day.” He didn’t continue until she turned back to him. “Did something happen with your school?”
She gave him a half-shrug. “I’d rather not talk about it. It’s over anyway.”
He continued to watch her, but he didn’t say a word.
She knew he wouldn’t pressure her for more information. “You should come with me to Italy. You can crash on my couch, and I’ll be your tour guide.”
He shook his head.
“I’ll pay for the tickets and all. Come on, you want to give me a house. Surely I can buy you tickets to Italy. You’ll love it there; I know you will. Remember all the documentaries we watched about Rome? Please?”
His lips curled. “Stop that.”
“Think about it,” she said. “The sculptures are amazing. You can drink the spring water right out of them.”
“What do you have to do in L.A.?”
Tell Jason that I can’t marry him.
“My friend just wanted to meet up. She didn’t tell me what she needed, but she sounded somewhat desperate.”
“Desperate?”
She pursed her lips and shrugged again. “I guess I’ll find out later.”
Chloe watched the numbers on the lift’s screen jump. She loved lifts that didn’t play any music. The steel walls were like a vault, shutting the rest of the world out. The only sound came from the low humming of the lift’s mechanics at work, and that gave off a constant wave of matt gray that was easy to ignore.
She took a deep breath and rehearsed her speech in her head.
Jason, I’ve given your question—no, proposal.
She should be more direct.
Jason, I’ve given your proposal some thought, and I don’t think I can say yes.
That sounded direct but kind. At least she hoped it was.
I’m sorry. I think I’m just not the marrying kind.
Neither was he, but she decided she wouldn’t add that part in.
She waved at the receptionist seated on a bright red chair behind a white counter. She went right past the meeting room framed with frosted glass and headed straight toward Jason’s office.
She’d slowed her steps while she tried to come up with a proper speech. Despite that, when she got to his assistant’s desk, she still hadn’t figured out how she was going to tell him about the kiss she shared with Christopher.
She would start with an apology, of course, but she couldn’t come up with anything beyond that.
She clasped her hand around the handle of her bag and tucked the other into her jeans’ back pocket. “Hi, I’m looking for Jason Morgan.” This was the first time she had come to his office without Jason beside her, and it seemed he’d changed his assistant again.
“Do you have an appointment?” The receptionist didn’t bother to look up from her bright red chair. She continued clicking on her white mouse on the equally white desk.
She shook her head. “Is he here?”
“Mr. Morgan doesn’t see anyone without an appointment.”
Chloe scratched the uncomfortable tingling along her neck and tried to ignore the growing green mist. “Would you just pass him the message that Chloe is here?”
You’re fine; the mist won’t suffocate you.
She clenched her jaws, but managed to keep her eyes on the assistant.
“Chloe who?”
She licked her lips at the assistant’s rude tone. “You know what, maybe I should just call him.”
“Yeah.” The assistant nodded patronizingly. “You do that.”
She turned her back to the assistant and moved away from the green mist that was threatening to envelop her. When she was certain that the dissipating mist wouldn’t be able to get her, she pulled out her phone. She was about to click the dial button when she noticed a shadow.
She stopped and looked up from the shiny black leather shoes. “Lawrence,” she said and smiled at Jason’s grandfather.
Lawrence opened his arms, and she stepped in to give him a hug.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I’m looking for Jason, but I don’t think he’s here.”
Lawrence frowned. “I just saw him.” He cocked his head to the side. “Walk with me. So how are you doing? Working with any new artist?”
She laughed. “You know I won’t reveal anything.”
“Not even to me?”
Chloe’s smile faltered slightly. Lawrence had always been nice to her, but he was someone she couldn’t quite figure out. He was someone whose colors varied widely from one person to another, and sometimes his words were laced with strange dull purple, red, or black.
He did seem to like her. When he spoke to her, the color was usually of a light pink; a color she’d often spotted when parents spoke gently to their children.
Still, there were times when even the pink was laced with a trail of dark gray smoke.
“You’ll know when they come to you for music promotion.” She grinned. She had always liked Lawrence. Though he owned the largest music promotion firm, he never spoke to her as if she was beneath him, which was an irritatingly common bad habit in the music industry.
The contempt could be so thick that she often had to step away for fear of suffocation.
Though all the songs she’d written got the singers onto various charts, she was young. Many in the industry, especially those who had been in this line for a long time, thought of her as a quirky songwriter who got lucky.
She shouldn’t care what others thought about her, but she did.
The odious green in their tones spelled out their real thoughts and feelings; the same shade that laced most of the words her mother spoke to her.
She never knew how to react in those situations. She should probably walk away with a flick of her hair, but she wasn’t that sort of person. Instead, she would swallow whatever emotion she felt and force a smile. If she didn’t do that, if she didn’t have her guard up, she was afraid she’d shrivel into a wimpy crybaby; exactly what happened when she allowed her mother’s words or her father’s inaction to affect her.
“Mr. Morgan.” The assistant immediately straightened her back. “Um … Mr. Morgan, Jason, your grandson—”
“I know who you’re talking about,” Lawrence said. “Tell him that his grandfather and girlfriend are here.”
“Um …” The assistant licked her lips again, and her gaze skittered across her desk. “He isn’t inside.”
Chloe frowned at the red and black sparks going off.
She looked over at Lawrence and found his brows drawing closer as well.
After a moment, Lawrence turned to her and gave her the most dazzling smile. “Let me take you out for lunch.” A halo of dull reddish gray smoke surrounded the light pink.
She followed the bubble of color for a second, then turned to the closed door and finally stared at the assistant, who was now displaying the brightest smile along with wide, non-blinking eyes.
She looked at Lawrence again as he placed his hand on her back. She doubted Lawrence knew what was going on, but he seemed ready for her to leave as well.
She didn’t demand that Jason put her first place. For the both of them, work had always come first.
Why did his assistant have to lie? Why didn’t Lawrence call her out on it? He always did.
She nodded and turned, but at the last second, she rounded the table and opened the door.
She heard a gasp. It took her a moment to realize she’d made that noise and another moment to close her eyes and turn away from the naked brunette lying on Jason’s table while an equally naked Jason laid on top of her.
“Lock the door next time,” she said.
“Chloe!”
She shot Lawrence a disapproving glare. “Oh.” She turned around.
Jason skidded to a stop, his hands still fumbling with his pants’ zipper.
She turned her face away. “I came to tell you that I can’t marry you.”
Jason took her hand.
“Don’t touch me.” She pulled her hand back and wiped it down on her jeans. “We’re done.”
“Chloe, wait.” Jason grabbed her arm again.
“Stop touching me.” She took a deep breath. While she did, she tried to gather her thoughts and feelings.
Nothing came to her. “Our hearts are clearly not in our relationship.”
“For heaven’s sake, get your shirt on!” Lawrence placed his hand on her back and led her away from the office. “I’m so sorry, Chloe.”
She pursed her lips and turned to him. “I wasn’t an angel either. I kissed someone, which was why I came here today.”
Lawrence didn’t say a word. They continued the rest of the walk in silence until they stepped into the lift.
“The two of you spend too much time apart,” Lawrence said as the lift made its descent.
“That was what we liked about the relationship. We didn’t have to talk every day or text each other every hour. Both of us like our space.” Now she had a better understanding on how Jason enjoyed his space. “This wasn’t the first time he’s cheated on me, right? You knew something was up when the assistant lied.”