Page 62 of The Masks We Wear

Her subject change is giving me whiplash. My jaw drops and she gives me a cocky smirk. “How did you…?” I trail off.

She rises from where she sits and raises her chin, “I’m Selene Stone, I know everything.”

That line sounds so recycled but I don’t comment on it. I’m too caught up on the fact that she knew. “You knew and never said anything?”

She walks over to the mini refrigerator in the room and swipes a bottle of water. She untwists the cap and lifts the bottle to her lips taking a large sip. “Of course I didn’t say anything. You know everything I do is motivated, Brody. I had a master plan from the start.”

“A master plan?” I’m still not catching on to what she’s getting at.

Selene announces, “When I was going through potential babysitters for you, I picked Harvey specifically because I knew he was your opposite in every single way possible. When I saw you two together for the first time, and I saw firsthand the tension between the two of you, I knew I picked the perfect match. You two hated each other so much but I knew you were attracted to each other. I watched the attraction grow and manifest into love and I knew when you were MIA on the shows and he was conveniently missing too that you were sleeping together. You see, Harvey Taylor is perfect for you and you him. Neither of you knew it or maybe neither wanted to admit it, but it was my plan from the very start for you two to fall in love and you did,” she shakes her head, looking at the ceiling, “I justwish things would’ve ended differently, preferably with him admitting he loves you instead of running away like a dog with its tail between its legs.”

My jaw is practically on the floor. Selene Stone is an evil mastermind and she puts Lex Luthor to shame. She plotted this out months ago and nobody was ever suspicious, not that they ever would be. She knew before I did that Harvey was nothing I wanted but everything I needed. “Well played,” I compliment, still baffled.

She dips her chin at me, “Thank you.” She slips back into her professionalism and my manager comes back, my friend on the backburner, “Now go save our careers and our bank accounts before it’s too late. I’m calling the label now.”

I nod, sprinting out of my dressing room and to Aria’s. We have about fifteen minutes before we’re supposed to go on and face a million fans, our friends and family in the front row. I open her door and find her and Ivory seated at her couch looking so defeated. They look utterly gorgeous though, Aria wearing a light blue boy shorts and bralette set with rhinestone stars on the fabric and thigh high, silver boots, while Ivory wears a pink, chainmail bralette with dangling stars on the bare skin of her stomach and a white leather skirt to match.

They look up at me and their faces instantly twist into disgust and anger, “What do you want?” Ivory spits at me.

“I know how to fix everything,” I say breathlessly.

Aria pushes off the couch and strides over to me, her heeled boots clicking on the floor. “Oh really? Do you suggest we stand up the audience the way you stood us up all week?” She hisses through clenched teeth.

I look up at her and sigh, “I’m sorry I didn’t show up when we had a deadline and I’m sorry that my decision caused consequences that would hurt you both but I have a way to fix it.”

Ivory grumbles, “Why don’t you start by telling us what was so important that you had to fuck us over?”

I look between them and make an impulsive decision. I take a deep breath and tell them everything. I tell them how Harvey and I started, how good it was, how he helped me become a better version of myself, and lastly, how he crushed me and left me behind after telling me I meant nothing to him.

Their faces soften by the time I finish. Ivory falters, “I’m sorry, Brody.”

I nod, “Thank you.”

“Me too,” Aria sympathizes.

I give them both a tight smile, “I’m really sorry I wasn’t there when you guys needed me. We were on a deadline and I didn’t care about anyone but myself. I never wanted us to get dropped and sued, I’m so sorry,” I apologize. My face hardens a few seconds later, “But I have a way to fix everything now.”

“What is it?” Ivory asks, curiosity in her tone.

“I wrote a song of my own. We can play it tonight and tell the album that was our last song, that we met the deadline,” I offer.

Aria’s jaw is practically on the floor. “You wrote a song?”

I nod, “I did.”

Ivory nudges my shoulder, “Holy shit, B. That’s awesome.”

I beam at her, “Thank you.”

“Wait, won’t they argue that since it wasn’t recorded, we never met the deadline?” Aria ponders.

I shake my head, “Selene is on the phone with them now, negotiating. Technically speaking we needed to have twelve finished songs, they never specified whether or not they had to be recorded.”

Their faces twist into excitement. “You’re a fucking genius,” Ivory asserts as she grabs my face and kisses me on the cheek with a dramatic sound.

I laugh, “So does this mean you’ll play the song? You haven’theard it yet.”

They nod, “We don’t have to hear the whole thing to know it’s good. We trust you. Just tell us what our parts are and we’ll play them.”

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