His phone rang while he was waiting for his order. “Don’t be mad.” It was Dustin.
“When you start out by saying that nothing good can come of it.”
“So I was recording tonight at practice, like always. I captured your new song for Hugh and he loved it. He had me play it for the label, and they loved it. They think it’s a hit, better yet they think you’ve got your mojo back and are ready to move forward with a new album.”
“Why would you do that without asking me first, Dustin? I played that for you guys in private on purpose. It’s not ready for anyone to hear but me.” Jasper tightened his hold on the bags. That song, out of all the songs he had ever written, was his. It was special, and he didn't want the label tainting it. Or even worse, selling it to someone for covers, there was a lot that could happen when you were owned by a label and he was paranoid about all of it.
“Dude, listen, you doubt yourself. You said so tonight. I wanted to show you that you’re doing well again man. This is what we need right now, our songwriter writing. We are going to be so on point.”
“They’re going to let me write all the songs on the album and quit with this catchy throwaway song bullshit?” Jasper tried to talk through his anger.
“I can’t promise you that, but it’s something we can talk about. I think you should go with it. If your writing is back, then get some stuff together for the label and we’ll demo it for them. It would be amazing if we could ditch the cookie-cutter shit we have been pushing out.”
“Dude, do you know how much pressure that puts on me? Did you not see the bullshit Tara just pulled? I have a lot on my plate.” Jasper felt the walls pushing in on him, his anxiety building up.
“Okay, I get it. This is what you want though. Writing your own stuff and having it out there. Just think about it.”
“Alright fine, I’ll think about it. I’ve gotta go.”
Jasper paid for all the food and headed to his hotel, a mix of emotions going through his head. On the one hand, it was great that the label wanted his original music to be part of the next album. On the other, he felt betrayed by Dustin that he’d played something personal like that with no regard for his thoughts on the matter. Maybe he’d ask Hailey what she thought. She seemed to be in the mood to talk; maybe she’d help him clear his head.
Chapter Eight
Jasper walked out of the restaurant whistling until he ran into Tara. All positive thoughts rushed from his head.
“How convenient to run into you out here in public.” She had an evil grin on her face.
He wanted to be anywhere but where he was. She’d put on a blonde wig so she wasn’t recognizable to everyone around her yet, but since Jasper drew attention, soon they’d all recognize her too. He hoped she wasn’t going to make a scene. He had enough of her crazy for a lifetime. “Tara, I really want to go home and not deal with any drama tonight.”
“This,” she pointed between the two of them, “isn’t over. I don’t get dumped and I certainly don’t get dumped by sell-out rock stars.”
He was telling himself not to engage her because that’s what she wanted. It would be so easy to tell her what a piece of crap he thought she was. He needed to be the bigger person, so he decided to play it cool. He assumed Hailey would think he did the right thing because it was the only defense he had out in the street staring down the she-devil herself.
He leaned back against the wall and let her throw a fit. His face a mask of indifference. It actually made him happy to see people taking out their phones to record the exchange. If he played it right, Tara would be digging herself in an even bigger hole than the one she was in. First, she grabbed his food and threw it on the ground. He cringed and hoped the deliciousness wouldn’t be ruined when he was able to get it back. Jasper wouldn't try to retrieve it with Tara near him. Bending down would give her his back and he didn't trust her not to hurt him physically. She got into his face and slapped him once, showing him he’d made the right decision on not getting the food. When he still didn’t respond, she started to yell. Not getting the reaction she wanted, Tara lost it.
“You think you’re such hot shit. I could take you down with one phone call, one!”
He wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but he remained leaning against the wall, letting her do what she wanted to do. Her face was turning red, and she started to stumble over her words. He took this as a sign that he was winning. Hailey would be proud of him.
“He’s bad in bed,” she said loudly to the people who’d gathered to watch her. She must have thought his ego was tied to his love making skills. If that was the best she could come up with, he had nothing to worry about.
He smiled at her as she stomped around in circles like an agitated cat.
“You think you’re such a big man because you can treat women however you want. You can’t, you’re nothing. I saw you go on Jemma. Jemma loves me. I’ll tell her all about you and she’ll love it. The exclusive interview with Tara Jackson on what really happened between her and Jasper. I can see it now.”
Jasper had to wonder if she really read what Jemma had said about him. If she had, and she thought Jemma was on her side, she was crazier than he thought. Tara had a flair for the dramatic, but he couldn’t see Jemma actually agreeing to such an interview after the calm and peaceful one he’d given.
