“Give me that.” I snatch the paper from her hands and toss it on the coffee table. “You’re perfect, and if I ever meet any of the pukes who write that garbage about you, I’m going to beat the shit out of them.”
“Is that your answer for everything?”
“Yes,” I answer automatically.
“There are worse things they could say about me, I guess.”
I glance at the clock on the living room wall and hurry over to flip on the television. “You’re going to love this.”
“What?” She follows me over and stares at the screen as the big-haired video deejay announces the number one video of the day.
“You guys can’t get enough of this video! Kickstart with their hit, ‘Candy Jar,’ number one for the tenth day in a row. Amazing!”
“Oh. My. God.” Mallory covers her mouth with both hands.
“Yup, according to Alvin, the video has risen from the ashes.”
“That’s why the tabloids are suddenly so interested in us?”
“No doubt.”
She groans. “Does that mean more people are going to ask me if I banged Jacob?”
“Probably.” I lean down and kiss her forehead. “I know the truth. That’s all that matters.”
“Chaser, you know I’m excited for you guys, right? This is huge. I don’t mean to be a downer.”
“I get why you’re hesitant. Trust me, I feel the same way. I was hoping this video would die in the avalanche of cheesy glam metal videos produced this year, but…” I have to stop and laugh here. “Apparently, Andrew gave an interview where he raved about Kickstart so much, the video was brought back from the dead.”
Finally, she loosens up and actually laughs. “After all his crazy, obnoxious antics, he has to go and do something sweet that makes it impossible to hate him.”
My girl referring to Andrew as “sweet” doesn’t exactly sit well with me. “I’m sure it had more to do with getting us more exposure, so when we announce the tour, tickets will sell out.”
“Of course.” She rubs her hands together. “Oh, how I’d love to see the look on Davey Revolver’s face. Guess he doesn’t have as much influence as he thought.”
“Can’t overrule the will of the fans. They must’ve been lighting up the phone lines at MTV to do this. The nudge from Andrew certainly helped, but the rest is all the fans.”
“Well,” she glances around the house, “Then we should probably get back to L.A. soon.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chaser
Mallory and I barely set down our luggage in our apartment before I head downstairs to announce my return.
“You’re back!” Alvin slams into me so hard, he almost knocks me over. “Fuck, I’m so glad to see you.” He squeezes me one last time, before holding me at arm’s length. “You look much better.”
“Thanks.”
“Look who the cat dragged in!” Jacob runs over and high-fives me.
“You all right?” I search his face for signs he’s strung out, but he’s energetic and actually seems to have put on a few pounds. “You look good.”
“I’m clean, laid down my vocals, and ready to tour.”
My gaze slides to Alvin who half-shrugs and nods. “Just need to finish the one song.”
“All right.”
Garrett joins us and also seems even.
“Should we set up a meeting with Val and see what’s next?” I can’t remember the last time I went so long without Val checking up on me.
“Well, about that.” Jacob takes a step back and rubs his hand over the back of his neck, a sure sign he’s about to say something to piss me off.
“Yeah?” I ask carefully.
Jacob glances at Garrett then Alvin, who looks away.
“We had a crisis while you were away.”
“What was that?”
“We all know things weren’t headed in the right direction with Val anymore.” He turns his hands palm up. “Like how she couldn’t get us a simple meeting with Cutter until Andrew stepped in.”
“Says the guy who almost blew Cutter’s offer by taking forever to record his vocals,” I remind him.
“Agreed,” Jacob concedes. “But a stronger manager would’ve seen that we were in trouble and helped steer us in the right direction.”
“Are you serious right now? A month and a half ago, I was talking your drunk ass off a ledge. How exactly was Val supposed to prevent that?”
“After the shit she did setting Mallory up with Davey, I thought you’d be thrilled,” Jacob says.
“As if you weren’t a part of that grand scheme.”
“Where do you think the idea came from?” he insists.
That doesn’t quite have the ring of truth to it, but it’s over and done with, and I don’t feel like rehashing the past. “What are you trying to say?”
Garrett steps up. “We fired Val and hired Thom Woodworth.”
I take a second to let the monumental shift in our career sink in. “Without even asking me? Are you fucking kidding?”
Jacob shrugs. “You were away in New York. It all went down rather fast.”
I drill Alvin with a look. “You didn’t think to call me?”