Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Seattle had been a rousing success. Juliette had no idea how Simon had the energy to put on three nights of sold-out shows, and then do multiple media interviews during the day. She made sure he got some sleep at night, but he usually wore her down and they made love every night when they got back to the hotel.

Spokane had been more of the same, but fortunately, they were only there for two days and only had one show. Still, he had six interviews to do on top of finally sitting down and doing some solid time with the film crew.

She had scrutinized every single question they'd planned to ask Simon and had stood right over Nick's shoulder so she didn't miss a word that was spoken. So far, everyone was playing nice. Max had tried to drag her down that first night in Seattle. He'd come at her and told her she was harming Simon's career by standing in their way and how if she didn't watch herself, he'd make sure she was out of a job. It wasn't surprising, and it didn't bother her. She knew where she stood with Vanessa and Premiere, but more importantly, she knew where she stood with Simon. They were solid, and there was no way he would allow Max to get her fired.

They left Spokane and moved south down to Portland. They had two days off and one of them she swore they spent being lazy and just getting caught up on some rest before it was time for Simon to start rehearsals and sound checks at the Moda Center. She'd gotten into the habit of staying behind for that part of his day, and then meeting up with him when it was time to go back to the venues for the actual show. Every night she stood backstage marveling at the show he put on. His voice was so powerful and full of emotion. More than once, she found herself tearing up at some of his ballads.

His talent blew her away and every once in a while, it felt like he was singing directly to her. He'd face the area where she was standing and just seemed to know exactly where she was. It would feel like their eyes would meet, even though she was in the shadows. And every time it happened, she fell a little more in love with him.

There were times she wished everyone would just go away so they could have more time to themselves, but that wasn't going to happen. The bottom line was that they both were working, they just happened to work long and unconventional hours. Doing PR for Simon was quite possibly the easiest job she'd ever had. Everybody loved him and no matter who he was talking to during a podcast or TV interview, he left everyone smiling. Every day she scrolled through social media looking for any mention of him or the concerts, and there was nothing but praise.

By the time they got through the shows in Boise, Bonner, and Bismark, she finally allowed herself to relax. The documentary was going smoothly, she'd settled into the routine of life on the road, and honestly, things were good. This was the longest she'd ever gone feeling positive and it felt like maybe things were finally going her way—that she really could be happy.

She didn't just think it; she believed it.

Simon came jogging off the stage after the first show in Minneapolis and went directly to her, kissing her soundly. When he lifted his head, he gave her a lopsided grin. "I've been thinking about that for the last twenty minutes."

She felt herself blush. "Stop it. You did not!"

But he nodded. "I did. And I finally realized something today."

"Oh?"

Another nod. "I figured out that your last name, Bellucci, is derived from the adjective bello , which means beautiful. And it's the perfect name for you because that's what you are. Beautiful." He kissed her again.

Juliette was just about to melt against him when she realized what exactly was happening.

They were kissing publicly, and the cameras were rolling.

Muttering a curse, she calmly broke the kiss and pulled back. "Um…we have company."

That's when she realized he hadn't thought about it either. For the first time, they had simply let their guard down and now…

"Well, well, well…" Nick said as he walked over to them. "That was a shot we weren't expecting! Very nice!"

She felt Simon tense up, but fortunately, he didn't say anything.

"Why don't you go shower and change?" she quietly suggested. "I need to go over a few things with Nick." He didn't argue; he simply nodded and walked away with Gage. Once he was out of sight, she turned her full attention to Nick. "You don't need to use that footage." And yeah, she had her badass bitch tone ready in case he was going to argue.

"Oh, that's not for you to decide," he said evenly. "Or me. It's my job to send the dailies to Max and…I kind of think he's going to be very interested in this."

Okay, badass bitch it was.

Standing up a little straighter, she leaned in menacingly. "You and I both know that you're not going to get anything else out of Simon if you do this. I didn't agree to be in this damn film, and without my consent, you can't use it."

She seriously thought she had him, but…

"As part of Simon's team, you're all allowed to be filmed. You've been in background shots without an issue, Jules. We won't need to have any audio of you or talk to you." He shrugged. "Plus, Simon's been very aware of where the cameras are every night when he walks off the stage. Seems to me he wanted this shot."