“I know you just went on there to try and look like the good guy, but you’re not, far from it. And I won't stop until everyone knows it.” She was screaming at the top of her lungs and had been most of the time she’d been talking to him.
All he’d done was chilled on the wall, as he thought about the food he had on the ground. He would just let her yell at him thinking she’d give up, but he was growing tired of it. He was hungry and Hailey would be over at his apartment soon.
He watched her melt down and then finally he had enough. He picked up his food giving her his back, but not caring anymore, and took off for the car. He could see Carl chuckling in the front seat and he winked at him when he slid inside.
“My food’s getting cold, Carl, let’s go. Thanks for the help by the way.”
“You seemed to be doing a fantastic job. You didn't need me.” Carl laughed as he pulled away from the curb.
Hailey sat outside Jasper’s door on the floor and looked up at him as he walked up. She looked good. She realized as she pulled herself up from the floor that she was more than tipsy. As she stood, she pitched forward catching herself on the wall. He reached out to try to steady her, and she waved him off.
“Hello, Little Bird.”
“I’m okay, I just stood too fast, you know how that is.”
“Sure, here let me get the door for you.”
She grabbed his arms. “Do I smell Chinese food?”
“You do, but it’s probably smashed because I ran into Tara at the restaurant.”
“You what?” she followed him inside.
He handed her a bag with the dumplings so she could dig in. “Let me wash up and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“These are all for you?” she yelled after him.
“No, I got enough for both of us.”
He heard crinkling as she opened the bag and seconds later, she was making loud yum sounds. His stomach rumbled and he couldn’t wait to dig into the food as well.
“This is amazing. I don’t drink that often. This is amazing. I said that already.” She was adorable and he couldn’t help but laugh at her as he bit into an eggroll.
“So Tara came at me outside the restaurant if you can believe that. She attacked me and I just stood there.”
“Tell me there were people around. Oh wait first did she hurt you?” Hailey was bouncing and covering her full mouth with a hand.
“No, she didn't hurt me, and yes there were and they were recording. She flipped out. She was yelling at me, and she threw our food down. It was crazy.”
“I can’t believe she did that. I swear I’ve met crazy bitches, but she takes the cake for sure.”
“I agree with you completely. She’s digging such a hole for herself.”
“You want a whiskey and coke?” he asked before going back into the kitchen.
“Sure.”
“She brought up Jemma and how Jemma loved her and would have her on her show for an exclusive.”
“That’s a huge laugh. Jemma practically said she was good for business but not good for her followers.”
***
Hailey felt like the buzz was wearing off, but she was enjoying just talking to Jasper.
“I know I love that she’s scrambling, I just don’t know when things got so crazy.” His mood had shifted. That look was in his eye, the one he got before he switched gears on her.
“It will get better, Jasper. She has to give up, eventually. We just have to remain positive, you did really well tonight, not engaging her, you know that right?”
“I know, it’s just hard.” He sighed and took a big chug of whiskey.
“Is that why you drink, because you miss her. I mean what you had before she went crazy?”
“I don’t miss anything about her, she was toxic to me.”
“I mean there was sex so there had to be some feelings involved, right?” She was reaching, and she wasn’t exactly sure what she was reaching for.
“No, if you want to know the honest truth, I drink because I hate being famous.”
“You do?”
“Really! People would say that they would kill to be in my shoes, that I have everything I could want, and I’m being really selfish and petty. The thing is I was happy singing in dive bars and not knowing where our next gig was coming from. I felt authentic that way, now I just feel like a sell-out.”
“Wow, Jasper, I had no idea you felt that way.” Hailey didn’t know what to think. It was hard to imagine someone hating fame, but she thought about how it would make her feel. She would feel exposed, and that’s why she could see where he was coming from.
“So let’s talk about Matthew.” Just like that, he’d switched gears. He was back to being avoidance Jasper. She knew there was no use trying to get anything out of him after that.
“Well yeah, he just kind of kissed me and ran. We had a nice kiss after an okay date. For a while, he just talked about work but then I felt like he was listening to me. It was after the kissed that he turned kind of short on me. I invited him back to my place, and he declined and left. Was that wrong? Should I have just let him walk off and leave it like it was?”
“He just left when you invited him back to your house?”
“Yes, so of course I think there’s something wrong with me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you Hailey. He probably just became intimidated and didn’t want to embarrass himself.”
