Overdue - A Rockstar Romance

Chapter 11 - Elliott

"Looks like your girl from yesterday is going to be fine. Madison is taking credit for rejecting you." Erik barely glanced up from his laptop as he spoke.

"Who?" I frowned, moving round to peer at the article he was reading.

"Madison Taylor. Model from the shoot." He said scrolling to a picture and tilting the screen so I could see.

"What? Whip-my-hair-back-and-forth Barbie?" I blinked in shock.

He snorted and then faked a falsetto voice, "He seemed sweet but as soon as I rejected him, he had me cut from the shoot."

"Did she actually say that?" anger shot through me and I grabbed the laptop pulling it closer so I could read.

"Careful with the goods bro." Erik peeled my fingers off his screen as I read on.

"Madison confessed that she has been dating a well-known popstar for the last 3 months which is why she felt she had to reject the troubled pop-rock icon's advances." I read out loud, anger mounting as I spoke. "Troubled?" I spluttered.

Of course, there had been rumours when I had gone into rehab but they were to be expected and nothing had been confirmed.

"Forget her man. At least the girl you were so worried about is in the clear." Chris soothed, striding across the kitchen and dumping his bowl in the dishwasher.

He was right I supposed. Even if this was a pack of lies, at least Phoebe was kept out of it.

She had done nothing to deserve the attention the press would undoubtedly give her if they knew. Not to mention the fans.

"You're right." I huffed, throwing myself back into my seat and returning to my bowl of coco pops.

I had pretty much lost my appetite. "Hi guys." Victoria bounced in, her face way too bright and cheery for this time of the morning.

When we didn't immediately react, she frowned, "I've seen the news stories. Don't worry we are dealing with Madison. I'll get her to publicly apologise."

"Nah it's okay." I mumbled.

"I'm still getting the agency to drop her, or we drop them. Can't have girls we use in the videos going to the press like that." She shrugged.

"Just keep Phoebe out of it." I mumbled, moving to the sink to dump my bowl.

Victoria stared for a moment before her lips curved into a smile. "O-kay," she said slowly, "So did anyone get Phoebe's number? Might be worth checking on her?"

She tried to act casual, but mischief sparkled in her eyes and I didn't trust that face. "Nah, I'm sure she's fine." I mumbled.

"I could go and check on her if you want?" Chris offered.

"Hell no." I snarled, shooting him a glare.

He laughed, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "I was kidding bro."

"Just leave her. I got the message loud and clear, she's not interested." I growled.

"Hun, I was there when you were singing to her. The girl was definitely interested." Victoria tilted her head and raised an eyebrow as if to say, you must have seen it too.

"That's not what she said to me."

"Maybe she's been burned before? Unless you're planning a quick fling, she might be worth the effort." She offered.

That made me stop a moment. The idea that someone might have hurt her sent a sharp burst of anger through me. But was I looking for anything more than a quick fling? This life didn't really allow you to easily place roots. A new girl in every town on tour was exciting but it soon got old. With my sobriety and career in a tentative balance I couldn't afford any distractions.

Not even ones in the shape of beautiful, blushing, curvy librarians.

"I hope she meets someone who's got the time to deal with all that." I said coldly.

I saw Erik's face snap up to look at me and Victoria looked disappointed. They weren't making doing the right thing easy.

"So, what have we got on today Vic?" Chris broke the tension with a wink.

I could have sworn Victoria looked caught in his playboy spell for a second but then she snapped into instant professionalism. Her finger trailed down the clipboard she was holding. "We've got a magazine interview at two followed by a photoshoot for them and then the promo pictures for the new album." She looked us all over, "The first set of promo pictures were good, but we need some more group ones. I want them to capture that energy you have on stage."

"I don't think I have that energy when I'm offstage." I confessed.

"I thought you might say that. That's why you're going to be playing a small private gig at the Whitmore." She grinned.

Kyle who had been quietly strumming his guitar in the corner sat up suddenly, "A gig? For who?"

Victoria's smile looked a little forced, "A group of just under two hundred fans. They've agreed to let us take photos so we can get the last of the promo shots. All you need to do is sing, play and do your thing."

She waggled her fingers as though comparing our music to magic. Normally I would have loved the comparison but right now I was focused on Victoria's shifty look.

"Who is the gig for?" she winced as I spoke, and I knew I had hit the nail on the head.

"It's a twenty-first birthday party." She said evasively.

I groaned, it had been a long time since I had played at birthday but the memory of being pawed at by a load of drunk girls only a little older than we were, convinced they could teach you so much, was one that stuck with you.

"Whose birthday?" Erik asked his voice tight, reassuring me that I wasn't the only one who remembered it.

Victoria sighed, "Willa Whitmore. The heiress to the Whitmore fortune."

Oh, even better than drunk party girl. Drunk rich entitled party girl.

Maybe I shouldn't judge her before I've even met her. After all, I know just how much the press can twist things.

But I had seen this girl in the gossip mags, falling out of a few too many clubs with a couple of familiarly bad faces and my opinions formed.

She moved with a bad crowd; one it had taken rehab to help me see the dangers of.

I closed my eyes. I could handle this. I didn't need the drink. I didn't need those people. I had all the support I needed right here.

My eyes opened and connected with Erik. I saw his questioning look. Ready to shut this down if I asked.

I shook my head. I was done with running from my problems. Facing my mistakes was part of my programme and I was going to do just that.