A rebuttal was on the tip of her tongue, but…what if he was right? Simon had promised her that he wouldn't out them, but what if he'd changed his mind? What if he decided that he wanted their relationship out in the open and simply took the decision out of her hands?

"Think about it," Nick said before casually strolling away.

Seething, Juliette took a moment to calm down. There was no way she was going to take a chance on confronting Simon here and risk anything else being caught on camera. So she found ways to busy herself while she knew he was back in his dressing room showering and changing. She talked to a few people, thanked several members of the arena staff, and even hid out for a few minutes in the women's restroom. Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

Simon: You okay?

Simon: The car's ready for us. Nik and I are waiting for you.

Knowing Nikki would be a good buffer on the ride back to the hotel, she relaxed.

Juliette: On my way.

But as she walked along the long corridor toward the dressing room, she realized that she didn't have a room of her own to go to after the tense conversation she and Simon were going to have.

"Hell, I can pay for my own damn room if I need it." Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but there was something to be said for sleeping apart to cool down.

There's also that whole don't go to bed angry thing, but…whatever.

She found the two of them and Gage waiting for her, and she kept a completely neutral expression on her face.

So did Simon.

The drive back to the hotel was almost painfully quiet, and she guessed she wasn't the only one with a lot on her mind. When they climbed out of the car, Simon's hand rested on her lower back and she felt a moment of calm, like maybe she was overreacting. Nikki walked beside them and kept giving them nervous glances, but even she stayed quiet all the way up to their floor. Simon walked into their room first, but before Juliette could follow, Nikki stopped her.

"If you need anything, even a place to crash tonight, the room next to me is vacant. I still book a room for you, even though…well…you know. Just knock on my door and I'll let you in. Unless you want the key now? I can run down to my room and?—"

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." And she turned to walk away again, but Nikki stopped her.

"He's upset too, Jules," she said quietly. "And whatever he tells you, you can trust it to be the truth. Nick and the rest of the crew? I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them." Then she gave her a weak smile. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Some of the fight went out of her the moment she walked into their suite. Simon's back was to her and he was staring out the window. The city was shrouded in darkness with the exception of some downtown lights, and she could see his sad reflection in the glass.

Slowly, Juliette walked around, putting her purse on a chair, and then kicked off her shoes. In her mind, he was going to be the one to break the silence, but it seemed like he was waiting for her to do it.

So she did.

"Did you come out and kiss me on purpose?" she forced herself to ask.

It seemed like forever until he turned to face her. "Is that seriously what you think? We've talked about this. You asked me not to do that." He paced a bit, his hands raking through his still damp hair. "It wasn't something calculated," he said, his voice tortured and sad. "I was thinking of you, and when I saw you, I wanted to kiss you. That's all there is to it."

She let out a shaky breath as he walked toward her. "Oh."

Toe-to-toe, his hands rested on her hips. "I was so damn happy, Juliette. The show went great, the crowd was fantastic, and then…there you were. In that moment, I was riding high with everything I want in this world." He paused. "I want you. I love you."

Her heart hammered like a beast at his words.

"Simon…I…I…"

Placing a finger over her lips, he silenced her words. "Don't say anything just because you think you have to. I needed you to know how I feel. What happened tonight was because I couldn't help myself. Please don't be angry with me."

Well, shit. She couldn't, even if she really wanted to.

He loved her.

It was everything she wanted to hear and yet it was terrifying at the same time. She'd never told anyone—except her grandparents—that she loved them. And as much as she felt like she should tell him she felt the same way, the words lodged in her throat.

"Tell me we're okay," he quietly urged her. "Tell me I didn't mess everything up."

She shook her head. "You…you didn't," she forced herself to say, before swallowing hard. "Nick's running with the footage, though. There's nothing I can do about that."

"I don't care about that. Let him have it. If he wants to ask any questions about it in our next interview segment, I won't answer."

She laughed softly. "I told him I didn't give my consent, but he believes you wanted that footage and will be eager to talk."

"Then he's seriously mistaken." His arms slowly wrapped around her waist. "We're in this together. If you don't want us to talk about this, then we won't."

She studied him hard for a moment. "But…?"

