His arms cross and rest on his chest. “I tend to avoid looking up anything to do with us actually. But I’ve heard some things from our people. Not that the audio circulating everywhere proves a thing.”
He’s right, even though his defensive nature makes my eyebrow want to rise. Nobody can clearly make out whatever the drummer says in the audio clip because there’s too much background noise and static from wherever the person who recorded their conversation was hiding their phone.
Garrick’s eyebrows go up as if he’s still expecting to hear more about my day, so I drop my shoulders and realize I have no choice. “All Sarina is interested in is the hottest gossip. I proposed doing something softer—”
The grin stretching across his face tells me I’m in trouble before he even says, “I assure you, Rylee, there’s nothing soft about me.”
I don’t bother commenting on that. “I just thought if we could do some sort of human-interest piece to show the world a different side of you, then it’d get me out of hot water.”
His playfulness evaporates. “Hot water how?”
Evading his eyes, I suck my bottom lip into my mouth and think about the past few months. The few pieces I have written were torn apart because they didn’t compare to the Zayne Gray one I have attached to my name. Everyone tells me I need to channel that article in order to get paid the same for new ones. “Sarina hasn’t been happy with my performance at work. I know it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I was fired, but it’s the job that’s helped me survive this crazy place since I moved here. Moving on from it would feel like…” I don’t even know how to describe it. “It would feel like the reason I came here was disintegrating right in front of me. Then what’s left?”
“Besides your pride?”
I shoot him a look. “Anyway,” I draw out, ignoring his commentary. “She shot down my idea and told me I needed to give her something by next week because there’s a lot of pressure on the tabloid lately.”
He’s quiet as I sink into my chair and realize how screwed I am. I’ll have to just tell Sarina that I can’t deliver and accept my fate. I’ve been looking at different jobs online before bed every night, knowing subconsciously it’ll come to that at some point anyway.
“Does this job mean that much to you?”
I close my eyes. “It’s not the job.”
A pause.
“Ah,” he says in realization. “It’s the money.”
It sounds pathetic when he says it aloud, but I can’t deny it. Money is essential to everyday life, there’s no way around it. But there’s more than just a monetary value to it—it encompasses everything we do. It can consume us and our motives like it has mine.
I’m surprised when a hand reaches out and taps mine until Garrick pulls my attention back to him. “You have to remember that money is just paper. It’s a tool. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with wanting to make good money and provide for yourself, but it should never hold more value than the essential purposes it serves. I’m surrounded by people who lust after wealth and material things because they’ve gotten a taste, and they lose themselves in it. But what happens when it goes all away, hmm? What are we left with if that’s stripped from us? Whoever we are is who we have to live with for the rest of our lives.”
I’m taken aback by everything that just came out of his mouth, unable to come up with a response before he continues. “I think if I lost it all, I’d be content with what’s left behind. If I only had my soul, my morals, and the knowledge I procured, I’d be okay.”
I have no idea who the person is sitting across from me, because it’s definitely not the rocker who once was seen leaving a public bathroom with three different women all looking equally disheveled. “That was…”
He smiles softly. “The truth.”
The quiet that follows his sure, brazen statement is full of tranquility.
Would I like who I am if I lost everything?
I frown. “I wouldn’t.” His eyes pierce mine, waiting for an elaboration. “I wouldn’t like who I am, not if I kept doing what I have been. I think I always knew that which is why nothing I’ve submitted to Sarina has ever been good enough by her standards.”
“It’s because you gave your conscience a voice,” he says simply.
And he’s right.
Again.
Damn. “I wish the world saw this side of you. All Sarina cares about is who you’re dating, sleeping with, or cheating on.”
He rolls his eyes like that’s the most absurd things he’s heard. “Quite the combination.”
The back of my neck tingles. “We both know that’s big news in this industry.”
Garrick doesn’t argue. If anyone could understand, it’s someone who’s always been front and center in this world.
I click my tongue. “Why didn’t you say anything about Hot in Hollywood? I overhead you telling Chase that you’re annoyed with all the interview requests you’ve been getting because you don’t want to speak to people about what the press is saying.”
I’m not sure what I anticipated his response to be, but it wasn’t the confusion furrowing his brows. “What about Hot in Hollywood?”
“Your interview with them next week. It’s all over. The show confirmed today that Violet Wonders is sitting down with Penny to set the record straight.”
He curses, shifting his hips upward until he produces a phone from his back pocket. He stares at the screen and reads through something before mumbling to himself. “Bastards. Didn’t even think to consult us first before setting it up.”
“They can do that?”
His irritation already confirms as much, but he still says, “It’s not the first time they’ve pulled this, and I doubt it’ll be the last. My manager
