Chapter Thirteen
Nathan
I leaned up on my elbow and gazed down at Rich with intense warm feelings coursing through my veins as the light streamed through the curtains falling onto his body. He looked so sweet just lying there with a peaceful, trouble free expression on his face. It made my heart open even more to him.
It had been a massive surprise to have him turn up at my door like that. I never would’ve expected it, but I was so glad that he had. I felt now that we could make things work. It wasn’t going to be easy. Rich hadn’t ever been in a relationship before, and his future with the band was in the balance. I didn’t exactly have it together either, but together we could find a way to make it happen. I felt certain of it. If we were on the same page, we could weather anything.
At least, I hoped. Maybe if I wished it hard enough it would become the truth.
I slid out from the bed carefully, desperate not to wake him, and I padded my way into the kitchen. Once there, I flicked the radio on, sang tunelessly along to the latest pop song playing, and started cooking a lovely breakfast. It was the least we deserved now.
“I don’t knooow where you aaare, and I miiiiss yooou!” I belted the words out like no one was listening, but unfortunately someone was. And it was someone with a wonderful voice too which was hugely embarrassing. It was safe to say that my talents did not lie in music.
“You sound like an angel,” Rich teased, making me jump out of my skin. “What a wonderful treat to wake up to. What are you cooking?”
“Bacon and pancakes.” I shoved the plate down in front of him with a massive grin spread across my cheeks. I wasn’t even humiliated really. I didn’t feel like I needed to be anymore. So what if I couldn’t sing? That hardly mattered, did it? “How are you feeling today?”
Before he got a chance to answer, the news reporter on the radio stopped him in his tracks, “…and now we’re talking about the rumors that Morton are in big trouble. Sources have reported that they’ve already split and they’re just waiting for the right time to announce it…”
Rich sighed deeply. His head fell forwards into his hands and his shoulders hunched up around his ears. This hurt him and I knew it needed to be fixed before he could truly be happy. I wanted him to feel the same exhilaration that I was currently experiencing.
“All you need to do is put on a happy front,” I told him reassuringly. “Go back to the band and fix things. You know it’s more about appearances than anything else.”
“I don’t want it to be that way anymore. I want to make things up with my boys for real…” Whoa, this was heavy. This meant even more to him than I first thought.
“Then you should do that.” Finally, I had a way I could help. Maybe I didn’t know the band, and I wasn’t totally sure how Rich could make things right with them, but I could at the very least be supportive. “Go and speak to them, really make things right.”
“There’s still time to record.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “We have songs ready to go. If we could just get one of them out to the public it would change everything. There’s no clearer way to send the message that all is okay than to bring out a new song…” He trailed off as he realized that I was still staring at him. “Oh, but I don’t want to leave you right now.”
“Go,” I laughed merrily. “Go on and sort out your band stuff. I promise you that I’m not going anywhere.”
He stood up and moved around the table before clutching onto my hands. “But I don’t want to start this by leaving you.”
“It won’t be for long. Plus you have the rest of the tour to complete anyway. The last thing I want is for you to give up the band for me.”
We shared a look, one that bonded us tightly together. There was something there between us, a powerful sensation that wove around us and clung us together. We wanted one another, and I genuinely felt like we could make it work... but first we had to work on ourselves.
***
‘Put your radio on in one hour, and you’ll hear our new song! Xx’
I smiled at my cell phone screen before hastily tapping out a reply, ‘I will if I’m out of this interview by then! Xx’
‘Good luck! I’ll be thinking of you xx’
“Nathan Riggs?” I dropped my phone into my pocket as the lady finally got to me. “Can you come through, please?”
My heart thundered in my chest as I rose to my feet. I’d been to a lot of job interviews over the last three weeks, just trying to find the position that sparked any kind of inspiration in me, but none of them had made me feel anything.
Well, until now.
. This wasn’t a building like all the others, it wasn’t white and silver and sleek, making a posh impression. There was artwork all over the walls, color everywhere I looked, it felt more like a studio than a place of work.
It was creative, and I honestly felt inspired. I could feel a bubble of passion forming in my chest.
