Page 5 of Protect Your Queen

He chuckled, and the audience laughed along.

There it was again. That deafening pulse, the one that beat like a drum in my ears and pulled my lips back in a tight smile as I breathed through my nose.

“Why? Do you eat with your feet?”

More awkward laughter…

“I watched you eat potato chips with your hands backstage. That’s what made the grease stain on your shirt.” I pointed my eyes at the dark finger stain on his purple blouse, all the while keeping my smile. “Is that what you mean?”

Smiling is strength. Smiling is the game…

Rupert was livid, and I loved it. He looked at me like he had just caught me murdering his favorite pet. All the while, I smiled like I was too fucking stupid to know that I had been unbelievably rude.

“Let's talk about your new album.” He cleared his throat, tapping his pen, but he couldn’t put that mask back on. He wasn’t like me. He wasn’t used to being challenged at every step. His path had been paved for him.

It didn’t mean that he wasn’t a hardworking man. He was. Of course, no one got to that level without a bit of elbow grease. But the industry is littered with hardworking talent. He got to where he was by being friends with other influential, disgusting men who decided to be disgusting together.

A congress of disgusting cretins, if you will.

“It’s been a long time coming, hasn’t it?” Then he smiled, and I knew I had to brace for impact. “It’s been three years since your last album. That’s practically a lifetime in music years, no?”

The rest of the interview went by without incident. He asked for a canned line, and I gave the PR response. The audience laughed at the right spaces, and I knew that all the hostility of before would be cut from what aired for the public.

Still, I knew that the hidden phones, the red blinking lights, and the sleight of hand from beneath blazers and jackets would release tiny clips for the internet. Rupert’s network would get litigious and have them taken down. But people would know. People would see. One good scandal, and they’d look at this incident as the moment his empire started going down.

And I was here for it.

Or maybe it would be my empire that crumbled, when people found out my secret…

My brother was quiet when I came off stage. We walked back to the dressing room in silence. He said nothing even though I couldfeelhis wrath. He was waiting until we were alone… he might even wait until we were in the car to read me the Riot Act, so I relished the quiet.

Rupert was screaming up a storm outside. I could hear it, even through the closed dressing room door.

“Who the fuck does that cunt think she is? Who put her on the fucking schedule? I want their asses handed to me on a fucking platter!”

“Oh no! I don’t think I’ll be invited back. Whatever will I do?” I batted my eyelashes at a less-than-amused Jareth.

Whatever. Nothing I did ever pleased him, no matter how hard I tried. It was best that I didn’t even bother.

Then I saw a glass of water on my desk.

Beneath the glass was a single note. The message was written in red.

“Shut your mouth or die, Bitch,” I read out loud.

Jareth clenched his fists, and I couldfeelthe proverbial steam coming out of his ears as he stepped beside me, looking down at the scrawl.

I tried to laugh. “They get points for brevity, I guess.”

“You’re not funny, Jes,” Jareth said through clenched teeth.

“I’m not trying to be.” I totally was trying to be. Anything to keep him from being mad. Anything to keep Jareth from looking at me likeIwas the Barkada that would bring down our rising star.Please don’t think that this is my fault.“Brevity is the number one sign of effective communication.”

“Jestiny.” My name was a warning, so I clamped my mouth shut.

He brought his black phone to his ear. Without any further word to me, he called in the rent-a-cops of the venue. I didn’t dare move as they came in with their big, tight t-shirts, their occupation written in reflective, white lettering on their chest and back: Security. Then there were cops. All the while, I didn’t move. I just waited, staring at the words…

Shut your mouth or die, Bitch.

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