Page 166 of Paint the Town, Dove
Or maybe it was a mirror of my own.
“Alright, time out,” Tav jutted in between us, hands raised. “Morty, with me. Let ‘em blow off steam.”
“Morty’smybodyguard, Tav.” Ryden crossed his arms.
“What now?” Tav laughed. “Scared of little Red?”
Ryden said nothing.
‘Thought so. Now I’ve got some pop star huntin’ to do while you sort your shit. I’ve got the studio booked for another three hours so wrap it up by then, will ya?”
Then they were gone.
We were alone.
And slowly, I slipped back into memory.
Chapter Forty-Six
Scarlett
Five Years Ago
“I think she’s the real deal,” Ryden said.
We were in the recording studio about to listen to the polished version ofDrags and Smoke,the duet Yasmine and Ryden had been working on for the better half of a year.
I hated that trifling bitch.
“Doubt it,” I replied, sipping on a diet coke. “You barely know her.”
“Scar, come on. We’ve been together for ten months.” He leaned back, cross. “She’s talented, beautiful, bubbly, confident –”
“I’m confident.” I shut my mouth before realizing what I said. Before outing myself and the ever gnawing feeling of jealousy that worked its way into my bones. “I mean,” I corrected, “arrogance and confidence are very different things.”
Ryden put a featherlight hand on my knee. “I’ve always trusted your judgement, but she’s never been rude towards you, Dove.”
“She doesn’t have to be.”
“Then what’s with the aversion?”
“There’s something off with her, Ry, I don’t know. I can feel it. She’s too…” I shook my head, “eager.”
“Eager?”
“Come on,” I faced him. “You just hit platinum, the label brings in this up and coming popstar –single, by the way, both of you. Then practically dangles you like fresh bananas in front of thepress? I don’t know, Ryden. It just seems fast.”
He sighed. “I know how it looks, but this is how things go in the industry. We hit it off, we wrote a kick ass song together and I… trust her. I really confided in her on this and I think it’s one of my best –” He hit play on the track. “Just listen. Please, Dove.”
So I did.
I listened because it was important to him, because he asked me to.
Because he had been there through it all. I pushed him in the deep end, and he allowed me to swim. Emory was the silent current that propelled us forward. I couldn’t forget that.
When I became his official manager, there was a base salary. Ryden demanded more, for the first time in his life, he took what he deserved.
He gave me everything.
