Idol. Carrie Duffy
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with over-styled blond hair who was talking loudly into his BlackBerry.
Sadie merely raised an eyebrow. She pushed her food aside; suddenly she had no appetite. She took a large gulp of wine, hoping it would dull the nagging sensation of humiliation. She felt like a loser and she didn’t like it. ‘Shall we get the bill?’
‘Sure,’ agreed Carla, who was toying with a leaf of rocket.
Sadie signalled for the waiter, who came rushing over. ‘No, there is no charge, madam. The gentleman who was sitting over there paid for your meal.’
It took Sadie a moment to comprehend what he was saying, but then a satisfied smile slowly spread across her face. ‘Did he now?’ she purred, feeling the familiar rush of excitement in her stomach.
‘Yes madam. And he asked me to give you this.’ The waiter handed over a neat, elegantly printed business card. Sadie took it, brushing her fingers thoughtfully over the raised print. Paul Austin. Senior Investment Manager. Willis & Bourne. It was thick, creamy card, expertly embossed. Very expensive. Very tasteful.
‘He’s bound to be a bastard,’ Carla warned her.
Sadie smiled triumphantly. ‘Let the game commence.’
Jenna’s emotive voice rang out powerfully in the cramped recording booth. Lost in the sound of the music, she swayed her hips slightly, causing Nick to miss a beat as his concentration was broken by the sight of her gyrating crotch.
‘Okay, let’s do that line again,’ sighed Don from behind the glass wall of the production box. It was the second day of recording for the Jenna/Phoenix collaboration, and only four weeks since the press conference, but already the optimism and excitement of that day felt like months ago. Don had a sneaking suspicion that this wasn’t going to be the easiest job of his career.
At 55 years old, Lancashire-born Don had been in the business a long time. Physically, he was a huge, hairy guy with a ZZ Top beard and a cut-the-crap attitude that endeared him to the artists he worked with. Don had collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, and partied with some of the world’s most stunning women, but had stayed resolutely faithful to Patty, his wife of twenty-eight years. All the same, he was a guy and couldn’t fail to admire that high, round butt and those pert tits.
Yet, whilst his was what he liked to describe as a healthy appreciation, he felt Nick’s appreciation was a little too healthy. Hell, it was so healthy it was practically doing cartwheels round the room. His timing on the drums was awful, and it wouldn’t have surprised Don to find him dribbling on his snare.
‘Excellent, we’re getting there,’ Don yelled, as Jenna belted out the line and Nick managed to complete the riff.
Zac looked up and adjusted his headphones. ‘I think we should do it again,’ he suggested quietly.
‘What’s the problem, Zac?’
They were working on a track called ‘Without You’. Penned by Zac, it had been intended for Phoenix before Josh quit, but Jenna had insisted on having creative input and a writing credit.
‘I don’t think the vocal was quite right,’ Zac replied firmly, not meeting Jenna’s gaze.
‘I thought Jenna got it down just fine. Take a break and we can always run through it again later,’ Don suggested.
‘Since when have we settled for just fine?’ Zac pressed, his voice taking on a harder edge. ‘It wasn’t right, so we should do it again. I don’t know how other artists work, but we’ve always had our success through hard work. Our music speaks for itself, and we don’t rely on any other … assets … to sell records.’
Don was taken aback. Where the hell had that come from? Zac had always seemed like such an easy-going guy, yet he seemed to have taken a strong dislike to this cute chick and Don felt clueless as to why that should be. Sure, she could overdo it with the pampered princess act, but that was something they could easily get past if they were going to get this music out.
‘How about we take a break and go back to it in a while. Everyone’s starting to flag.’
But it was Jenna’s voice that replied. ‘No Don, it’s fine,’ she said curtly, stunned by what Zac had said. She’d always been a huge fan of his, but maybe it was true when they said you shouldn’t meet your idols. ‘I’ll do it again. I haven’t come this far by taking it easy on myself,’ she added pointedly, glaring defiantly at Zac. She didn’t know what his problem was, but if he thought she was going to roll over and die, he had another thing coming.
They reset the backing and Jenna launched into the song, feeling the power of the music build up through her body as Nick thrashed on the drums and Ryan hammered out the bass line. Unconsciously she began to move to the rhythm, feeling the relentless beat of the drums pulse through her, the squealing of the guitar electrify her veins. Many of her rivals wrote her off as simply another identikit pop act, but anyone who underestimated her was making a big mistake. She’d worked her arse off over the years to get where she was now, and she knew she was damn talented.
Screw him and his criticism, thought Jenna, fixing her gaze on Zac, who remained hunched over his guitar like an animal with its prey. His well-defined muscles rippled under his grey T-shirt, and Jenna felt a burst of injured pride followed by the shot of adrenaline she needed as she ripped into the song.
When the track finished, a deafening silence rang out in the studio. A single word came from the production box. ‘Perfection.’
Slowly, Jenna brought her focus back to the room. The rest of the band was gazing at her, awestruck.
‘You were fantastic, you totally nailed it,’ gushed Nick.
‘That was pretty amazing,’ admitted Ryan. ‘The feeling you put in there – it was so connected.’
Jenna grinned with pleasure as she realized the effect she’d had on them. Unable to help herself, she sneaked a glance at Zac.
This time, he met her gaze. ‘That was good,’ he agreed grudgingly. ‘I guess that wraps us up for the night. See you guys tomorrow.’ He grabbed his battered old jacket and walked out of the studio before anyone had a chance to reply.
‘Zac, wait,’ Jenna called out impulsively. She was sick of the way he was acting towards her, and wanted to find out exactly what his problem was. His attitude was making the situation awkward for everyone, and after her success in the studio she was on a high, geared up for an argument.
Slamming through the door after him, she ran out into the corridor to find Zac being embraced by Amber, immaculate in a simple black dress and sky-high ankle boots.
‘Oh, I didn’t realize …’ Jenna faltered, trailing off.
‘Hi Jenna.’ Amber greeted her coldly, her eyes not matching the friendliness of her words. She kept her arms firmly around Zac, a possessive gesture deliberately designed to exclude.
‘Hi Amber,’ Jenna replied smoothly, trying to sound composed even though her mind was racing. ‘I just … wanted a quick word with Zac. But it’s not important. It’ll wait until tomorrow.’
‘It must have been pretty important if you ran out here to tell me,’ Zac challenged her. There was an amused glint in his dark eyes. ‘What did you want to say?’
You bastard, Jenna swore to herself. It was all she could do not to spit the remark out at him. ‘I said it could wait until tomorrow,’ she told him coldly, turning on her heel and walking back into the studio.
‘Fine.’ Zac gave a small shrug and threw his arm across Amber’s shoulders, steering her towards the exit.
Jenna stood alone in the corridor, her breath coming fast. She’d show that arrogant prick. Jenna Jonsson was not to be underestimated – and Zac was going to find out he’d made a big mistake.
5
Despite her protestations