"But…I'm not ashamed of this, Juliette, and I don't care who knows. Hell, if you'd let me, I'd shout it out to the crowds every night and I'd write a song about you and sit you on a stool in the middle of the stage and serenade you."

The strangled laughter was out before she could stop it. "Oh my God! No! That would be crazy!"

Shaking his head, he grinned. "I would do it over and over again every night to prove to you how I feel. And I'd let the entire world know how much I love you."

Damn. She was practically a puddle at his feet with that admission.

"Simon…"

He silenced her with a kiss.

So there was no need to go and see Nikki or use that spare hotel room. She was perfectly content right there.

Sure enough, Nick tried to get him to talk about his relationship with Juliette, but Simon held firm. Most of the time, he didn't even respond, but just to keep things interesting, he'd occasionally say, "I have no comment." It made him feel better, but it was clear that Nick wasn't amused.

Things were getting tense, but he hoped that they'd have enough concert footage by the time the shows wrapped in Chicago that this whole thing would end and he could get back to simply being on tour. Juliette was on edge every time they left their suite and she kept her distance at the venue for fear of them being caught on tape again. He didn't take it personally, but he certainly wasn't thrilled with the situation. This wasn't how he lived his life, and it was taking all the joy out of the things he always loved doing.

When they arrived at the venue in Milwaukee, Simon felt a sense of impending doom. He couldn't explain it and it wasn't something he'd ever experienced before, but it was so…so real and heavy that he wasn't exactly sure what to do.

He stepped out onto the stage with the band for their initial sound check and was met with the opening chords of "Uptown Funk" and it was the perfect upbeat song to bolster his mood. He sang, he danced, and he laughed. When the song ended, they went right into his song, "The Power of You," and from there, the entire playlist.

They wrapped up on a high note, and he was looking forward to going back to the hotel and relaxing for a bit. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Juliette and was thrilled that she came for today's sound check. She'd been skipping them, but Nick had mentioned wanting her input on some footage they were hoping to get today. It seemed weird that he actually wanted her there, or her opinion at all, but Simon didn't question it. Anything they could do to wrap this up would be great.

But as soon as he walked backstage, the sense of doom was back. People were watching him with funny looks and there seemed to be far more cameras around than normal.

"Um…"

"Simon! You sounded great!" Max Yearsley said as he came strolling out of the shadows. "Jacob and I think we got some amazing footage for this project, but it's a little…generic, if you know what I mean."

The urge to pinch his nose and silently count to ten was strong, but he just smiled, nodded, and waited for him to say whatever it was he was going to say.

"Nick got us some really interesting shots, but you haven't been too cooperative about it, so…I happened to luck out and I think we have the perfect…you know… wow factor now."

His stomach roiled and he quickly looked around because he knew whatever was about to happen, it wasn't going to be good.

"We've had some conversations with your brothers when they were here," Max was saying, "and your band and assistant have been a lot of fun. But your publicist gave us the most help, so be sure to thank her for this one."

Simon's glance darted around, but Juliette wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Simon!" Someone jovially called out, and he knew that voice. He heard it in his head and in his darkest dreams.

Greg Wylder.

Fuck.

His father came striding toward him, beaming with fatherly pride, and Simon wanted to vomit.

Before he knew what was happening, his father was hugging him. He was also talking, praising him or some bullshit, but it was all like a loud buzzing in his head as he frantically looked around.

Nikki came running around a corner with Gage and Juliette, and he watched as Gage came forward with a thunderous look. But the cameras were rolling and he knew exactly how the scene would unfold and how fast things were going to get out of control. He met Gage's eyes and gave a small shake of his head to try to convey not to do anything yet.

Carefully, he took a step away from his father and warily looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

Greg laughed softly. "Is that any way to greet your old man after all these years? I'm here to see you! I heard you wanted me to be a part of your film and…well, of course I jumped at the chance to come here and brag to everyone about how proud I am of you!"

"Wanted you…?"

"Yeah! I dropped everything to come and see my boy!" Then he glanced around. "That's the kind of thing you wanted me to say, right? Did you get it? Do I need to walk in again so you can get this from another angle?"

