Page 123 of Dirty Like Me
“Tell me,” he finally said. “How many times over the years has that happened, Jessa calling you up and asking you to drop everything to come help her out?”
Brody knew the answer to that. The answer was zero.
Jessa had never once asked for my help.
I sighed, hard. “Katie thinks Elle knows, about the deal. That she put it out there.”
“Elle didn’t leak shit. She’s not gonna say shit to anyone about you or Katie.”
“I know. I told Katie that.”
“Anyway, it was me.”
I pressed my fingers into my eyes. I heard it; I knew what I heard. Couldn’t fucking believe it. “You did what?”
“I talked to the media.”
“The fuck you did.”
“You want to sell music? You want to stay at the top? The fans love your music, brother, but they’re fucking insatiable for this love triangle shit. Last night that live version ofNew Girlyou recorded in New York was hovering at the edge of the charts. Today it’s the most downloaded song on the planet. You can thank me when you’re in a better fucking mood.”
“Thank you for what? Making Katie look like a whore in the press? You think that’s what I want the world to think? The fans? Katie’s family? Did you think about how she was gonna feel to have that out there? That I fucking paid her to be my girlfriend?”
“No one’s saying that. And if they did, who would believe it?”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
“Let’s see, man. Because no one’s going to believe that Jesse Mayes had to pay a woman to do anything. And because no one’s going to buy, for a split second, that that girl isn’t right where she wants to be.”
“Right. Because she’s sitting here right now, on my dick.”
Brody got quiet in a way I knew I wasn’t gonna like. “You’re such an asshole, man.”
“Fuck you, Brody. I don’t need this shit right now.”
“Anyone can see you’re in love with her.”
Christ.
I put my head in my hand and rubbed my eyes until I saw stars.
“Okay,” he said. “Anyone but you.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“You told me to be ruthless,” he reminded me. “Ruthless. You told me that. And yes, you told me family first. You also stood here in my living room three months ago and told me anything to make this album, this tour, a success. Any fucking thing, Jesse.”
“You should have come to me.”
“Did you say that to me or not?”
“I said it.”
“And you meant it.” It wasn’t even a question.
“Yeah. I fucking meant it. You know I fucking meant it. You still should’ve talked to me before you went to the media.”
“Maybe I would have if you hadn’t pulled a disappearing act at the time I needed to talk to you. And I didn’t go to them. They came to me. They asked about these rumors they got wind of that Katie was hired to work for you. They were hot to spin this whole love triangle thing and I said yes. That’s all. They think she was hired as your assistant. Big fucking deal. They invented the rest.”
