Chương 75: Chapter 75
The bar was fairly busy when they were set to perform. One of the waitresses told John it was a slow night, but it was a big crowd for what they were used to playing to. Rhys and Jason were backstage because of a paparazzi situation outside. They were onto Rhys being in town now and were waiting outside of the hotel when they left for the show, following them to gig. Rhys warned Pearl the rest of the trip might be a bit more difficult with them around, and this was her first real experience with them being so much in her face.
Their first set was so good. It was the best they had performed together and even though Pearl wasn't his biggest fan, she knew Ian had something to do with it. He was a crowd pleaser, a showman. He even had a wireless set so he could go out into the crowd. They ate it up. Pearl was getting positive responses from the audience as well, she had never felt so appealing and her voice sounded amazing in the room as it was set up.
Pearl and the guys went backstage after the first set. "Wow! The crowd really seems to be responding well. You guys are doing great!" Jason told them.
"I am so in awe of you, babe! Wow!" Rhys said, giving Pearl a big hug. He looked so proud. She touched up her makeup and headed to the bar with Dylan to get a drink. They were met with high fives and "killer show!" By people they walked though. It was awesome.
"I'll have a Two-Hearted" Dylan looked at Pearl and she nodded. "Make that two" he said.
"This is so cool." He said, looking around the room. It was their first gig as a signed act. The crowd wasn't that big but it was something just to be in New York, doing what they were.
"I'm gonna smoke" Pearl told Dylan
"Ok, I'll be out in a minute. I have to pee first" he told her. She went to the side door and peeked out. She was happy the alley was empty, she wasn't sure if paparazzi would be waiting. She lit a cigarette and took a breath. It felt good to be doing something she loved. The door opened and she thought it was Dylan. "Man, that was some good peeing, took you fore....."
"Umm I wasn't peeing, got a smoke?" Ian asked. She handed him one. "Got a light?" He asked again. She handed him her lighter.
"This is a small crowd, but they are responding really well. Tomorrow, this place will be packed. They will come back to see us and they will tell their friends. This is how it begins. John needs to make an announcement about the signing today." Ian began, "we need to work with Dylan too, he's too fucking shy for a lead guitar player. But not you. You're not shy, are you Pearl?" He leaned closer to her.
"I'm not. In fact, I'll tell you to fuck right off if I need to." She exhaled smoke in his face.
"I can see that. Wouldn't want to hurt Mr. Movie's feelings, anyway. He's super famous, after all. And then there's the inheritance...."
What?
"I'm sure you already knew that, though. I mean, it's a good reason to be with him, right?" He sneered, but she looked at him like she had no clue what he was talking about, because she didn't. "Don't act like you don't know. I know you know. C'mon, he didn't tell you he's set to inherit billions? His Grandpops started some media company. He's loaded. Like really loaded. His family is like one of the top 10 richest in the country." Ian was bullshitting her. He had to be. He told her he was small town kid. Pearl had googled him. Nothing showed up about that, that she saw. She was too shocked to talk.
"It's ok. I wouldn't say anything if I got called out, either. You're secret's safe with me. C'mon, let's go rock em." He said and went inside. Pearl didn't know if she should believe him or not. She took out her phone and googled him again. Same stuff. She googled his last name and put in media companies. Nothing. Ian was lying. But why?
They next two sets were even better and the crowd really seemed to like their music. Dylan opted out of the acoustic song, but they added several of their favorite covers to the set list and it worked. Pearl went to bathroom before they were leaving and as she turned the corner to head back to the main room, she saw the girl from Rhys' apartment, Briana. She froze. "Oh...hey Briana, is it? How are you?" Pearl asked, walking toward her slowly. Briana made eye contact for a moment and then turned and walked into the crowd. Pearl lost sight of her. Pearl headed to where Rhys was waiting by the door. "Briana is here. I just saw her." Rhys got on his phone and called Jim, who was standing by the front door, a distance away. "Pearl saw her. She's here. Find her before she leaves." Rhys took Pearl's hand and lead her out the side door, to the car. They made it back to the hotel to find at least ten paparazzo waiting outside. Rhys took his coat off and put it over Pearl's head. They got out of the car and he pulled her arm so hard she thought he might rip it off. There were a barrage of questions shouted along with the flashing lights. "Holden, is this your new girlfriend?" "Holden, what about Carys?" "Holden, why are you in New York?" "Holden, tell us about your grandfather." Pearl heard that and turned toward the man asking. She wasn't sure if she heard him right or if the chaos was causing her mind to play tricks on her.
"Ok so, that was INSANE!" Blake yelled as they got into the lobby. Hotel security stood at the door. Pearl hadn't noticed them before so she assumed they beefed up after Rhys had checked in. Maybe other hotels did that too, but she hadn't noticed before tonight. "We are all going to be on display now." Dylan said, not sounding thrilled.
"Who needs PR when you have Holden Tomlinson?" Ian snickered
Rhys and Pearl made it up to their room and she sat down, exhausted. She took her shoes and clothes off and went to the bathroom, took a quick shower, and curled into bed next to Rhys. She wanted to ask him about what Ian said, but she was too tired to process it right now. They had another show the following night and if it was anything like this one, she definitely needed to rest and prepare.
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