Page 39 of Never Too Late
Steph was puzzled. ‘Yourworkphone? You have two phones?’
‘Absolutely, and I advise you to do the same. As soon as your name appears on the new album, you’ll start getting pestered. And don’t forget there’ll be promotional videos that you’ll be appearing in, so your face and ID will soon be out there, so it’s best to be prepared in advance. Get a new phone: one for close friends and family and one for anything to do with work, whether it’s the record company or the taxman. I keep that one permanently onMuteand, like I say, it’s been working overtime while we’ve been sleeping.’
Johnny joined in. ‘And get yourself another email address. The same applies to all social media. Otherwise, you’ll never have a moment’s peace.’
‘Blimey.’ Steph sat down on a nearby stool and realised, almost for the first time, how her life was about to change. Seeing the expression on her face, Ben offered encouragement.
‘Or you can do what I’ve done for the last ten years: just cut yourself right off. I avoid social media like the plague and I can count on the fingers of one hand the people who have my phone number.’ He caught her eye and she read sympathy in his. ‘Like it or lump it, Steph, when the word gets out that Vince’s place on the album has been taken by a woman, and that she’s young and beautiful to boot, you’ll have half the world’s media snapping at your heels.’
‘Blimey.’ Aware that she was becoming repetitive, she thanked Ben for his kind words and resolved to heed his advice. As for the ‘beautiful’ comment, she took that with a pinch of salt. Like his colleagues, he spent most of his life wearing dark glasses. She looked around at the three of them. ‘I’m going to need all the support and advice you can give me, so please don’t hold back.’
Keith and the others felt that the first track they were working on this morning should start with a slow acoustic piano solo that would set the sober mood of the song and so she found herself directly involved in the creative process, trying out a mixture of chords, improvising, experimenting until she came up with a riff that gained universal approval. Even Ethan gave her a thumbs-up. As she played it over and over again until it was burned into her memory banks, she had to struggle to banish the thought from her mind that in a year’s time this same piece of music might well be listened to by millions of people all over the world. It was a tantalising, but scary, thought.
When lunchtime came around, everybody filed out into the fresh air. The sky had now completely cleared once more, and it was hot again. Before she could follow the band members up to the villa, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
‘Can you spare me a few moments, Steph?’ It was Ethan and he was sounding unusually hesitant.
She turned and followed him back into the studio. ‘What’s up? Something not right? I thought it all went really well this morning.’
‘Yeah, yeah, it was all good. You were great.’ Clearly this was gentle, friendly Ethan today, rather than the bitter and twisted version who surfaced from time to time. What was clear, however, was that it was also a severely worried Ethan. ‘Listen, Steph, I’ve got myself into a bit of a fix.’
‘In what way?’ She perched on a stool and took a closer look at him. He had been bright and businesslike all morning, but now his expression was far more insecure. ‘What’s happened?’
‘It’s Willow… She spent the night with me.’
Steph distinctly felt her jaw drop. ‘She did what?’
‘I’ve got to know her quite well since we’ve been here. I talked to her for hours at that club the other night while Den was off chatting to a load of other people. We got on really well together and she told me things weren’t going so smoothly with Den. Then last night she had another row with him and turned up at my door in the middle of the night.’
‘And you let her in?’ Steph was aghast at the possible ramifications of this confession.
‘Yeah, and she stayed the night.’
‘In your bed…?’
He immediately looked up. ‘Yes, but, listen, Steph, nothing happened between us. It’s a big bed and she slept on one side, and I slept on the other. No contact, I promise. She just had nowhere to go, you see…’
Steph subjected him to her most searching stare but had to conclude that he appeared to be telling the truth. She gave a frustrated sigh. ‘Oh, God, Ethan. And does Denver know where she spent the night?’
‘I don’t know. She got up and left early this morning not long after we heard your bedroom door close. I assume she went back to him, but I’ve no idea really.’
Steph’s mind was racing. Ethan had just spent the night with his boss’s son’s girlfriend. Whether anything had happened was unimportant. When this all came out into the open, there was the very real risk that the result might be that Ethan might be expelled from the villa and, as his employee, she might even have to leave with him. Where this would leave the new Royalty album or her future career, remained to be seen, but she had a sinking feeling that Ethan might just have scuppered both of them.
She left him there to stew and went up to the villa. Now that the rain had passed, Cesare had set tables on the terrace once more and the three band members were already helping themselves at the buffet, no doubt keen to get back to work. Denver was sitting at a table on his own and there was no sign of Willow. Steph decided she had better speak to her, so she gave the band members a wave and went inside looking for Cesare or his wife and found Donatella in the kitchen.
‘Ciao, Donatella. I need to speak to Willow, but she hasn’t come down yet. Can you tell me which room’s hers?’
‘She’s in Denver’s room at the back of the house. You can’t miss it. Go up the stairs, turn right and it’s the last door at the end of the corridor.’
Steph thanked her and set off up the stairs to the first floor. When she reached the last room on the right, she tapped on the door. She had to knock twice more before Willow opened it. From the expression on her face, she had been crying.
‘Willow, hi. Listen, we need to talk. Can I come in?’
‘I don’t see…’
But Steph had already pushed past her into the room. She stopped as she reached the bed and turned back to face the girl who was looking confused. ‘I’ve been speaking to Ethan. Do you feel like telling me what happened last night?’
Willow’s face hardened. ‘That’s none of your business. Why don’t you go off and leave me alone?’