Now he looked over at Juliette and wondered why she wasn't shutting this down, why she was allowing this to happen, but she seemed frozen in place. Turning his head, he looked at Max. "Turn off the cameras. Now," he said through gritted teeth. "I'd like to speak to you privately."

Max's expression was smug, but he agreed. "Let's take a quick break, everyone!" he called out. "Walk with me, Simon!" Moving away from everyone, Nick took Greg and offered him some coffee, while Nikki, Gage, and Juliette silently joined Max and Simon. They made it to a locker room that the camera crew was using, but they were alone.

"What the hell just happened out there?" Simon demanded. "My legal team told you not to pull a stunt like this and…"

"I never got that information," Max said sweetly, but Simon knew he was lying. "If they sent it to my office, well…obviously I haven't been there."

"Bullshit!" he snapped. "And you knew this was off-limits! You knew …"

"Listen, we knew how you felt about it and you knew what we wanted," he snidely retorted. "When we got the footage of you and your publicist kissing last week, things…changed."

His tone was smarmy, and unease trickled down Simon's spine.

Max turned his attention to Juliette. "By the way, your boss isn't thrilled that you're sleeping with your client," he said cooly. "You should be expecting a call from her. But asking us to go with Simon's dad in exchange for keeping you out of the doc was kind of a brilliant move, so…thank you."

"What?" she cried. "What the hell are you talking about? I never said anything like that!"

With a tsking sound, Max shook his head. "Really, Jules? Another lie? I mean…you kind of have a reputation for dropping the ball and letting bad things happen to your clients. When will it end? You were trying to save your own ass and threw Simon under the bus." Then he let out a mirthless laugh. "Fortunately, it worked to our advantage because it allowed us to get what we wanted all along—the father/son reunion. So…thank you for being so terrible at your job."

She went pale and looked horrified. When she looked at Simon, there were tears in her eyes. "Simon, don't listen to this nonsense! He's lying!"

"I've always been very upfront with what I wanted," Max interjected. "Ask anyone who's ever worked with me. Whereas your dirty little secret here has a history of lying, throwing blame elsewhere, and putting a spin on things to make others look better than they are. Hell, it's her job!" He glanced at Simon. "Did you really think she'd be any different with you? Especially when her crumbling reputation was on the line? It's a kill-or-be-killed mentality, really. We all know she was on the verge of being completely canceled in this industry after the Roxie debacle. She was only looking out for herself."

His gut told him not to listen to anything Max said. He was the enemy. But there was a niggling of doubt that crept in. As much as he had come to know about Juliette—love about Juliette—everything Max was saying…could possibly be true.

"Simon," she pleaded, reaching for him. "He's manipulating you! I never, never would have used your father as a bargaining chip! All I did was ask Nick not to use the footage of us kissing! I didn't negotiate anything! I swear!"

"We could get your father in here," Max suggested. "He'll tell you that she was the one who called him. I'm quite certain he'll tell you that Juliette Bellucci was the one who reached out to him."

"What?!" Simon demanded at the same time as Juliette yelled, "He's lying!"

It was all too much. His head was spinning, and this time he really was going to be sick. Looking at Gage, he nodded and said, "I need to go." And in the blink of an eye, Gage was ushering him out the door. Somehow, he made it to his dressing room where he dry heaved for several long moments.

He heard more than saw Nikki come into the room. She stood back until he straightened, but her face was equal parts fury and sympathy. "Tell me what you need. I called Mick, and I've already got the check ready, but…"

"It's too late for that now," he said miserably. "He's here and they're going to dazzle him and…" His hands tugged at his hair in frustration. "Why? I mean, just… why ? I'm a decent person! I bring joy to my fans! I don't understand this obsession the world has with going out of their way to bring people down!"

"I know, I know," she soothed, hugging him. "And I'm so sorry. Juliette's out there arguing with Max and…"

Looking at Gage, Simon said, "Go get her. Don't let her say another word to anyone!"

Once Gage was gone, Nikki frowned. "Simon, you know she didn't do this. She wouldn't."

And while he wanted to agree, that seed of doubt was firmly planted. "We don't know that, Nik. Hell, we don't know anything. She makes her living by putting positive spins on people and their reputations. And her last few clients all had some very public…scandals and bad press. Is it so hard to believe she'd do whatever it took for herself when her career was on the line?"

