Idol

‘I love what I do and I’m very ambitious,’ she warned him, her face becoming steely as it always did when she talked about her career. ‘I’m going places. I’m just waiting for the right break, but I know I’ll make it.’

‘I’m sure you will,’ Paul agreed. ‘You’ve got the right attitude, a beautiful face, and’ – here he looked her up and down with barely concealed lust – ‘the hottest body I’ve seen in a very long time.’

‘Thanks,’ Sadie said coolly. She didn’t feel he was flattering her; his comments were pretty accurate as far as she was concerned. ‘What about you? How do you earn your millions?’

‘Oh please,’ Paul shook his head in mock deprecation. ‘I only make millions if it’s a particularly good year.’

‘Yes, I can see you’re practically on the breadline,’ Sadie teased, stretching luxuriously in the enormous bed.

‘I’m in finance,’ Paul explained. Sadie looked at him quizzically and he continued, ‘I work for a private equity firm in the City. I deal with clients who have more money than they know what to do with – and I make them even more. It’s about turning millionaires into billionaires,’ he boasted. ‘Increasingly I’m handling single clients, rather than corporations – high net-worth individuals who’ve made their money in business or in the entertainment world. We invest their money and take a percentage of the profits.’

‘Do you enjoy it?’ Sadie asked curiously.

‘I love it,’ Paul replied without hesitation. ‘It affords me a fantastic lifestyle, and I work damn hard for it. I play hard too,’ he added, with a wink.

‘I can tell. This room’s gorgeous,’ Sadie commented, looking around properly at her surroundings for the first time. They’d been in such a hurry to tear each other’s clothes off that she’d hardly even noticed where she was. Hell, she couldn’t even remember if they’d locked the door.

‘Oh, this is nothing,’ Paul said dismissively. ‘Rooms in Europe are tiny compared to those in the States. And I always say that a room’s not a room unless it comes with a hot tub,’ he grinned.

Sadie smiled back, saying nothing. Her eyes flicked over the enormous armchairs, the deep pile carpets and the heavy wooden writing desk. Discreet Bang & Olufsen speakers were mounted on either side of the bed, and the whole place was decorated in a classic colour scheme of chocolate and cream. Sadie thought that if this was what Paul casually dismissed as ‘nothing’, she’d love to see his idea of luxury.

‘But it is very discreet,’ he explained as he moved towards her. His eyes were dancing, and Sadie knew exactly what was on his mind. Undoubtedly he was hot, and the things he did to her drove her wild. But there could be other advantages to this situation, she realized. This was the lifestyle she wanted – the expensive clothes, the hotels, the hot tubs. Yeah, she could definitely get used to this. Not that she wanted to become anyone’s wife – hell, no, she was still totally focused on her career, dead set on becoming a success. But maybe Paul could help her with that. Having a gorgeous, loaded man who adored her might turn out to be very helpful indeed. He’d mentioned clients in the entertainment industry – she wondered if he had any good contacts.

Sadie leaned forward so that her breasts pressed against his chest and gazed up at him with wide, innocent eyes. ‘I just realized I never thanked you for the meal …’ she murmured.

‘You can thank me now,’ Paul said, twisting her long, dark hair around his fingers and gently pushing her downwards to where his erection was growing once again. He sighed with pleasure as he felt her warm lips slide over his cock, her tongue gently flickering over the head. Then he settled back against the pillows, and smiled in satisfaction.

6

Despite Jenna’s change of clothing, the following day’s recording was the usual tense affair. She bounced into Sarm Studios looking radiant, with her long blonde hair freshly washed. For once she hadn’t blow-dried it, letting the natural wave take over and tumble softly down her back. Her make-up was subtle, and she had added just a touch of lip gloss. Tod’s loafers and a delicate pair of pearl earrings completed the image.

‘Wow Jenna, you look … real classy …’ Nick finished before he could stop himself.

Jenna laughed a little too loudly, hoping her cover hadn’t been blown. ‘What’s the matter, can’t I dress like a lady once in a while?’ she joked, looking away nervously as Zac sauntered into the studio.

‘All right?’ he enquired gruffly, barely looking at her.

‘Not bad,’ she replied civilly. ‘You?’

Zac picked up his guitar, throwing the shoulder strap across his slim, muscular back. He began to strum absentmindedly.

‘Yeah,’ he replied, meeting her gaze for once. ‘I’m good.’

‘Excellent,’ replied Jenna irritably, wondering why his flippant remark annoyed her so much. Why did he always have to seem so in control of every situation, making her feel as though everything she said was juvenile and ridiculous?

