by Bev Dulson
Max was fully expecting to see a picture of himself flash up, at least having his face on TV would go some way to the public slating he was getting.
‘...Ms Valentina has since found love with the mysterious and handsome Hunter Cole who will be joining her when she returns to the place that was once her home…’
Max threw a left over empty beer bottle across the room as a picture of Magenta and Hunter looking all loved up filled the screen, just to rub salt in the fucking wound. His face screwed up as he tried to shut out the image of his ex-wife. How dare she be so happy when he was so fucking miserable and spent his life watching buskers, pretending he was still the big I am. If only he was still friends with Donald Trump, he’d get him to refuse her entry into the country, but he didn’t have the power to pull those favours any more. He rubbed his face with his hands, he didn’t have friends in high places any more, just a few in low places, a few he could blackmail if he really needed a favour. An idea popped into his head, it was a crazy stupid idea, but it just might work. Time to pull in a few favours from his low life buddies. Magenta was in town next week, he didn’t have any time to waste. He grabbed his keys and headed out of his apartment.
CHAPTER FOUR
LIVERPOOL
A few days later Magenta was sitting at her oversized desk in her office upstairs in the penthouse, the floor to ceiling windows giving her a bird’s eye view of the city she loved. Not that she was paying much attention to the view today, she was deep in conversation with Trina who was stretched out on the sofa, a diary lay open in her lap and a pen tucked behind her ear. They were supposed to planning the final details of the trip to New York which was only days away but instead Magenta was being a shoulder to lean on for her friend.
‘I just can’t put my finger on it, something’s wrong.’
‘It’s just taking him time to adjust to your new lifestyle, that’s all. Have you talked to him about how you feel?’
‘I don’t wanna broach the subject, I feel like it’ll open a whole can of worms. I know he resents the fact that I’m now the bread winner, he’s always been a traditional guy in the sense that he thinks he should provide for me and the kids and I think he’s wrestling between that and knowing he should appreciate how our life has changed.’
‘Traditional or not, you guys were struggling. You were working two jobs, T,’ Magenta tilted her head towards her friend. ‘You were knackered.’
Trina nodded slowly. ‘I sacrificed so much for my family and now when we’re in a position to really live all he wants to do is sit on the sofa and watch the sport channels.’
‘Why don’t you tell him to come to New York with us?’
Trina sighed. ‘I don’t think he’ll go for that.’
Pushing her chair back and propping her Louboutin’d feet up on the desk Magenta grinned. ‘How can he say no? The kids are still in school so they don’t need looking after, it’s not like he needs to let work know he’s going away and he can sky plus any TV he’s gonna miss. Tell him it’s a second honeymoon.’
‘We didn’t even have a first honeymoon.’
‘Well then, it’s settled. I’ll mainly be with Johnny whilst I’m in NYC so you two will have loads of time to explore, just tell him it’s all booked then he can’t say no.’
Magenta smiled, happy she was able to help her friend. Her laptop beeped, indicating her name was mentioned in a new article. She had alerts set up the minute anything was put on the internet about her, it was particularly useful in the early days of her divorce from Max when he was trying to fight dirty, she was aware of whatever lie he was currently trying to spin the instant he opened his mouth. She removed her feet from her desk and tapped the keyboard to bring it to life. She was greeted with the headline ‘The NEW Magenta’.
‘What the...’ she frowned as she scrolled down reading the article about an unknown artist called Roxie from the States who had become an overnight You Tube sensation and hit the play button on the video accompanying the blurb. She gasped as the girl began to sing, by the time the first line had been sung Magenta’s mobile was ringing, her manager’s name, Logan flashing across the screen. She picked up instantly.
Trina, growing concerned by the anxiety in her friend’s voice could only hear one side of the conversation.
‘You’ve seen it, I take it that’s why you’re ringing?’
Magenta fiddled nervously with her hair as she leaned forward, her elbows propped up on the desk.
