Read Online Rock Bottom by Cate Masters - Free Book Online Page B

arched into a peak above dark eyes. Like the others, long hair cascaded down her back.
    If Jet had to describe Amber, he’d be hard pressed. Nothing set her apart from the others.
    Of all the contestants, Julie baffled Jet the most. Fresh-faced and pretty, she appeared younger than twenty-four. Something about the way she carried herself suggested a better upbringing. When Jet spoke her name, she went to him without undue haste or excitement, as if the line had been for a restaurant table. What the hell was she doing here at all?
    No matter. None of them interested him. To be fair, he’d try to dig beneath the surface of too much makeup, generous doses of perfume and hair product. Maybe a real person lurked, for one at least.
    And he’d get a kick out of teasing Billie with the act. The way she fanned herself, his taunts already got to her, adding a little extra interest to this season. The best way to rid himself of leeches was to burn them.
    * * * *
    Watching Jet fawn over each woman, kiss her cheek as she said hello, grew more nauseating each moment. Billie scanned the handout, but it gave sparse biographical details for all the women. Intentionally glossing over their pasts? Or did no juicy details exist to fill in the blanks? Billie bet the former.
    During the introductions, Billie fanned herself, wrote some notes, wondered how long she’d have to endure this crap. Wandering down the walkway, she texted Zin: Rescue me.
    Zinta replied, That bad, huh?
    The pits. If only the series would be cancelled. Slight chance if the ratings slipped any farther. How’s everything there?
    Oh fine , Zin messaged.
    Right. And I’m Mick Jagger’s love child. No, but she could have been his lover for an hour or two. Another mega-ego she’d neatly ignored. Scar tissue made for a strong protective barrier.
    Billie hated texting, and called Zin. “Spill.”
    “You won’t like it.” Zin’s voice cracked, and not from the bad connection.
    “I thought Everett loved the blog?”
    Airily, she said, “Oh, he did. It’s difficult to elaborate at the moment.”
    “He’s nearby?” Damn him. Always in the right spot at the wrong time.
    “Exactly. It’s along the lines of Jet’s old song Don’t Know Where You Been .”
    Racking her brain, Billie ran through the lyrics in her head, but came up with sparse lines. “I remember the video better. One of Jet’s best.” Shot in black and white in a small club, the video showed Jet sidling up to the microphone. He shone with a mercurial glow in the spotlight, lips curled as his voice growled and grinded against the sexy backbeat of the drums. He stroked his guitar like a lover, and no one heard the lyrics.
    Zin bubbled with curious enthusiasm. “Yeah, what’s he like? Is he as hot in person?”
    “As hot as a nearing-middle-age guy can be. Yeah, he’s cute. But clueless.”
    “How so?”
    Her frustration funneled into a rant on Jet’s musical ambition. Or lack thereof. “He seems to think this show is really to showcase his musical talent. How thick can he be? The show’s titled Rock Bottom . Did that escape his notice? Does he not get that they’re setting him up for a full-on persecution?” The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She glanced over.
    Jet stood a few feet away, mouth set in a grim line, narrowed eyes directed at her.
    Surprise prickled her skin. Damn. She never meant for him to hear that, either, yet here she stood, foot squarely in her mouth again. She straightened. “Will do. Thanks for the info.”
    “Uh-oh. Within hearing range?”
    “It’s the way of it lately. Talk to you soon.” She flipped shut the cell, pulled out her notepad and wrote nonsensical notations, willing the warmth crawling up her neck to disappear. Explaining one misspoken remark would have been hard enough, but how could she explain two?
    In her peripheral vision, Jet stood still as a statue. The weight of his stare grew heavier each moment.
    Around them, the sounds of