Page 5 of Filthy Rich

Eddy clears his throat. “This isn’t really your job, you know.”

“But it is mine,” Bea says. “And he knows more about music for movies than I do, so he offered to help.”

“Fine, but you’re not going to convince Jane to credit you for the soundtrack.” Eddy’s smiling, or I’d be worried he was serious.

“We should go to karaoke tonight,” Bea says. “I hear they have a new place not far from our hotel that just opened called Seoul Town.”

Jake cringes. “Soul town?”

“Not like my heart and soul,” Bea says. “Like Seoul, Korea. It’s like the karaoke places in Korea instead of the big bars here where everyone takes turns getting a song and performs for a hundred people. These are a bunch of smaller rooms where they have a screen, sofas, and props. It’s for small groups and parties, and we could sing this song a variety of ways to try it out.”

“But they won’t have the music,” I say. “We can’t practice?—”

“Are you saying you can’t sing a cappella?” Bea looks smug. “I find that hard to believe.”

“We could record a few different versions before we go,” Morgan says. “One with a guitar and one without, for instance.” She side-eyes Bea. “People could weigh in on what sounds better.”

Bea’s shoulders straighten. “Eddy promised me?—”

“Calm down,” Jake says. “You’re worse than a movie star.”

“Hardly,” Bea says. “And you should be in favor of preserving the artistic integrity of the project.”

“I like the karaoke idea,” I say. “You get so caught up on the piano that you sometimes make a lot of changes to things that don’t even need them. I think we should try it a few different ways, and record them, and then you can listen to them in the morning.”

“Actually that’s not a bad idea.” Jake shakes his head. “I can see it now, the news headline. Bizarre artist drags piano into local karaoke club, scraping floors and smashing doorways in order to write new song for hit movie?—”

“Did someone say karaoke? Because I think we’re done now.” Patrice half-smiles. “I’d love to come sing through the options for you, since Jake and I will be the ones singing for the album.”

“Since. . .what?” Jake asks.

Eddy coughs. “Well, we meant to talk to you about it, but some of the investors thought it might be good publicity to have Patrice do the vocals for the music video, and then when her agent told us she could sing, we thought maybe she could be the headliner for the album. We’d still have Octavia singing backups, of course, and she’ll be credited on the album.”

They want to ditch the major liability for a sure thing.

They’d be stupid not to do that.

I’m just wondering why it took them so long to think of it.

Chapter 2

Jake

Dear Jake,

Cowbirds aren’t the only parasitic breed, you know. They’re not even the most famous. No, that distinction goes to the cuckoo. In fact, that’s the root of the word “cuckold.” A man is a cuckold if he’s caring for a woman, paying for her clothes and home, and she’s stepping out with another man.

All I’m saying is, watch out.

You may be cared for in that nest, and you may mistakenly come to care for the birds caring for you, but never forget that you’re not the only one who’s pulling on their time and sympathies. Make sure you’re the loudest, the most effective, and the best-fed.

I’m glad to hear that you’re playing your role well. I know because those holier-than-thou foster parents of yours wrote me a letter. The more I read, the prouder I got. They told me what a good boy you are, how kind, how smart, and how talented.

You’ve sure got them fooled.

So just keep on keeping on. I have some big plans for when I get out of here, and trust me. We’ll repay them for what they did to us. Don’t worry—in addition to tricking them into raising my chick, in addition to you taking everything you can from them, I have something even better planned.

Have you ever known me to fail? Not in the long run.