The Rockstar's Juliet

Another Bad Day

Rushing to get to the elevator, Juliet ignored the noise of her heels clicking on the marble floor. The sound made people turn around and stare. The usual silent lobby was not so silent anymore because she overslept. It wasn't like her, she was the type of girl who arrived twenty minutes too early and never twenty too late. Pushing the elevator button a few times she hoped the damn thing would arrive a little sooner. She cursed when she noticed it was stuck on the third floor. Spinning around she headed for the stairs. She reached the seventh floor out of breath and sweaty. Pulling her hair up in a messy ponytail she met the gaze of her manager who just stepped out of the meeting room, laptop in hand and a disapproving look in her blue eyes.

"You're late."

That was obvious, but Juliet didn't voice her thoughts. Instead she walked with her manager to her office and took a seat on the chair in front of her desk. The older woman placed her laptop down and sat back in her chair, shaking her head at Juliet.

"Hon, you're a mess." She handed Juliet a compact mirror and shifted her gaze back to her laptop, "I'll let this one pass considering you're never late."

Juliet sighed, leaning back in her chair. Defeated and feeling uncomfortable, "I know. I'm off my game today. Missed the stupid bus, then I nearly broke my neck and finally the elevator was stuck on the third floor and I had to take the stairs-" She gestured to her outfit, "Thus my messy appearance."

Her manager looked up, her blue eyes glistering with amusement, "We all have a bad day." She told her, "But I have a job for you which will hopefully make this day better."

Juliet leaned forward in her chair, "Do tell Clair."

"You know Dustin Hanson?"

Juliet raised an eyebrow at her manager, "The question is who doesn't know Dustin Hanson?" She settled back in her chair and laughed, "That would be people with morals and high standards. Also people who don't live on the internet twenty-four-seven."

Clair pointed a finger at her, "You better not show this attitude when you're meeting Dustin Hanson to interview him."

Now she was wide awake again and not cranky because her morning so far had been a mess.

"Excuse me?"

Clair didn't look as cheerful as a minute ago, she probably assumed Juliet would have loved the new job which she assigned her to. She knew any other writer would have jumped at the opportunity. Dustin Hanson was the right person to do business with to get your name out there. But he wasn't the kind of person she wanted her name linked to. Unlike other people she did care about morals and that man had none. Dated more women he could handle, drank too much which made him a nuisance at social events and rumors had it he was also doing drugs these days. Him wanting to start fresh and dedicate more time to his music and fans was just a publicity stunt. She knew it and any other sane person knew this too. Yet the harsh reality was that men like Dustin Hanson were worshipped by women. He was dark and dangerous and women threw themselves at his feet. They didn't care he broke the law multiple times and treated people around him like shit. They were obsessed and couldn't see past the looks anymore. This was the one time she had to refuse a job offer.

"Clair-"

"This is a huge opportunity, Juliet."

"Yes, I realize it is, but I do not support his behavior. And I most definitely will not help him trick people to get paid so he can afford his obnoxious lifestyle."

Clair closed her laptop which was a first. No matter what the occasion was the woman always had her mailbox open, ready to respond to whoever needed her attention. The same with her phone. It worried Juliet that Clair found her reaction that interesting.

"You're a freelancer so you think you can pick the jobs you want, but that's not the case, honey. When I ask you to write an article you do it."

Juliet narrowed her eyes on her manager, "Are you threatening me?"

"I'm reminding you how things work around here."

"You're telling me to play nice or what?"

"Or I'll make sure you won't ever write another piece for a magazine." Clair smiled, a vicious smile which didn't reach her blue eyes, "You're the only freelancer available this week and I need this article done by Monday. You know the magazine always gets printed on the fifteenth."

"Then you should have planned this interview sooner!"

"I wanted to, but Dustin couldn't do it sooner. If you have been keeping up with Social Media you know he was in Asia wrapping up his tour."

Juliet slumped back in her chair, "Why the article?"

"We're doing a giveaway, in exchange he gets free publicity."

Clair handed her the planning of the September edition. Scanning through the dates, articles and advertisement Juliet felt her stomach clench when she also noticed a photoshoot scheduled for Dustin. He was getting a lot more than two pages, which was a big deal.

"So he is giving away four signed copies and you're giving him two pages and a photoshoot?"

"Well, you might not like him but the truth is seventy percent of our readers do like him. A lot. We're printing ten thousand extra copies because we're confident it will sell."

Juliet sighed, "Great, this is how the world works now. We don't praise people who actually make a difference. Doing charity and actually being good people. No, instead we make sure the assholes get paid a shitload of money so they can bang women and drown in alcohol."

Clair laughed, finding her rant highly amusing, "You quite done?"

Juliet shook her head, making her ponytail move from side to side, "No, I'm just beginning to vent about how unfair the world has become lately. But let's talk business instead. I need a time and place."

They discussed her new job in detail and Clair made her promise not to let her emotions get the better of her. Juliet knew she wasn't a skilled actress, but like any other woman she could fake smile and laugh. Pretending they were okay with things when they were not.

...

"Hey, you free tonight?" Juliet pressed her phone between her shoulder and ear while she tried to unlock her apartment door, "I need to get wasted and grind against some hot guys."

On the other end of the line Chloe laughed, "Yes, I'm free tonight, but just so you know I'm okay with getting wasted, my fiancé however will not be okay with me grinding against some hot guys."

"I'll do the grinding you can watch." Juliet kicked the door closed behind her and chuckled when Chloe called her names. She didn't take it by heart knowing the girl loved her no matter what, "But seriously you up for tonight? I had a shitty day, I just need to let go and forget."

Dumping her bag on the couch, Juliet kicked off her heels and headed to the kitchen. She went through her cupboard while holding her phone to her ear and listening to Chloe and her fiancé Tyler make plans for tonight. She found her favorite box of cereal and started to snack on it, needing some food in her belly. If she was going to drink she needed some food in her stomach to make sure she wouldn't pass out after two shots.

"Okay so Tyler will drop us off and pick us up. We'll crash at my place."

"Sounds good." Juliet agreed, "I suppose having a fiancé around isn't just so you can ride him every morning and night to have your fill on orgasms but also a personal driver. God, maybe I should reconsider this dating thing."

"Keep your sarcasm to yourself will you." Chloe didn't sound upset though, "Tyler is a great man and you know it."

"I know." Juliet agreed, "You're a lucky girl, Chloe. And I mean it."

"That's sweet." Chloe laughed, "And Tyler says thanks by the way. He loves you too."

Smiling Juliet ended the call and headed to the bedroom, getting ready for her night out. She showered, dressed in a little black dress and heels. She curled her hair and did her make-up dramatic. Smokey eyes and a nude matt lip color. She filled her clutch with money, keys, her phone, condoms and make-up and then left the apartment.