Page 63 of Angels Are Falling

Ruby had emailed Stefan a proposal for her upcoming singing competition, which he promptly forwarded to me. I had instilled enough self-doubt that he feared making any business decision without my approval. She listed eight regions around the world to scout for talent, one for each issue over the next eight publications.

I always knew Dubai would be Ruby’s first stop. It was the mecca for endless glamour and a celebrity hub. After Amelie expressed how much she missed Lebanon, I had to add one more city to Ruby and Stefan’s itinerary. After all, the destination was only four hours away from Dubai.

Kai: I received your proposal. Why wasn’t Beirut on your list?

Ruby: Should it have been?

Kai: You’re going to the Middle East but are overlooking the party capital of the region. Beirut’s crawling with singers at every bar and club. It should’ve been on your radar without me having to say so.

It took her several minutes to respond. She was confused by my spontaneous micromanagement but didn’t dare to contradict me.

Ruby: You’re right. I’ve been there twice. I can get one of my contacts to line up some auditions.

Kai: Good. Have your assistant sort out the travel details ASAP. We’ll debut this installment in the upcoming issue.

Ruby: Oh. I didn’t expect the project to move so quickly.

Kai: Would you rather that I cancel it?

Ruby: No, of course not. It’s just that we’ll have to leave within a week to publish by next month.

Kai: Is that a problem?

Ruby: We haven’t selected a crew, and I need to confirm with the other judges. We also need to promote the auditions.

Kai: That’s something you should have figured out before sending out a proposal. Either your first installment is in the next issue or we’ll move on to something better.

There was a small pause before she messaged me back.

Ruby: Don’t worry. I’ll make it work.

Ruby gave in, just like I knew she would. While Stefan was starstruck and thought she was God’s gift, I saw her for what she was—an insecure, washed-up rock star whose best days were behind her. She recently hosted an auction, selling off her private jet, her vacation home, and her extravagant jewelry collection. Celebrities who sold off private jets didn’t do it for the streamlining. She was hemorrhaging.

Her dwindling career couldn’t handle the fallout from offending me, especially since I was handing her an olive branch.

Ruby: I’ve been chatting with Stefan about the shoot in Dubai and Istanbul. He didn’t mention Beirut.

That was because he didn’t know about it.

Kai: There’s no reason to front-load the schedule. Iron out the details with him only after your contact confirms the auditions.

Ruby: If that’s what you think is best.

Of course I did. I couldn’t risk Stefan inviting Amelie to join them, which he might do if he found out about Lebanon. This detour had to be sprung on him at the last minute.

Just for good measure, I sent her a follow-up text.

Kai: I want the brief to be clean and focused. Don’t tell anyone about Lebanon until I give you the green light.

Ruby: And if they ask why I didn’t mention it earlier…

Kai: I’m sure you can come up with a good reason for it.

A longer pause this time.

Ruby: Understood.

Good. Ruby was sharp enough to know when she was being given a partial truth and pragmatic enough not to push on it. The magazine was the most exposure she had secured in two years, and she understood that opportunities like this only came from men like me.