‘How could this happen? It must be Max...’ Magenta’s voice rose. ‘Logan, don’t tell me not to get upset, how can I not be?’
Trina had absolutely no idea what was going on but she’d never seen Magenta so rattled.
‘Yeah, well you sure as hell better find out what the fuck is going on and call me straight back.’
Trina stood in front of the desk as Magenta abruptly finished the call.
‘Damn, I miss days when you can slam the phone down.’
‘What’s wrong? I’ve never heard you be arsey with Logan before and did I hear the M word?’
Magenta let out a heavy sigh and turned her Laptop round towards Trina. ‘It’s this...’ she hit play on the video.
Trina frowned as she scanned the words quickly. ‘I don’t get it, how can she be a new you? Yeah so she has red hair but her songs a bit country...’
‘It’s my fuckin’ song,T.’
‘What?’
‘It’s a track I recorded for an album which didn’t make the final cut and it certainly didn’t sound all country when I sang it.’
‘So, how did she get it?’
‘That’s where Max comes in, I recorded it in my New York studio, in the brownstone, where I used to live with Max. The tapes are still there, I haven’t been there since before I left Max. I got all the keys back but I’m sure he could’ve got one cut and taken my tapes. The bastard just won’t go quietly.’
‘Are you sure it’s him?’
‘Who else would it be? And now there’s this younger version of me singing one of my own songs, better than I bloody sang it and there’s fuck all I can do about it.’
‘Yes you can, you must have other recordings of the demo, release yours.’
‘All that does is make me look like a tired, old has been,’ she ran a hand through her hair as she rubbed her forehead with her other hand. ‘Best thing I can do is ignore her and spend my energy on getting to the bottom of what the hell Max is playing at and finish this once and for all.’
Hunter was still attempting to bust through his writers block, but he was distracted. He stood up from his desk in his own study, just along from Magenta's. He had the same floor to ceiling windows, but his view looked out across the River Mersey and over to The Wirral and North Wales, he wandered over to the window, his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets as he tried to rearrange his thoughts into something less jumbled. The UK was currently in the middle of a heatwave, despite what the rest of the world thought it didn't always rain in England. There were times, sometimes weeks on end when the sun never seemed to end and the high temperatures where discussed on every news programme and daytime TV show. Right now, the heat was uncomfortable, like a storm was brewing, but looking out over the river all he could see was endless blue. Maybe it was just the storm threatening to kick off in his own head that was the real issue. He moved back over to his desk and picked up the package which had been delivered that morning. He'd opened it to find a copy of his book which had been signed inside, but not by him. The message read, I know the truth, with the signature underneath illegible. It wasn't just the message that had unnerved him, it was that it had been delivered to the penthouse.
Maybe he was just over reacting, he'd speak to Mags about it, whatever this was, they'd fix it together. He picked the book up and stood up, just as his iPhone beeped. It was an alert to say a story had appeared online about Mags. He'd agreed with her that it was a good idea to get it installed, she was bothered about Max fighting dirty, he was just bothered about
keeping her safe. There had already been one serious threat against her life which he had thwarted, he wasn't going to let anything ever happen to her and forewarned was forearmed. He flicked onto the story about the 'New Magenta', that didn't sound good. He threw the book back down on the desk and headed off to find her.
Magenta was still fuming when Hunter walked into the room, she had the 'imposters' song playing again.
'Stop playing it, you're just tormenting yourself.'
'I can't help it, Trine.'
'Hey babe, just saw the article, what's going on?' Hunter slung and arm across Magenta's shoulders, pulling her into a protective embrace.
'I have no fucking clue.'
'You've dealt with competition before, just let it go over your head.'
She gave out a sarcastic laugh. 'I wouldn't be arsed in the slightest about someone being called the 'new' Magenta, I'd take it as a compliment, what I'm pissed off about, is she is singing one of my unreleased tracks.'
'What? Are you sure?'
'Of course I'm fuckin' sure.'
