Jacob, the coward, won’t meet my eyes. Garrett lifts his chin in my direction. A big gesture for him, since he’s so tightly aligned with Jacob.
“Okay. Well, then,” Val says, composing herself. “I spoke to Revolver’s manager last night. And the lawyers for the record company this morning. You messed up Davey’s face pretty bad, but he’s not pressing charges. You’re still required to finish these tour dates, but Kickstart is not invited on the next leg of the tour.”
Boo-fucking-hoo. As if I would’ve said yes after what went down yesterday. I glare at Val and then Jacob, daring them to complain about the missed opportunity.
“Did you happen to ask the suits for any advice on the sexual harassment lawsuit Mallory should slap on Davey?” I ask.
The question startles Val out of her self-imposed calm. “Hardly. All anyone has to do is look at your video or the dozens of videos of her on stage every night.”
“That’s just fucking great,” I snarl. “Playing a part for us means she deserves to have creeps like Davey come on to her? That’s what you’re saying, Val?”
For a second, a brief glimmer of remorse flickers over her face. “No, I don’t think she deserves that. But that’s how Davey and his lawyers would make it look.”
I nod, because she’s right. And maybe if this wasn’t so personal, I might have seen it the same way at one point in my life. Not anymore. It’s becoming crystal clear to me that honor and integrity are practically non-existent in this business.
“We need you two at the arena by seven,” she continues.
My mouth twists into a smirk. Can’t wait to share the news. “I sent Mallory home today.”
Val sighs. “I suppose that’s for the best.”
“Do ya?”
“Don’t you think that was a decision the band should’ve made?” Jacob asks.
Apparently, I didn’t punch this motherfucker hard enough yesterday.
I push away from the wall and slap my hands on the table, leaning over to stare him straight in the eye. “Gee, I don’t know. Shouldn’t the band have made the decision to whore out my girlfriend for a few extra tour dates?”
He slides his gaze to the floor. “I wasn’t trying to whore her out.”
“No? What exactly would you call it when you lure her to a room where she’s alone with a half-naked old man who wants to fuck her in exchange for giving us some extra tour dates? A matchmaking arrangement?”
He lifts his hands in the air and shrugs. “A mutually beneficial agreement?”
“Have you always been this much of an asshole? Or did the little taste of fame get to you?”
He pounds his fist against the table and winces—pussy. “Did you forget all the shit we did in the early days? All the work we put in? The endless walking up and down the strip, hustling to get even the shittiest bars to let us play? The sleeping in cars? Sleeping with girls we didn’t even like so we had a place to stay or so they’d buy us groceries? Forget that already, Chaser?”
Val winces at that last part. Since I’m not in the mood to worry about her feelings at the moment, I ignore her. “Those were choices we made for ourselves with our eyes wide open.”
“Well, Mallory was given a choice, and she chose you over one of the biggest rock stars on the planet.” Jacob’s voice rises to a mocking pitch. “It must be love. Isn’t that fucking sweet?”
“You jealous, bro?” I sneer.
He glares at me. “I thought it was a way to help us and her at the same time.”
“If you were trying to be so helpful, why be sneaky? Why go behind my back?”
He sits there with his mouth hanging open.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Enough,” Val says. “What Jacob did was stupid and somewhere deep down he regrets it. Are we all able to move on from this?”
She turns her glare on Jacob, clearly waiting for him to recite whatever lines she fed him before the meeting.
Finally, he glances up and meets my eyes. “I’m sorry.”
He explained his utterly bullshit reasoning. I didn’t buy it. So, yeah, now he’s genuinely sorry. Honestly, his excuses aren’t much different from Mallory’s analysis this morning. And I don’t think I was off the mark with the jealousy question.
Surprisingly, he goes one step further. “I’ll apologize to Mallory when we get home. I hope she doesn’t hate me too much.”
I shake my head. “Nah, she has zero respect for you now, but she doesn’t hate you.”
He snorts. “Fair enough.”
“Are we good?” Val asks.
“I still don’t trust him.” I shift my gaze to Val. “Or you. But for now, we’re fine.”
She coughs and looks away. “All right then.” Her voice takes on a stronger edge, and she passes her gaze over each one of us. “Let’s blow the roof off these last few shows. Rock those fans so hard they won’t even remember who Bloody Revolver is.”