Terry shrugged. “Seventeen.”
Matthew pointed his finger at Joseph. “So you just stick to gyrating your hips and keep your mouth shut. Right?”
Anger burst heavily into Joseph’s chest, overwhelming him with pure animal aggression. He stared at Matthew with furious eyes – desperate to go over and pound his stupid smug face into the ground. He inhaled and forced himself to get a grip. He was better than that – punching Matthew wouldn’t prove or solve anything. Joseph knew he was a good producer, and he hated what these people were doing to his music. He’d signed a three-album deal, so all he needed to do was go along with it, make as much money as possible, retire young, buy an island for himself and Ellie, and spend the rest of their days making beautiful music.
He unpinned Matthew from his glare, pushed back his chair, and strode out to the corridor by the stairs to calm down – lest he start throwing expensive equipment around and getting sued.
He leaned against the granite wall where Ellie would usually greet him each morning and spotted a copy of today’s New York Spin on the floor, which made him think of her even more. In truth, everything made him think of her. He grinned. Last night had been perfect and he couldn’t wait to entice her into his bed again soon. He wasn’t taking no for an answer – he would convince her to be his for more than one night. Luckily, after he’d smuggled her out earlier, he’d persuaded the journalist not to press charges of assault. Joseph had promised him some exclusives, which was a cheap shot – as well as a lie – but it was a good way to get him off his back.
So hopefully he’d get some peace and quiet when he woke up tomorrow with Ellie in his arms – after spending the night thrusting his cock in that tight little body again. Joseph glanced back into the control room and saw that Matthew had resumed typing on his laptop. His anger dissipated as he reminded himself that he’d been fucking Matthew’s beautiful fiancée all night long. Even if Joseph hadn’t been falling for Eleanor over the last few months, it would’ve been worth fucking her, just to know he’d regained some power over that asshole. And he’d helped Ellie get revenge for those times Matthew had cheated on her. He looked away from Matthew and bent to pick up The New York Spin, then he absent-mindedly flicked through to see if he was in there today. He wasn’t on the front page, which was a great start. He scanned over Gerald Stinger’s gossip column and noticed his name there, three paragraphs down. He chuckled – was he losing his popularity already?
He skim-read the segment with low expectations.
‘Don’t poke-her, Joseph! What are the odds that Joseph Quinlan loves to gamble! A source reveals that he regularly enjoys poker with his wealthy business-minded brothers – and one of them’s a cheater! But the real ace-up-his-sleeve is Joseph’s confession of love for an unnamed young lady. Has he cashed in his chips for her? Don’t bluff us with your poker face, Joseph – reveal your hand! Watch this space to see if he sticks or plays!’
Joseph finished reading and looked up, stunned. Apart from the fact that it was the worst piece of hack-writing he’d ever read, it was also somehow familiar… He’d said something to someone about poker yesterday, but who? A memory surfaced of him driving in the rain… The voicemail to Adam. But surely…? Adam? He wouldn’t sell his little brother to the newspapers, would he? No, of course he wouldn’t. The man was a self-made billionaire – he didn’t need to betray his own family for cash. And he wouldn’t anyway – the brothers were all loyal. So what was going on? There was no way anyone could’ve overheard his voicemail message, because he’d been in the car, so that could only mean…
He picked up his phone and called his brother. Adam answered with a cool, “Hey Joe, what’s up?”
Joseph kept his voice down, just in case anyone was listening right now. “Adam, hi… did you get my voicemail last night?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t call back because you said you were tired. How you feeling now? Any news on the romance fr–”
“Shh! Adam, don’t finish that sentence!”
Adam chuckled. “What the hell is wrong with you, Joseph?”
Joseph glanced around, suddenly feeling paranoid. “I think my phone’s been tapped. What I said to you last night – it’s in today’s paper.”
Adam went silent for a moment. “Someone’s listening right now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, if they are they’d better take this down... You print anymore bullshit about my little brother and I’ll rip your fucking nuts off!”
Chapter Ten
Eleanor’s heart twisted like a meat-grinder, as she smiled nervously at the receptionist in the small foyer of the recording studio.
“Good evening, Marilyn,” she said. “Er… how are you?”
“Alright, Ellie. Didn’t see you here this morning – you got that job you wanted?”
“Yep. Yes, I did.”
“How’s it going?”
She winced. “Well, I spent my day working on a hot new story, which I then deleted after a crisis of conscience, and now I’m clueless about where I’m going or what I want to do with my life.”
Marilyn gazed at her with kind eyes. “These are the days when I’m glad to be sitting here on reception, making small talk with rockstars.”
Eleanor chuckled. “Yeah, the simpler life sounds appealing to me right now, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.” She gestured to the stairs. “Is it okay to go up?”
“Sure. But everyone’s gone home for the day. Well, other than Joseph...” Marilyn winked at her. “He’s up there all alone.”
“Oh… oh good. Well, I’ve come to interview him actually, so that’s good.”
Eleanor rushed up the stairs, willing her trembling knees not to give way. She knew she shouldn’t be here, but technically Matthew had told her to interview the band, so she was just doing what he’d asked.