“Ah, hello, Mr. Riggs.” The owner of the company, the one who was about to interview me, sat in front of a desk filled with odd pages of artwork scattered across it. His t-shirt and jeans combo made me feel a little silly in my smart, crisp suit, but what else was I supposed to wear to a job interview? At least if I did start to work here I wouldn’t always have to look top notch. “My name is Taylor. Please, take a seat.”
“Thank you, Taylor.” I shook his hand, enjoying his firm grip, and let my butt fall into the soft chair. “I really appreciate you having me.”
“Okay, I’m going to let you know from the offset that this isn’t going to be like a normal interview. I’m not going to ask you your five-year plan or what you think you can bring to the business, because no one knows what the future will hold and I’ve seen your resume. I want this to be more of an informal chat. I guess I want to know where your passion lies, and to see if you have any questions for me. I don’t know about you, but I always feel like I get a lot more of the truth from anyone that way.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding. “That sounds perfect.” This was it, this was the place where I wanted to work. I’d never felt such passion inside of me before. Now it was my time to shine and force that to happen. It was time to be utterly open. “I absolutely love this place. I instantly got a real feel of it when I walked inside. You’re much more about work and creativity than anything else.”
“Yes, our clients know how we work. We don’t put on a show. We’re real and honest. That hasn’t ever hindered us, and we’ve worked for massive clients: fast food companies, pop drinks, celebrities.” I had to stop the smirk from forming on my mouth thinking about the one celebrity I knew. “If you were to come and work for us, it would start as a trial period which could then turn into a real position. That’s just to confirm to us that you’re right for the job, and to ensure that you’re happy here. Is that something you would be okay with?”
“Oh yeah, sure, that sounds great.” After leaving somewhere where everything had to be ‘by the book’ regardless of the consequences, I would be more than happy with this relaxed approach. “And I’ve seen a lot of the campaigns you did. The television ad you did with cola was inspired. I loved the way it got people talking. You managed to make it controversial but in a positive way.”
“Our creative hub is incredible. Would you like to see it?”
As I followed him down the hallways of the building I hoped would become my second home, I felt extraordinarily positive. All the interviewees before me had been in and out rapidly, and now that I’d met Taylor I could see why. They were all the stiff formal types who wanted to be an executive one day, and EMecap wasn’t about that. They weren’t right, and it seemed that Taylor had a nose for that, sniffing them out before anyone wasted time.
Maybe, just maybe I had a real chance here. I didn’t want to get carried away, but there was a definite potential here.
“So this is Hank, Sali, Mel…”
Taylor introduced me to all the guys and girls I hoped I would end up working alongside and they showed me a selection of the work that they were currently completing. With each and every campaign I examined I felt that bubble of happiness swell and grow in my chest.
This was my calling. It had to be.
The room was wide, spacious, airy, and it had a happy atmosphere to it. I adored it, and I wanted it to fit into the final missing jigsaw piece of my life. With Rich in my life now, I actually felt worthwhile. Without that confidence, I never would’ve been brave enough to even try this. I just hoped and prayed that it worked out in the way I so desperately wanted it to.
***
I flicked the radio on the second I slid back into the driver’s seat of my car, a positive glow encasing me. That had gone well, better than any of my other interviews, and I was sure I was going to get it. I couldn’t wait to tell Alex and the others that I had something better waiting for me. I was looking forward to the moment I could finally leave them all behind with a metaphorical flick of my middle finger.
Especially at Tandi. God, I couldn’t wait to never see her and her judgmental, irritating nature again.
Although maybe when I didn’t have to see her every day, she wouldn’t seem too bad. Only time would tell.
Now I just needed to be patient while I waited on the phone call I hoped would change my life forever. It wouldn’t be easy, I’d probably go insane in the process, but I had no other choice.
“Okay everyone, this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Morton’s brand new track…”
I glanced at my watch, realizing that I’d only just made it to hear what Rich had been working on. Things seemed to be going well for him, from what I’d heard through our sporadic messages, and I couldn’t wait to hear the results of that.
“This one is titled Forever Yours, and here it is.”
My eyes unexpectedly welled up as Rich’s melodic voice burst through the speakers as I drove. It was nice to feel that closeness to him, even if he wasn’t here, and even though I knew the lyrics had been written a long time before we had anything together, it was nice to imagine that Rich had written them just for me.
Me and about a million other fans were probably feeling the same way, but I was the only one who had a genuine reason to believe they even could be.