Page 90 of From You to Me
He shrugged. “It was boring.” Standing tall in his triple black suit, he made my heart go wild.
That man doesn’t trust a word out of you after everything you did for him, Evelyn,I chided myself, willing my heart rate to steady.
“Have you eaten? I made pasta.” I asked tentatively.
“No, I’ll join you after I change.” He spun around and headed upstairs.
I sighed, while I set the table for us in the dining room. Which was an ornate modern room with two sides of full floor-to-ceiling windows with the twinkling Manhattan night behind it.
I set two plates on the solid wooden table and brought out the pasta and the fresh bread I made.
“Wine?” called out a voice from behind me.
“Yes, please,” I mumbled as I settled in my chair. Strawberry happily scarfed her meal that I set by my side.
I gave Jay a small smile as he dropped down the head table, poring me a glass of white wine.
“Thanks,” I whispered as the fresh, crisp citrus of the wine soaked my taste buds.
“Thanks for the meal.” He nodded, forking the pasta.
I licked my lips as I watched a wet droplet fall from his hair and onto his nose. I turned my eyes downcast to the pasta from the distracting sight.
“How was your day?” His husky voice filled the room.
“Okay.” I shrugged. “I was mostly editing.”
I wanted to ask if he had read it but it didn’t feel appropriate anymore to dig up our past when he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me.
“Good.”
“How was your event?” I tried to break the awkward energy, but my question only made it more awkward.
“It was okay, we only had to go there for press, take a few pictures, and mingle about.”
I nodded. “You must be used to it by now. I remember how you used to hate people taking pictures of you.”
He lifted a shoulder. “It’s a part of the job.”
“Lily tells me that you guys are trying to tone it down.”
“Yeah.” His full, sculpted lips closed around the wineglass as he took a sip, my eyes following the move of his throat as he swallowed. “We’ve decided to move away from the label. I want to produce my own music without anyone having a say in it.”
“Didn’t you have full creative control?” I frowned; I remember making sure that bitch allowed it because I knew how much Jay wanted to be part of the process.
“I did, but we still had to cut some songs, attend events we didn’t want to, play shows because the label wanted us to, andpeople we had to collaborate with who didn’t match our style or vision. I stayed only because they gave us a chance when no one did, but our deal is done now, and I want out.”
I scoffed. “I wonder how you got the chance,” I laid out, my voice thick with sarcasm because I couldn’t help it.
His gaze turned icy. “Are you insinuating something, Evelyn?”
I steeled my jaw, not allowing myself to be scared of him anymore. “Yes, Jay. You guys are talented, I won’t deny that. And all this”—I gestured around—“is because of you, and you only got here because of how amazing your music is. But the initial chance you got was downplayed into something much more sinister. A lot of things happened behind the scenes that you weren’t aware of.”
He cocked a brow. “Like you cheating on me so the label would allow me to produce an album. Are you hearing yourself?”
I curled my fingers around my fork. “Don’t you dare mock me. More like a manipulative bitch was obsessed with you. I still don’t understand how you couldn’t see it. She’s been rolling the dice in our lives for a long time, Jay. I hope it won’t be too late before you see for yourself her true colors.”
“Evelyn.” The muscles around his eyes tightened. “Cece is my good friend and has helped me a lot throughout the years and was actually with me in some of the darkest times of my life. I can’t forget that. If what you say is true, if she’s really obsessed with me, then why isn’t she here? Why hasn’t she tried anything?”