Capítulo 157: Chapter 157
I hate this city, Pearl thought to herself. She had not had the best experiences there.
Dylan grabbed her luggage and helped her carry her things into the hotel, through the swarm of photogs outside. They were relentless now that Pearl had been spotted with Erik.
"Well, well if it isn't the belle of the ball." Ian greeted them with a hug. He leaned closer to Pearl. "I hear the best way to get back at a lying, slimy, shit fucker for an ex is to galavant all over Europe with the royal family, then have the prince of fucking England knock him to next Thursday. I need to take some lessons from my bad bitch bestie." Pearl smiled and hugged him.
"I missed you," She said.
"Same kid. Same."
She wanted to ask him about Carys and the baby but she figured they would have their time for that.
"I want to talk to you about Seattle," Pearl said.
"Oh yeah? What about?" He asked.
"I might want to buy a home there," She said. "My company has it's main base there and it's closer to LA for the band. It's ideal really. Or somewhere close to there."
"You need to move to Tahoe. Or Montana. Seattle is over rated," He said.
"Well, can't hurt to look into it, right?"
"You want to be neighbor? Rad," He said and started signing "Won't you be my neighbor" loudly in the lobby.
"Sure. We can talk about whatever you'd like. I'll let my realtor know you're looking," He said, giving her a wink.
John arrived along with the rest of the band and they all hugged and caught up. Pearl got settled in her room and ran a bath. The jet lag was still there and if she was going to get any sleep she needed to work hard at relaxing.
A little while later, John knocked on her door.
"Pearl. Can we talk a minute?" He asked.
"Of course. Come in," She said, tightening her towel.
"A couple of things. I gotta tell you, the publicity you're getting from this faux marriage to Rhys and your new friendship with the prince of England is doing nothing but helping make the band famous and a success. The paparazzi outside the hotel when we came in was ridiculous."
She sighed. You should have seen them in Italy, Pearl thought.
"I just wanted to make sure you're ok," He said.
"I'm actually doing well. Thank you, though," She said, hugging him.
"Also, I need to know everything you feel comfortable telling me. I'm going to have to field questions. And I need to know what you feel comfortable talking about in interviews."
She started the coffee maker and told him to get comfortable, it was going to be a long night.
"Pearl, are you thinking there could be a serious relationship and future between the two of you?" John asked after she told him everything.
"I don't know. I don't think so. It's so hard to predict with the many factors involved."
"Wow. I didn't realize it had evolved so quickly." He sipped his coffee and shifted in his seat. Pearl could tell he wasn't sure how to proceed this. She wasn't even sure how to.
"It wasn't all that quickly." She then told him about meeting him in LA that night and their nights at the Chateau.
"Ok. Thank you for telling me. I know you trust me with it. I just wanted to be prepared for whatever was coming at me. And it sounds like it might be a lot." She nodded. "Also, I am staying with him in LA next week and I'm almost certain he will be attending the Stones concert in Seattle."
He thanked her, hugged her and left her to her room. She drained the tub and laid on the bed, exhausted after telling her story.
They were backstage at the tonight show when John came in and handed Pearl the list of questions she would be asked. It was simple stuff like how long had they been a band, etc. They performed two songs, the first was their current hit and the second one was Pearl's favorite on the album. They were debuting their music video as well on the show. Pearl had a quick second to check it out before she emailed it to Auggie. He was excited that she remembered.
After their first performance, the crowd cheered and the host came out to ask the questions. He got through the first three and then he blindsided her.
"So, you were never really married to Holden Tomlinson? His people are on record saying that it was just vows." Pearl took a deep breath and nodded but said nothing. She didn't want to get into it on television.
"And you're not together anymore?"
She was not happy about this. This wasn't planned.
"No. We went our separate ways. I truly wish him the best. I'd say the worst but why be petty?" She said smiling. "Besides, a bruised ego isn't good for anyone. You can't cover those bruises with makeup." The audience laughed and cheered.
"You've been spotted around Italy with a certain member of the royal family. Anything to say about that?" He asked.
"I was invited to a charity ball by a dear friend, to help his cause, A New Hope Foundation. It's something he and I are very passionate about. It helps women leave abusive homes. Look it up and donate. You'll be saving lives," She said and backed away from the mic.
With that, he thanked them and the curtain closed.
"Dammit John, this isn't what we agreed on!" Pearl said.
"That was not discussed. I promise," He said and she believed him. She knew she handled it ok but she wasn't happy about being put on the spot like that.
They played their last song and as they were packing up, she was thankful she was able to plug the charity. She picked up the phone and called Erik. She got his voicemail. "Watch the tonight show tonight. You won't regret it," She said and hung up.
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