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No, she fucking didn’t.
My hands ball into fists, humiliation and anger infecting my body.
Ezra doesn’t move even an inch beside me, just relaxes into his chair as though he doesn’t have a care in the world. “Jessica,” he says, watching her gaze sweep to his. “Pack your shit. You’re fired.”
“What?” she demands, her eyes widening in shock. “That’s bullshit. You can’t fire me for expressing an opinion.”
“I can do whatever the fuck I want,” he says, as my knee bounces, desperately needing to rearrange her face. “Now pack your shit. You’re out of here.”
“But . . . no. There’s a show starting in an hour. You need me.” Jessica gets to her feet, looking between Lenny and the rest of the band, waiting for someone to tell Ezra he’s being dramatic, but no one does, no one even breathes a word.
“We sure as fuck don’t need you. Your performances are doing nothing but cheapening our show. In fact,” he says, turning his gaze toward Stacey. “You might as well pack your shit too. I’m done having these two fawn all over me on stage. It’s humiliating.”
Stacey sucks in a breath, and I almost feel sorry for her. I don’t exactly like her, but she’s never been a bitch to me the way Jessica has. “But—”
“Don’t worry,” Ezra continues. “We’ll pay out the rest of your contract, and you’re more than welcome to stay here the rest of the week on us. Live it up a little. I’m just . . . The show doesn’t require dancers. We never should have hired them.”
Lenny cringes. “I’m sorry, girls. I’m inclined to agree with him. And of course, Stacey, we’ll pay out your contract, and you can stay if you’d like. As for you, Jessica, why the fuck are you still here?”
Her eyes widen in horror as though having those words come directly from Lenny’s mouth is the finality she needed, and bless her cotton socks, the bitch looks like she might cry. Only, those sad eyes quickly turn toward me, and the sadness morphs into pure, undiluted hate. “I bet you begged him for it. Quit playing the victim and realize that every lie you play up to the media only dirties your brother’s legacy. You should be ashamed of yourself. Or maybe you should just go back home and beg Daddy for more, you fucking whore.”
It’s all I can take, and I spring from my chair, more than ready to put the bitch in the ground. Jessica screams in terror and makes a break for the door, only I don’t get very far when Dylan’s strong arm locks around my waist. “LET ME GO!”
Ezra murmurs beside me, his gaze shifting to Dylan’s as the desperation pulses through me, knowing Jessica is getting away without the ass-whooping she deserves. “Let her go. Let’s see what happens.”
Mmmm. Nobody ever claimed Ezra didn’t know how to please me.
Dylan’s hold around my waist begins to loosen, and I see red, the rage building up behind my eyes, so potent I could explode. I can almost taste the blood.
“I swear to God, Dylan,” Lenny warns. “You let go of that girl and your life won’t be worth living.”
“Uhhhhhhh . . .” he says, not knowing where to go from here, but realizing there’s not a chance in hell that I’d catch her, the fight begins to fade from my chest, and my body relaxes in Dylan’s hold. “You good now, Rae? You’re not about to beat a bitch?”
I shrug my shoulders, never having felt so dejected.
How could someone just say something like that?
Ezra steps into my path, and as Dylan releases me, I fall right into Ezra’s arms. “It’s okay,” he tells me. “You never have to see her again.”
“But, she said—”
“I know. I heard her,” he says. “And don’t you worry. Just because you didn’t get the chance to beat her ass doesn’t mean I can’t still ruin her. She’ll never work again, Rae. I’ll make sure of it, and she’ll know it has everything to do with what she just said here. She’s not getting away with this.”
I swallow over the lump in my throat and nod as Lenny desperately tries to dissolve the meeting. “Alright, everybody. Let’s have a great show tonight. You’re all excused. Get a good meal in and remember to hydrate, and let’s hope that tonight goes off without a hitch.”
The crew begins filing out of the room until it’s just me, Lenny, and the guys left behind.
“Are you okay?” Lenny asks, striding up to me and bracing his hand on my shoulder.
I give him a tight smile. “No,” I tell him, deciding honesty is probably best. “I, ummm . . . If it’s not a problem, I think I might skip out on the show tonight and just chill in my hotel room.”
“Of course,” he says. “We don’t require your presence at the shows. You know that.”
“Are you sure?” Ezra asks. “I don’t want you being alone like that. Maybe we should cancel tonight and reschedule. I don’t—”
“The fuck we will,” Lenny grunts as Dylan and Rock throw in their immediate objections as well. Canceling a show isn’t something they should ever do lightly, and the fact that Ezra is even willing to let down over fifty thousand fans just to be there with me means more than he could ever know.
“I’m not about to let you do that,” I tell him. “I’ll be okay. I’ll just chill in our room, maybe take a bath with a glass of champagne and watch the live stream of the show. I’ll be there in spirit, and when you get back, we can—”