Shaking her head, she took a step back. "Don't do this," she urged. "Don't let him win!"

"Don't you see? He's already won. He brought the devil here and I've worked far too hard to ever have to see his face." His shoulders sagged. "And now I have. It's not something I can just forget or move on from." Sighing, he walked over to his sofa and sat down. "I have another week of this tour before we take a week off. I just need to get through it, but the film crew is gone. I want them all cleared out before the show tonight. Call the hotel and have them removed. I don't care what it takes…"

"It's done. No worries. I'm on it."

Juliette walked in and he could tell she'd been crying, but he refused to let it sway him. She looked at him and obviously knew what he was thinking, and she suddenly looked…defeated.

So I was right , he thought. She betrayed me to save her job.

"Simon," Nikki began, but he held up a hand to stop her.

"Get rid of the film crew. Take Gage and the team with you," he murmured, but his eyes never left Juliette's. Neither moved from their spots and once they were alone, he knew he had to speak first. "I think it would be best if you went back to the hotel and packed. Your services are no longer needed."

He watched as she let out a shaky breath.

"This entire film is over and you were hired to be here for it, so…" He held his breath and waited for the fight—needed the fight—but…she didn't give him one.

"Okay," she said, her voice a mere whisper.

And dammit, he hated her acquiescence. That wasn't who she was, but clearly he'd been wrong about her, so what did he know? He was about to stand up and go to her—not to touch her, but just because he felt like he should be on his feet—but he couldn't. Finally, when he couldn't stand it any longer, he asked, "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Her shoulders sagged even more. "What difference would it make? You've already made up your mind." There was no fight to her words, no heat, just acceptance.

"What am I supposed to believe?" he demanded. "You betrayed me, Juliette! I trusted you—gave my heart to you—and you betrayed me!" His head fell back against the cushions as he closed his eyes. "You were so damn adamant about people not knowing about us. I thought you were overreacting, but I never thought you'd go to this extent to keep it from getting out there."

Again, he waited for her to defend herself, but she didn't.

"This is what I get for seeing what I want to see." Then he straightened and looked at her. "Was it all an act? Did you ever feel anything for me, or was this just a way to pass the time while we worked together?"

She looked away as if he'd slapped her. "It was never an act," she said when she faced him. "And no matter what you think you know or whatever you want to believe, I have never betrayed a client, nor have I ever slept with a client. That's not who I am. I was with you because I fell for you, Simon. I fell in love with you, and I've never fallen in love before." Then she snorted. "But that just proves my feelings in this life were right all along. Love is a myth and it brings nothing but pain."

Without another word, she turned and fled the room.

And Simon's heart shattered into a million pieces.

He had no idea how long he sat there, but at some point, his door crashed open and his father came in, breathless and a little disheveled.

Almost as if someone had been chasing him out of the building and he'd gotten away.

The wily bastard.

"Oh, good! I found you! Your security people were hell-bent on keeping me away, but…I found you!" He laughed softly and looked around. "Is this a standard dressing room? I thought it would be a little more glamorous." Then he smiled at Simon. "You should demand something nicer."

Groaning, he closed his eyes and let his head fall back again. Maybe if he didn't engage in the conversation, his father would just go away.

"You know, I kind of got the impression that you don't want me here, so I guess I'm a little confused. Your girl called me and told me to come. Paid for my flight and hotel and everything."

She's not my girl…

They were silent for a solid minute and he could hear Greg moving around, helping himself to snacks and just touching everything.

"You were always a sensitive kid. Too damn sensitive. People know you have a father, Simon. I know I'm no prize, but you don't have to treat me like I'm contagious or something. What's the harm with me saying some nice things about you on camera?"

So many replies raced through his head, but he kept them to himself.

"I'm not gonna lie; there was no way I could have gotten myself here. Money's tight and…and that was something I wanted to talk to you about. Well, maybe you and Jax…you know…about helping me out. You see, there's something…"

But Simon had heard enough.

"How much did they pay you?" he asked, still sitting with his eyes closed.

"What?"

"How much did they pay you?" he repeated tightly, carefully enunciating every word. "I'm sure it was more than just the flight and hotel."

