“You’ll see I’m right.” He turns to Bria. “Sweetheart, you’re the eye candy. I want you out front with Crew.”
I expect her to tell him off for calling her sweetheart, but she doesn’t. Maybe she’s so happy he’s going against Ronni’s wishes that she’s letting it slide.
Ronni sits on the couch, pouting.
I try not to laugh when Kai poses Bria and me in sexy positions on the hay bales. He hasn’t the slightest idea we’re a couple. No way would Ronni have told him. Her head must be about ready to explode.
Kai tucks Bria’s hair behind her ear. “Has anyone ever told you that you should try modeling?”
Bria blushes. “I never had any interest. Music is my passion.”
“Shame,” he says. “You’d do very well.”
I scoot closer to her. “She’s doing very well with us.”
“I’ve heard your stuff. It’s quite brilliant.” He fixes her hair again. “I think I like it better this way, when it frames your face. Beautiful. Stay like that, luv.”
He returns to his camera. Garrett snickers behind me.
“Shut up,” I snarl through my teeth.
“Let’s take five,” Kai says a while later. “I want to check my images, and then we’ll change the background and take some on your stage.”
Jeremy comes in and goes straight to Liam. “What’s going on with you and Dirk?”
Liam shrugs. “Same shit, different day.”
“Maybe it’s time to work your shit out.”
“Not likely.”
“You do realize it’s not wise to bite the hand that feeds you.”
Liam gives him a harsh stare. “That’s why we hired you, isn’t it? To help us make money so nobody else has to feed us. When do you think that might start happening? Because from where I sit, the only one making any money here is you.”
“It takes money to make money,” Jeremy says.
“Where have I heard that before?”
“Dirk is a wise man. Got him where he is today. You could learn a lot from him.”
Liam laughs bitterly. “Learn from him? He’s a fucking bottom-dweller. He only does things that benefit himself, or haven’t you learned that by now?”
“Ah, the life of a politician.”
“They’re all fucking corrupt,” Liam says.
“Maybe, but they’re also people who are good to have as friends.”
“Says you.”
“Okay,” Kai says. “We’re ready.”
We go over to the stage. “I didn’t realize things were so bad between Liam and Dirk,” Bria says.
I shake my head. “You have no idea.”
“Did something happen recently?”
“Something happened a long time ago.”
I don’t elaborate, and she doesn’t ask any more questions.
“So, Kai seems like a real asshole,” I say.
“I think he’s nice.”
I bite the inside of my cheek.
Kai spends an hour taking pictures of us fake-playing and singing. “Okay, mates, now perform a song so I can get live-action pictures. Something with energy. No sappy love shite.”
“How about ‘Can’t Stop Me’?” Ronni suggests, picking one of the songs where Bria’s not singing lead.
Bria whispers to me, “She’s in rare form today. She hates me more than usual.”
I turn to Ronni. “We should pick one where Bria sings as much as I do. That’s the point here, isn’t it?”
“I’d have to agree with Crew,” Kai says. “What’s that one I heard on the radio this morning? Something about the days of the week.”
“You heard that on the radio?” I ask, surprised.
“On my way here,” he says. “I only knew it was yours because the DJ announced it. What are the odds of that?”
The guys and I share fist bumps, and I hug Bria.
“Please,” Ronni says. “It’s not like you haven’t been on the radio before.”
“Why didn’t you tell us the new songs were on?” Bria asks. “This is huge news!”
Ronni looks at Bria like she’s an inconvenience. “Listen, you’d better learn to act like professionals and not a bunch of toddlers every time you hear your songs on the radio.”
Liam strolls over to Ronni. “No, you listen. You may have been doing this long enough so you don’t give a shit, but for us—hearing our songs on the radio is like winning the fucking lottery, and I’ll be damned if you’re going to ruin that for us. Because you know what? It’s a big fucking deal. So let us have a minute to process it.”
Kai walks over to Ronni and puts an arm around her shoulders. “Ah, to catch them on the way up, eh, luv?”
She straightens her skirt. “You have no idea how much work they are.”
“Okay, mates, we should get this show on the road. At five-hundred-bucks an hour, you probably don’t want me hanging around longer than I have to.”