“So… you think he wanted to come back with me? That he just freaked and got too nervous?” Hailey ran that over in her mind. It was possible. Jasper was more in-tune to what a man would be thinking than she was.
“I know if it was me, I definitely would have gone back to your place.” Jasper smiled at her almost shyly and she was a little taken aback.
“That’s really nice of you to say, I think.” Hailey laughed, and she felt a little attracted to him. Really, who was she kidding, she was a lot attracted to him. It just wasn’t good business to get involved with your client.
She finished the dumpling she was eating, and moved away from the food and on the couch. “I’m going to be so fat, but that was so good.”
“You are not going to be fat, Hailey. You need to have more confidence in yourself. You have a good figure and you’re young, you need to show it off.”
She knew her clothing wasn’t the most flattering, but they were comfortable. And they reminded her of her grandma. Why couldn't people just see she was beautiful on the inside? She hated the superficial stuff on the outside.
“Thank you, I’m just more comfortable in loose fitting clothing. That’s all.”
***
He meant it, he would have taken her up on her offer to go home with her. The fact that she was in his home right now was dangerous. He’d just given her a lot of information about himself, once again oversharing to the strange little bird who seemed to be around when he was feeling truthful.
“I can’t imagine being famous,” she said and sipped on the drink. “I wouldn’t last a week. I can barely stand the anxiety of being at your side as little as I am.”
“Well that’s upsetting.” Smirking, he slid over on the couch closer to her. “I enjoy every minute I get to be at your side.”
Her cheeks flushed, but he was disappointed when she slid away from him just enough that he noticed.
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“I don’t know, Little Bird. I can’t read you sometimes.” Jasper reached out without thinking about it and touched her hair.
She jerked and turned to face him.
“I can’t read you sometimes either, Jasper.” She stood from the couch and moved across the room from him.
He wanted to follow her across the room, but he didn’t want to pressure her in any way.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean sometimes you say one thing but act a different way, or act one way and say something different. You confuse me. I know you are a nice guy. I can see it, but then you turn around and become Jasper the Jerk. It’s like you’re always battling with the real you and whatever façade you think you need to be in order to protect yourself. Sometimes I see this complex person, and then you change and you’re just another skirt-chasing hormone-charged man.”
“Is that what you think of Matthew, that he’s just after your skirt?” Jasper asked, not sure why, but he wanted the subject away from him.
“No, if he was anything like that he would have taken me up on my offer. No, I think he just doesn’t want me for some reason, and I’m basically trying to force him to.”
“I’m not like that you know.”
“Could have fooled me, Big Bird,” Hailey said, pacing back and forth in front of him. She was worked up into a frenzy. “There was Tara and then all the comments about boobs.”
Jasper stood. “Don’t you understand that’s a defense mechanism?” He moved across the room to her and she backed away.
“Against what?”
“People seeing who I am. You seeing who I am. I don’t want you to get too close, Hailey, I’ll only disappoint you.”
“Well,” her voice lowered, “Maybe you’re worth the risk.”
For a minute he believed her; maybe he could be good for her. Maybe they could be together somehow. A relationship wasn’t the most far-fetched thing when they were this close. He leaned in and put one hand on the side of her face. She closed her eyes, as he moved forward, and her hand ran up his arm. His body tingled with anticipation, and he was so close to kissing her, but he hesitated. That split second he waited was all it took.
Her eyes flew open, and she backed away quickly. “No, this was a mistake. I’m sorry, Jasper. I shouldn’t have come here.”
She moved toward the door and he wanted to go after her, but he just stared. He didn’t move, as she went out the door, her footsteps going down the hall. It wasn’t until he’d stood staring at the door for a minute that he realized he needed her to stay. They needed to talk about what just happened before it was awkward between them.
“Wait, Hailey,” he yelled.
She was long gone and out of the building. He caught up to her while she was trying to hail a cab. With no cab stopping, she crossed the street quickly and started down the sidewalk.
He cursed and looked both ways fast before he went after her. Somehow he must have missed the cab that was coming incredibly fast. He heard the horn and turned to see its bright lights before the impact hit him. Things
slowed down. He heard Hailey yell his name, he felt his body bend awkwardly as the cab smashed him in the side, and he felt his face hit the hood. After that, his body rolled off the cab and onto the ground. His ears started to ring with a high-pitched whine consuming all other sound, and his vision slowly narrowed until everything was black.
Continue reading in Managed 2. Go here to find out more.
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Managed 1: A Rock Star Romance Page 9