defiedhim. He swept a rude, dismissive glance over her, from her head to the tips of her ankle boots. She managed not to cringe. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Jenna,’ she said. She realized that had come out in what was more or less a whisper, and cleared her throat. ‘Jenna Jenkins,’ she said in a stronger voice.
‘Uh huh.’ Duncan’s dark eyes were cold and assessing. ‘Let me tell you what’s going to happen here,
Jenna Jenkins.
’ She didn’t care for the way he emphasized her name like that. Like someone might say,
Chlamydia.
‘You’re quite the little go-getter, aren’t you?’
Jenna wasn’t sure how to answer that. ‘Sure,’ she said. It was better than pointing out that everything he was saying was patronizing and bordering on mean, because she sensed he was well aware of that fact.
Luckily, he wasn’t really looking for an answer.
‘Great,’ he said dismissively, as if she hadn’t spoken, or maybe he was simply used to instant acquiescence. ‘That was a good idea back there. You really made the most of a challenging moment. But what you don’t know is that the band is in a bad place right now.’
‘The Wild Boys are in the studio, putting the finishing touches on their new album,’ Jenna replied automatically, in her role as Little Miss Fan Club Know-It-All. She fervently wished she hadn’t spoken when that cold, reptilian glare of his sharpened, like he was putting her directly in his crosshairs.
‘Unfortunately, it’s not going well in the studio these days,’ Duncan told her through another fake smile, thisone even more terrifying than the earlier ones. ‘There are tensions.’
Jenna happened to know for a fact that this was not true. That, in actuality and according to numerous interviews, the remaining band members marvelled to this day that their final album had gone so smoothly. After twenty years, surely someone would have mentioned it if there’d been
tensions.
It was in fashion these days to have
tensions
. The Police talked about their
tensions
all the time, and still went on sold-out reunion tours.
Not that Jenna was particularly surprised to discover that Duncan Paradis was lying to her. Wasn’t this exactly the kind of thing Tommy had predicted? Though he hadn’t mentioned how unpleasant it would be to bear the full force of Duncan’s attention. Jenna swallowed, and tried to stiffen her spine.
‘I want you to be my eyes and ears in there,’ Duncan told her, his awful rictus grin widening. Apparently, this was his attempt at charm. Jenna wasn’t entirely sure why his attempts fell so flat with her, when the rest of the world talked about his
famous charisma
ad nauseam. Maybe that was code for
scary.
But he was still talking. ‘Now that the band has seen how you have their best interests at heart, you can be with them in their more relaxed moments. They’ll trust you in no time.’
‘They don’t trust you?’ Jenna asked. Her stomach was in knots, and her voice was too high. ‘I mean, why do you need me, when they must already trust you, right?’
Duncan dropped the smile, which was a relief. ‘Aren’tyou smart?’ he said, and not in an encouraging way. Or even a nice way. She shivered, and tried to hide it. ‘All you need to worry about is keeping me happy, okay?’
That was a losing proposition if ever she’d heard one.
‘By being your eyes and ears,’ she echoed, and then tacked on a smile as if the idea thrilled her, because it occurred to her that things would be easier if he thought so.
‘Just tell me what they say in there when I’m not around,’ Duncan said softly, and then Jenna’s blood ran cold because he reached across the back seat and patted her on the knee. It wasn’t a gentle pat so much as it was a reminder. That he was stronger and meaner and could crush her.
‘Okay,’ she squeaked, staring at his hand on her leg. What if he … She couldn’t finish the thought, but she did send up a little prayer of thanks when the
‘Jenna,’ she said. She realized that had come out in what was more or less a whisper, and cleared her throat. ‘Jenna Jenkins,’ she said in a stronger voice.
‘Uh huh.’ Duncan’s dark eyes were cold and assessing. ‘Let me tell you what’s going to happen here,
Jenna Jenkins.
’ She didn’t care for the way he emphasized her name like that. Like someone might say,
Chlamydia.
‘You’re quite the little go-getter, aren’t you?’
Jenna wasn’t sure how to answer that. ‘Sure,’ she said. It was better than pointing out that everything he was saying was patronizing and bordering on mean, because she sensed he was well aware of that fact.
Luckily, he wasn’t really looking for an answer.
‘Great,’ he said dismissively, as if she hadn’t spoken, or maybe he was simply used to instant acquiescence. ‘That was a good idea back there. You really made the most of a challenging moment. But what you don’t know is that the band is in a bad place right now.’
‘The Wild Boys are in the studio, putting the finishing touches on their new album,’ Jenna replied automatically, in her role as Little Miss Fan Club Know-It-All. She fervently wished she hadn’t spoken when that cold, reptilian glare of his sharpened, like he was putting her directly in his crosshairs.
‘Unfortunately, it’s not going well in the studio these days,’ Duncan told her through another fake smile, thisone even more terrifying than the earlier ones. ‘There are tensions.’
Jenna happened to know for a fact that this was not true. That, in actuality and according to numerous interviews, the remaining band members marvelled to this day that their final album had gone so smoothly. After twenty years, surely someone would have mentioned it if there’d been
tensions.
It was in fashion these days to have
tensions
. The Police talked about their
tensions
all the time, and still went on sold-out reunion tours.
Not that Jenna was particularly surprised to discover that Duncan Paradis was lying to her. Wasn’t this exactly the kind of thing Tommy had predicted? Though he hadn’t mentioned how unpleasant it would be to bear the full force of Duncan’s attention. Jenna swallowed, and tried to stiffen her spine.
‘I want you to be my eyes and ears in there,’ Duncan told her, his awful rictus grin widening. Apparently, this was his attempt at charm. Jenna wasn’t entirely sure why his attempts fell so flat with her, when the rest of the world talked about his
famous charisma
ad nauseam. Maybe that was code for
scary.
But he was still talking. ‘Now that the band has seen how you have their best interests at heart, you can be with them in their more relaxed moments. They’ll trust you in no time.’
‘They don’t trust you?’ Jenna asked. Her stomach was in knots, and her voice was too high. ‘I mean, why do you need me, when they must already trust you, right?’
Duncan dropped the smile, which was a relief. ‘Aren’tyou smart?’ he said, and not in an encouraging way. Or even a nice way. She shivered, and tried to hide it. ‘All you need to worry about is keeping me happy, okay?’
That was a losing proposition if ever she’d heard one.
‘By being your eyes and ears,’ she echoed, and then tacked on a smile as if the idea thrilled her, because it occurred to her that things would be easier if he thought so.
‘Just tell me what they say in there when I’m not around,’ Duncan said softly, and then Jenna’s blood ran cold because he reached across the back seat and patted her on the knee. It wasn’t a gentle pat so much as it was a reminder. That he was stronger and meaner and could crush her.
‘Okay,’ she squeaked, staring at his hand on her leg. What if he … She couldn’t finish the thought, but she did send up a little prayer of thanks when the
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