Page 152 of The Encore’s Crown

Kasia touches my arm.

“Nat, you should probably sit down.”

Kiri

I lean against the bedroom door, clothes bundled against my chest with my phone in one hand.

Four percent. Almost noon?

How the fuck did that happen?

The Natalia Effect.

My entire life has been upside down since she stepped into it, but I can’t exactly complain. I pull on my boxers, then my pants, moving as quietly as I can while voices carry through the suite.

Outside, Natalia says, “You look like a puppy just died. A puppy didn’t just die, right?”

“Nat,” Kasia says, “you should probably sit down.”

I hear Natalia lower herself onto the couch with a sigh.

Then Rafe speaks.

Rafe? What the fuck is he doing here?

“So,” he begins, already sounding uncomfortable, “Stefan was going to come over himself, but he figured this might be easier to process coming from us. From me, since I’m sort of representing the label right now.”

Sort of.

I push one arm into my shirt and scoff silently.

“He said the formalities they’d normally employ might feel a bit aggressive here. The intimidating office, all the paralegals, the boardroom full of lawyers.”

Yeah, yeah, get on with it.

“So, anyway.”

Jesus Christ, Rafe.

“Julian is stepping down. Officially, he’s chosen to accept a similar position with another label.”

I stop buttoning my shirt.

Bullshit.

Julian was far too smug last night to resign voluntarily. He knew I’d thrown the first punch. Knew he had enough power to make my life miserable even if he couldn’t destroy the band outright. Men like him don’t surrender before lunch the next day. Radhika. The Malhotra's. It has to be. Julian insulted their daughter in a room full of important people while assuming he was still the most powerful person in the room. Apparently, someone's corrected him.

“That wasn’t something Stefan negotiated,” Rafe continues. “Julian offered.”

Definitely the Malhotra's.

Natalia asks, “He just offered to leave?”

“That’s what Stefan said.”

“Doesn't that seem a little convenient?”

“Yeah,” Rafe says. “But nobody’s objecting.”