Chapter 33

CHAPTER

THIRTY-THREE

Now that he wasn’t allowed to meet Anthony for lunch, it was all Cillian wanted to do. Anthony had texted him a photo of his purchases, which he hadn’t seen until after last night’s performance. And while he’d noticed the app function, he hadn’t commented on it because Anthony hadn’t said anything, and Cillian didn’t want to push.

He finished up his student’s lesson and suggested homework. Not that he needed to. Angela would practice, and she knew what she was doing. At sixty-four, for her, this was more about skill maintenance and a little chitchat with tea. He enjoyed having this time with her because she reminded him of his Nan, in that she could’ve done so much with her talent, but instead, she’d raised four children and babysat her grandchildren. She’d lived her life for other people.

He had, unfortunately for him, made the same mistake in letting Hayden push him this far. But as Dahlia said, there was nothing he could’ve done earlier in his career since he hadn’t yet proven himself.

Angela stood and stretched and made a fuss over Snap before taking her teacup to the kitchen.

His phone buzzed, and he half expected it to be Anthony, but it was Bevan.

“Is that one of your boyfriends?” she asked, neck craning to try and see his phone.

Cillian snorted. “I don’t have a boyfriend.” Well… Not officially, as they were still working on it. Maybe he’d be able to call Anthony his boyfriend in a few weeks. Once the dust had settled.

“Well, you should.”

“I’ll try to find one when I’m not so busy.” Now that he’d glimpsed how easy things could be with the right person…

“You don’t want to wake up in thirty years’ time and realize you’ve been so busy you never found one.” Angela scratched Snap under the chin, and Snap purred like a lawnmower.

Traitor .

“On the subject of being busy…”

“I know. You need to get ready for your thing.” There was a look in her eyes, and for a moment, Cillian wondered if she was jealous.

“Why don’t you check out the local theaters and such? I’m sure they’d love to have you to play for them.”

“No, I can’t. I’m too old for that kind of thing. Besides, who’d watch the grandkids while I go to rehearsals?”

Cillian had a few thoughts on that, such as the parents sorting out their own daycare, but he kept his mouth shut because they both knew that was the answer.

Angela gave Snap a final pet. “I’ll see you next week.”

“You will.” He opened the door and saw her out before grabbing his phone to see what Bevan wanted.

A message that said call me was not particularly helpful, or insightful.

“What’s up?” Cillian said as a greeting.

“Two things. The first being if you would be willing to record the piano piece with me? The second is a friend of my sister’s has a job which might suit your friend.”

“Yeah, I’ll record the music with you… but I’m going to have to run it past my agent.”

“I expected that. I’m hoping we can agree on a song credit and a royalty split?”

Dahlia was pretty reasonable, and she was aware Cillian had written the song with Bevan. “Put it in an email, and I’ll send it to her.”

“You aren’t going to ask about the job?”

“I’m getting there. What is it and why do you think it would suit Anthony?”

“Remember that digitizing and filing job at the local council my sister’s friend works at, the one my sister said would be perfect for me?”

He had a vague recollection of Bevan’s family suggesting he find a proper job about three months ago. They did that every so often, trying to be helpful. “Kind of.”

“It’s the same job. The person they hired quit after six weeks. So now they’re telling me I have to take it because they can’t find anyone else, because it’s so boring. My sister described it as a perfect entry-level job for someone who enjoys working alone.”

Which did not describe Bevan at all. “And why do you think it’s suitable for Anthony?”

“Because he’s desperate for work.”

Bevan had a point, and Cillian was pretty sure Anthony would accept the job if he was offered it.

“He’d be doing me a favor because, you know, the last thing I want is to be stuck in the bowels of some local government office building sorting through old plans and documents for the next twelve months… It's a twelve-month contract with the exciting opportunity to extend. Just a moment.” There were a couple of seconds of silence. “I’ve emailed you the previous job listing which my sister helpfully sent me so I could put together a cover letter and résumé.”

“I’m not making any promises for him, however if he wants to apply, who does he need to contact?”

“It’s in the email. He can say Bevan sent him. I swear if he quits after six weeks, I’m on the hook for this job, and I just can’t. I’m close this time. Someone’s interested in that piece…”

There was something else in Bevan’s voice. “That’s great. You’re hoping to get a deal out of it?”

“I’m not sure, but I think putting together a demo is worth it. Would you be willing to work on another couple with me?”

