Page 100 of Hard Rock Muse

“Does he?” Keith mused. “He gave up on you pretty easily, as far as I recall.”

My heartbeat pounded in my chest. This was also Keith’s specialty. Using his words to get into your head. Knowing exactly what to say to say to piss you off, to put you down, to make you second guess yourself. I wasn’t going to fall for it again.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told him.

“Don’t I?” Keith raised an eyebrow. “You know I offered to make those changes to the contract he wanted?”

I stilled. Those were the last words I thought would come out of that mouth.

“What?” I asked.

“Julian wanted more creative control, didn’t he?” Keith shrugged. “I didn’t care either way. I told him I’d make the changes. But he still wasn’t happy. He wanted to be in total control of the band. He didn’t like how much control the contract gaveyou.He wanted the final say on the music, on song selection, on the producers the band worked with, without having to run it by you first. I told him that was one change I wouldn’t make. It wasn’t fair to you. Seems he didn’t agree. So he walked away from it.”

“That’s a fucking lie,” I said.

“Is it?” Keith gave me a haughty look. “How's your songwriting going, by the way?”

“It’s going great,” I bit out.

“Is it?” Keith smirked. “You know, I heard a rumor. Julian has been complaining about how long you’ve taken. He wanted to write the song and be over and done with it. He wasn’t too keen on working with his ex, it seems.”

“Neither of us were at first,” I spat out. “We worked it out.”

“Is that what you think?” Keith gave me a patronizing look. “You know he’s just been keeping you around until the album is done.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said through gritted teeth.

“You’ll see,” Keith said confidently. “The minute he doesn’t need you, he’s going to drop you again. Just like last time. He doesn't love you the way I did. He doesn’t love you enough to believe in you. I was going to make you a star, Ever. And you blew it.”

He straightened his tie one last time and rolled his shoulders, standing tall.

“It doesn’t matter either way,” Keith said. “All it takes is a few words in the right ear and your career will be finished, just like last time. I’ve got connections you don’t. I hope you enjoyed working in the music industry again these last few months. It’s the last time you ever will.”

He strode out the door, letting it swing closed behind him, leaving me reeling.

Was Keith right? Was Julian just using me? He’d always been more about the music than anything else. Did he only care about me because I could help his career?

Did he care about me at all beyond that?

I slumped against the wall, using it to keep myself upright. My mind whirled with a hundred thoughts, trying to process what I’d just learned.

I’d told Julian I loved him. I’d told him so many times.

And not once had he ever said it back.