‘Going somewhere special?’ he asked easily.

‘I just felt like a change, all right?’ Jenna snapped back, as Zac smiled benignly.

The day went downhill from there.

Although Zac rarely openly criticized Jenna, there was a distinctly uncomfortable atmosphere that never seemed to lift. Something, somewhere, wasn’t quite gelling, and the music so far was worryingly second-rate. Despite rarely voicing his opinions, it seemed obvious what Zac thought of her – that she was lazy and uncommitted – and Jenna was worried that the production staff privately agreed with him. Stories had already begun to circulate in the media about how the Jenna/Phoenix collaboration might be over before it had even begun, and Jenna had been leaning hard on Gerry to stop these stories and get some positive stuff out there.

Suddenly she caught sight of her reflection in the glass wall of the production box and twisted slowly from side to side, wondering if this change of image really suited her. The knee-length skirt was unflattering, and from the side her calves looked enormous …

‘Damn – sorry,’ she apologized, as she missed her intro. ‘I was miles away.’

‘Try to concentrate, sweetheart,’ Don pleaded wearily, sinking his head into his hands.

‘Sorry guys. I’m ready now.’

‘That’s good of you,’ muttered Zac under his breath.

He glanced across at Jenna with a lingering trace of exasperation. She looked so vulnerable standing alone in the vocal booth, her eyes large and downcast, twirling her hair round her fingers with embarrassed discomfort. Okay, so he couldn’t deny that she was sexy. But she was also infuriating as hell, Zac insisted to himself. It was her whole damn attitude – the way she just swanned around in cute little outfits, flirting with the crew and thinking that she could charm Don and get away with second-rate work. Even the more demure clothes she was wearing today couldn’t hide that magnificent figure. Zac had been as surprised as anyone when she’d turned up looking like a society deb who’d been dressed by her mother, but Jenna Jonsson could probably still look hot in a garbage bag, he realized, his eyes skimming involuntarily over her rounded thighs, curving in to an impossibly slender waist. The neutral make-up served to highlight her mesmerizing eyes and plump, inviting lips …

‘Zac?’ Don’s voice came angry and questioning from behind the mixing desk.

‘Sorry, what?’ Zac looked around, confused.

‘Your solo?’

Zac glanced down stupidly at his guitar, which was hanging uselessly at his waist. ‘Now?’ he asked, stalling for time.

‘Well, preferably thirty seconds ago, but yeah, it tends to follow the bridge.’

‘Sorry, I was miles away,’ he replied, mimicking Jenna. ‘Can we go again?’

‘Looks like I’m not the only one who can fuck up,’ Jenna couldn’t resist commenting. She aimed the remark at Nick, but it was easily loud enough for Zac to hear, which was her intention.

He turned on her angrily, enraged by her arrogance and maddened that she was the reason for his lack of focus. ‘Yeah, I fuck up occasionally because I’m human,’ he shouted. ‘What I don’t do is fuck up every other take, because I’m too busy checking out my own goddamn reflection!’

There was a deathly silence in the studio.

‘Screw you,’ Jenna spat, her eyes gleaming angrily and her breath coming fast.

The tension was palpable. No one spoke, but all eyes were on the pair.

‘Grow up, Jenna,’ Zac said quietly. ‘Think of somebody else for once.’ He looked down at the floor, not trusting himself to meet her eyes.

For Jenna, the remark hurt all the more because she knew it was true. She’d been behaving like a spoiled brat and she hated herself for it, but she would rather have died than admit it to that condescending arsehole. She glanced across at him through narrowed eyes. His chest rose and fell quickly under his T-shirt, indicating his fury. His dark hair had fallen across his forehead and stubbornly stayed there.

‘For fuck’s sake,’ roared Don exasperatedly. ‘Are we finished now, children? Can we get on with it?’

Zac lifted his gaze and glared at Jenna, his dark brown eyes boring into her own. ‘I’m outta here,’ he announced, swinging his guitar strap over his head as Jenna threw up her hands in exasperation.

‘Zac?’ Don yelled pleadingly. He wondered what the hell had got into the guy. He was usually so pleasant and laid back, but since Little Miss Pop Sensation had turned up, he’d been foul-tempered and snappy, constantly catting with Jenna. What was it with those two, he wondered?

Don sighed to himself. One thing he was sure of was that this track would bomb if the group couldn’t get on. If it could be done well, the music would be dynamite, no doubt about it. It was just a question of getting these kids to bond, and work together.