'Calm down, we'll sort it out.'
'Do not tell me to calm down, telling me to calm down will only result in me angrying up.'
Hunter smiled. 'Babe, I love your feisty side coming out, turns me on.'
Trina watched, somewhat bemused as her best friend went from defcon three, swearing like a fishwife to absolute putty in Hunter's hands. Magenta smiled up at him, her eyes brimming with a mixture of lust and pure adulation. He pulled her close, his lips by her ear. Trina couldn't hear what he said, but she saw the effect on Magenta, who positioned her body even closer to him. It was starting to make her feel uncomfortable, she'd never been around a couple who were as openly sexual as they were and clearly didn't give a damn about keeping it behind the bedroom door. Just as Trina was about to make her excuses and leave, the phone rang. Gratefully, she almost jumped on it as she grabbed the receiver. 'Trina Fraser, PA to Magenta Valentina speaking.'
'Trina, it's Logan. Is Magenta there?'
'Yes, she's right here,' Trina covered the mouthpiece. 'Mate, it's Logan.'
Magenta walked towards her desk, taking the receiver from Trina. 'Logan, you better have an explanation for me.'
'Not an explanation as yet, but definitely a development. Your brownstone was broken into, the tapes were taken.'
'What? Just the tapes?'
'No, some jewellery, stage outfits and one of your platinum discs, I’ve got IT checking Ebay and other sites to see if it’s being sold . Hopefully it was just someone trying their luck and making some money out of you.'
'So, you don’t think it wasn't Max?'
'Doubtful, for starters he wouldn't need to break in and if someone is selling your stuff it'd be too easy to find out it was him.'
'Right, I need to check this out for myself. I'll be on the next plane out.'
Putting the phone down to Logan Magenta sighed, putting her face in her hands. ‘This is just shit.’
Hunter was by her side, his hands massaging her shoulders. ‘It’ll be OK, we’ll fix it.’
‘What does Logan think?’ Trina asked
‘He’s not sure yet – my gut instinct is that Max is involved in this.’
‘What makes you think that?’
‘It’s the song, when I wrote ‘breathe’, I was full of anger, frustration, hurt whatever negative emotion you can think of, I was feeling it. I was completely heart broken,’ she looked up at Hunter. ‘Without you, I was bereft but I was also so bloody angry with you. It all came out in that song. Writing it was cathartic, but singing it was a bloody nightmare, I could never get through the first verse without breaking into a sobbing wreck. Max wanted me to release the song, I dug my heels in and told him no. It was too personal to me, I didn’t want to share it with the world. Every time I was working on a new album, we’d argue over the song, he’d always try and bully me into putting it on the album, obviously I always stood up to him. So, yeah, the fact that this Roxie girl is singing the song that meant so much to me, this is personal. It can’t be a coincidence
Whilst Magenta was busy packing for their trip to New York Hunter was in his study, his mind trying to process what was going on. Firstly there was the thing with his book, then there was the issue with Mag’s song. She had commented earlier that the choice of song was personal, that’s exactly how he felt about the note in his book. Where the two things connected? He could see how Mag’s first thought was that Max was involved somehow in Roxie singing her song, but he couldn’t make the same link to his book. Max had no idea about his previous identity. Sitting on his executive swivel chair, he leaned back into it, sinking his shoulders into the leather, his feet planted on the floor, but twisting the chair from side to side, his eyes raised towards the ceiling. The song, breathe, he’d never heard her mention it before and from what she’d said earlier she’d never wanted it to see the light of day, she’d laid herself bare in it. Leaning towards his desk he picked up the iPad opening up the You Tube app. He typed in Roxie Meyers and clicked on the song. Leaning back in the chair he closed his eyes. He wanted to block out her voice, the music, her style, her voice and listen purely to the lyrics…
‘You fled in the dark of the night,
Leaving me without a weapon to fight,
Nothing to protect my broken soul, nothing to shield me from the pain,
But I am strong, I’ll wear my scars with pride,
Just to prove to you I survived...’