"Um…"

Now he did open his eyes and stand. "How. Much?"

Greg Wylder had aged. He looked like the kind of man that lived a hard life. His gray hair was disheveled. His jaw was stubbled and his blue eyes were a bit dull and vacant. His clothes looked secondhand, and he was a lot smaller than he remembered. Simon allowed himself a moment to really look at the man who was the source of his every insecurity and realized he felt nothing—not anger, not pity, and certainly not love or affection. He simply had zero emotion. He was staring at a stranger.

"Ten thousand," Greg finally said when Simon continued to stare at him. "They paid me ten thousand."

"And that's not enough for you?"

Greg smoothed a hand over his hair. "Like I said, I wanted to talk to you and Jax about something. I guess Noah too. It involves the three of you. You see…"

"No."

His father's eyes went a little wide. "What do you mean, no?"

"You don't get to talk to any of us. You lost that right. You don't get to show up with your hand out time and time again, holding us emotionally hostage anymore," he said harshly. "The producers may have been stupid enough to give you money—just like Jax and I have been for years, but that ends now. We're done here. If you ever show up at one of my venues or try to reach out to me, I'll have you arrested. As a matter of fact, I'll make sure to have a restraining order filed by the end of the day!"

And for the second time today, he waited for the fight, but it didn't come.

And also for the second time that day, the person he thought would argue with him looked defeated.

With a curt nod, his father took a step back. "I'm not sure why you asked me to come here if this is how you felt. I know I've shown up in the past and…and your people always give me a check and toss me out. I thought maybe you finally wanted to see me and allow me to make amends."

"You can't," Simon told him. "There's nothing you can do to make up for the things you did. You were a horrible father and a poor excuse for a person. And for the record, I never would have invited you here. You were lied to." Then he let out his own mirthless laugh. "But that seems to be the theme of the day today. Lies. And I'm done with it." He walked over to the door and yanked it open. "Nikki will have a check for you. The last one."

"But…what about the documentary? They told me…"

"They lied to you!" he yelled. "There isn't going to be a documentary! It's over! It's all over, so I hope you cashed the check already." Nodding to the door, he glared back at his father. "Leave. Now."

"Look, Simon, I get that you're pissed, but can't we just talk about this? I'm here and…and it's been a long time. I would think this would be a good opportunity for us to maybe talk things out. You know…reconnect. Make amends."

Rage filled him like it never had before. "Amends? You think we can make amends? Are you out of your damn mind? Are you high right now?" Then he grunted with disgust. "You probably are. There hasn't been a day that I can remember when you weren't drunk or high. Why would today be any different?"

Then the signs of the father he knew started to emerge—the sneer, the belligerent stance. "Watch yourself. I'm still your father."

"That doesn't mean anything. The kind of father you were? I don't even think you know what the word means. Fathers don't belittle their kids. Fathers don't torture and torment their sons for fun. And fathers actually show up and give a damn about all of their kids, not just the one most like him."

Greg laughed mirthlessly. "That bugged you, didn't it? The fact that I finally got a kid I was proud of. Jax is a real man with an actual career. Sure, you're making good money and you're famous, but…it's still singing. You have people doing things for you because you think you're too good to have to do it for yourself. Walking around here today, I saw people scurrying around getting your drinks and getting you a stool. People are making sure you look good and sound good. None of it's on you. Jax takes down guys twice his size." He gave Simon a snide look.

"Leave. Leave before I have security come in and physically remove you."

Slowly, Greg Wylder made his way to the door and gave Simon a bland look. "Yeah, you always were a pissy little kid. Looks like that hasn't changed."

Simon slammed the door shut after him and wished like hell that this day would just end. How had everything gone so damn wrong? This morning, he was happy and in love.

The snort of derision was out immediately.

Love. Pfft…that'll show me…

He always swore when he fell in love that it would be real and forever. Sure, it was a little unrealistic, but with Juliette, he had seen his future. After everything they'd shared, he never imagined she'd do something like this to him. He trusted everyone and never had anything like this happen.

He wasn't prone to being someone to make rash decisions or think in definites, but he knew without a doubt that he would never let something like this happen again. It would be a long time before he'd give his heart to anyone again.