And there it was.

Cillian wanted to say yes, the way he would have a few years ago, but his life was more complicated now. “I can, but it’s going to have to be scheduled in.”

“Yeah, I know you’re on tour next month. Playing with rock stars.”

True, but there was the potential for more money if things worked out with Bevan. “Can you stick that request in the email to my agent as well? She has my schedule. What are you looking for? Another three to make it an EP?”

“That’s what I’m hoping if you can commit. I have some vibes and some lyrics, but they need something else, and I think it’s you.”

Which was flattering, but Bevan was talented in his own right. “You know pop music isn’t my area of expertise.”

“Yes, that’s why it works. You bring something different. Or are you politely telling me to get fucked?”

“No, that’s not it at all. There’s another big project I’ve got to work on as well.”

“Anthony is not a project.”

He totally was a project, and something Cillian wanted to dedicate time to. He laughed. “That’s not what I meant. If you want to send me over lyrics and vibes, I can play with them in my spare time.” Of which there was precious little at the moment.

“I’ll get the okay from your agent first and something on paper. How soon will you be able to listen to what I have?”

“Oh, I can listen immediately. Doing anything with it is a different question.” He needed to learn the soundtrack and finish preparing for the concerts. “I can record the one that’s already done whenever you’re ready.”

“Great. I’ll email your agent now, then maybe we can find a day to get together?”

“I’m sure I can find a day, but I can’t promise it’s going to be convenient for either of us.”

Bevan lost it, laughing. “Since when has being a musician been convenient for anyone?”

Cillian smiled. “Did you sell much of your artwork?”

“I did. About half. Which is pretty fucking decent.”

That was an excellent result. “Well done.”

“Word got around you were there the first night. I think people were expecting you to come in every night.”

“If you hadn’t arranged it to clash with ballet, I would’ve come in for another surprise visit.”

“Sorry, I’ll check your schedule before arranging my own.” Beven chuckled and then swore. “Break time is over. I have to go back to serving customers.”

“Thanks for the heads up about the job and the recording.”

“No worries.” Bevan hung up.

Cillian checked his emails, finding the one about the job and also one for his agent about the recording of the demo and the creation of an extra three songs. He must’ve had it typed up and ready to go and was only waiting for Cillian to say he was interested.

He forwarded the job email to Anthony, with a little note about how Bevan said to name drop him, and that the job had been described as entry-level and extremely boring.

From the name of the local council, it was also an hour out of the city. It wasn’t that far… and it wasn’t as though they had made any promises, but it felt as though Anthony was drifting further away from him. He didn’t like the thought of losing him, even though Anthony had never been his to start with.

He texted Anthony, telling him about the potential job.

You are amazing! ??

You still need to apply.

And there was no guarantee that he’d be offered the job.

I will, I’ll do it right now… it’s not like I have anything better to do.

Good luck.

He tried not to think about Anthony moving away. It made sense that he would because the rent would be cheaper. He may not even need a car to get to work.

I’m going to need a pet sitter while I’m on tour… it doesn’t pay anything, but you can stay in my apartment.

He usually offered it to one of his friends who wanted to escape their housemates for a bit, but it was a way of keeping Anthony closer for a little longer.

I’m pretty sure I can clear my schedule. You think it’s wise for me to stay there given the broader situation?

I hope it’s over by then.

So do I. I miss you.

Cillian’s breath caught. He either brushed aside the honest admission or he confessed.

I miss you, too.

It hadn’t even been that long. They had been texting and calling, but it wasn’t the same as seeing him and holding him.

There’s been no change at my end.

Which Cillian assumed meant Anthony was still being followed around, and it wasn’t safe for them to sneakily try to hook up.

I haven’t heard anything, either.

And the wait was excruciating. He kept expecting phone calls about rumors, or threats from Hayden. All he knew was that Isabella had contacted two others, and one of them had confirmed Hayden had asked them to say Bianca had been cheating. The other one denied knowing anything. Which may be the truth, or it could be they were too afraid to speak up.

What he wanted was a call from Dahlia, saying everything was sorted, and then he could relax. But that was never the way things worked out.

The silence can’t last forever. A date’s been booked with a judge. H was boasting to M that B won’t get anything in the divorce because she broke the prenup.

Shit. His throat dried.

That’s why Hayden wanted him to lie about the cheating.