He ran his hand through his hair, God this was hard to hear and it wasn’t even her singing the words. She was right, he’d been a bloody coward just running away and leaving her a note on the pillow. What kinda shit did that? She was also right about herself, she was strong, she always had been, that’s one of the things he loved most about her, her spirit. The chorus kicked in…
‘I wish you well in whatever you do,
I hope you find someone who loves you true,
Just hope they don’t break you and your sanity.
‘Cos then you’ll know exactly what it’s like to be me...’
Bloody hell, she wasn’t pulling any punches, he hated how much he’d hurt her. If he’d been more of a man back then he’d have done things differently, not left her to pick up her own pieces.
‘I’m a fighter, I won’t be weak for long.
Fuelled by the hate, you did me so wrong,
But you know me better than I know myself,
So, you know I’ll put on my diamond plated armour,
Steel myself to walk away from this drama...’
Despite himself he smiled at the diamond plated armour reference, that was his Mag’s, nothing kept her down for long. As the song continued into the chorus he reflected on what would’ve happened if he stayed. There was no doubt between them about how much they loved each other back then, but would they have been mature enough to deal with the demands of Mag’s starting her modelling then music career and him potentially playing rugby for England? He wasn’t sure they would’ve been able to deal with the pressure, but even if they’d broken up due to their careers, he was damn well sure that wouldn’t have hurt her as much as him just getting up and leaving. When they were reunited eighteen months ago, she was still resentful towards him, but thankfully the attraction between them had never gone away and that overrode her feelings of anger. The chorus petered out, with just two lines completing the song.
‘I hate what you’ve put me through.
But I know you know, I’ll always love you...’
He smiled sadly, those two lines could’ve been his words, if the you’ve was I’ve and the me was you in the first line.
‘What the hell are you doing, listening to her?’
He spun round in the chair to be met with Mag’s angry glare, hands on hips and the kohl eyeliner bringing out the fire in her emerald eyes.
He pressed paused on the iPad. ‘Babe, I wasn’t listening to her, I wanted to hear the lyrics. I’m sorry, I was such a shit back then.’
‘I wrote those lyrics a long time ago, I’m over all that now. I just don’t want some randomer singing my bloody words. Besides, I’m not sure we would’ve lasted the distance back then.’
He started to laugh.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘I was thinking the same, so much going on around us that we couldn’t be in control of.’
‘We needed to find ourselves, I needed to become Magenta and you, well, I’m not sure Jason would’ve been like you if you had stayed as him.’
‘I know one thing, whether I was Jason or Hunter, I have loved you from the first time I said those words to you,’ he stretched his arm out to her. ‘Come ‘ead.’
She smiled as he lapsed back into Scouse, something he only ever did when it was the two of them. She took his hand, letting him pull her onto his lap, his arms automatically encircling her. ‘We’ll get to the bottom of this shit and find out what the hell is going on and if you’re right, that Max is behind this, then he’ll regret the day he took us on.’
She didn’t respond with words, she took his face in her hands, her lips on his. She could deal with anything as long as she knew Hunter was by her side, they were a force to be reckoned with.
CHAPTER FIVE
The plane banked left, giving Magenta a very welcome view of the Manhattan skyline, after seven hours being stuck in this tin can, not having a clue what was going on back on the ground she was like a caged animal. Her emotions had gone from shock, confusion to now just being down right angry. Someone had stolen her song and she wanted it back. Before they took off from Liverpool airport, her private jet always on standby, Trina had been trying to locate this Roxie Meyers woman through her social media page. So far they’d managed to find her Facebook page, but her security was tight, they could only see her profile picture and cover photo. The cover photo showed her on stage, with a guitar in what looked like a bar, the name of the bar only partially visible. Trina had taken a screen shot and sent it straight over to the IT guys at Logan International Music. Her Instagram was also private and they hadn’t managed to find anything on Twitter yet.