Page 15 of Reflex
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“Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!”
Spook was functioning on autopilot, one foot in front of the other, centre of the herd, eyes down, concentrating on the sensation of the glass clamped in his hand until Ash’s exclamation bludgeoned his ears.He looked up, far from alone in his reaction, to find the rest of Black Halo sneering and shooting death glares in one particular direction.
He almost didn’t want to look, but it was always so damned hard not to stare at a road crash.
Ava Leigh.AvafuckingLeigh.As Ash had so succinctly put it, someone was having a fucking laugh – a particularly cruel one at their expense.She and her employer,Bang!Magazinehad been behind the exposé of the band last summer.The one that had led to Ash being labelled a druggy, Xane and Luthor both being outted as bi, and which had massively contributed to Elspeth’s exodus from the band.More importantly, and relevant to the current situation at the conclusion of a tour dedicated to Steve Matlock’s memory, was the fact that Ava’s reportage had dishonoured that memory by turning what had happened into a tawdry soap opera.There was no justifiable reason for her inclusion in this event.None.
Little surprise then that Xane’s immediate response was to turn on their management, demanding an explanation.
“What is that miserable cow doing here?She’s been out to destroy us ever since she failed to convince Ash and me to bone her.”
“Oh, pipe down your ego, Xane.”Sally Kettering, their PR woman, waggled a finger in his face.“Bang!Magazineis massively influential.They have a huge online readership.Excluding them would be counterproductive.”
“Do you think any of us give a fucking damn about that?Get rid of her.”
There were rumbles of agreement from the rest of the guys.Spook certainly wasn’t interested in her prodding at his exposed underbelly.
“Keep your voice down, and don’t be so ridiculous.”Sally leaned forward and tapped a nail against Xane’s bare chest.“Suck it up, playboy.I’m not asking you to screw her, just play nice and schmooze her along with the rest of these lovely people, okay?”
Xane laughed in her face.“Play nice?Yeah, that’s totally what I’m known for.”His eyes narrowed, which, combined with his cat’s eye contact lenses, gave him a look that would have cowed a sensible person.Sally Kettering had never been that.She did take a pace backwards, which landed her on Rock Giant’s toes.The big guy gave her a nudge forward.
“Honestly,” she huffed.“You’re all such drama queens.Just because she exposed a few truths you’d rather people didn’t know.You all live in the public eye, for heaven’s sakes.There’s no such thing as an entitlement to privacy.That, and if you don’t like what people dig up about you, then maybe you should refrain from providing them with juicy fodder to begin with.”
“And I suppose juicy fodder is how you’d regard my recent experience at the arena,” Spook remarked, shocking them all with his words if the collective sounds of indrawn breaths were to be relied upon.
“Of course not… That was… We’re all glad you weren’t hurt.”
“Have you looked at his face?”Ash muttered.“You’ve a weird definition of unhurt.”
Collectively, the group all seemed to draw a little closer to him, which had the regrettable effect of amplifying the shakes he thought he had under control.Dammit, the glass in his hand was empty.He needed another hit.
“Not more seriously hurt,” Sally corrected herself, which failed to appease any of them.She waved her hands at them, as if she could shoo them backwards.“In any case, perhaps you haven’t noticed your album sales are soaring and your last single is still high in the download charts four months after release.Do you not think that’s even a little bit down to your notoriety?Bang!Magazinedid you all a favour with that exposé.It got people invested in your stories.”
“Unbelievable.Un-fucking-believable.”Xane turned his back on her and walked away, drawing the rest of the band along with him.“Guys, I’m thinking it’s time we considered a change of management.Buggers are supposed to work for us, not against us.I mean seriously.What are we doing here?”
“You know Sally’s positively itching to spin what just happened to the press, don’t you?”Ash remarked, leaning in to Spook, as they took up a spot by the panoramic window overlooking the harbour full of anchored yachts.
Spook clenched his fingers tight around the empty glass and bore the intrusion into his space.
“Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn she had a hand in arranging Elspeth’s kiss ‘n’ tell exclusive.”
“Let’s hope that’s not true,” said his fiancée as she snuggled into Ash’s side.
“If it is, I’m going to string both her and Graham up by their fucking underwear,” Rock Giant muttered.
Someone handed Spook another drink.It was noxious looking, with an umbrella in it and gold spray around the rim of the glass.He disposed of the decoration, and necked the contents, which left an unpleasant artificial strawberry taste on his tongue.The burn in his gut was sufficiently numbing though.
“How about we all give Ava a wide berth,” Luthor suggested, shoving his long fringe back off his face, and demonstrating the clearest voice of reason.“We can discuss management another time, when we’re not all burned out from touring.And someplace there are fewer eavesdroppers.”
“You’re suggesting we stick this out?”Rock Giant muttered.“Not sure I’m seeing the point.Who the hell even are these people?Bunch of suits I don’t give a shit about.Kind of feels like this shindig is a back-slapping exercise for them to celebrate a bunch of achievements they had fuck all to do with.Most of these gits wouldn’t even recognise our tunes if they were played to them.We’re just their golden ticket – the one that gets them a new Audi and yearly membership of the Old Gits Golf Club.”
“Luthor’s right,” Ash said.“Switching management is a discussion for another day.It’s been a long year.It’s hardly surprising our tolerance for bullshit levels are at an all-time low.What do you say we all give it an hour?”
“An hour of free cocktails doesn’t seem so bad,” Liam said, claiming another from off the tray of a passing waiter.Spook raised a brow, and it was promptly passed over.
“What happens at the end of an hour?”Rock Giant asked.
