Crystal (12 page)

Belle swam over. ‘Is Max okay?’

Crystal sighed. ‘He was annoyed because I said we needed to see what deal Dallas was going to offer us. I was right to say that, wasn’t I?’

‘Totally. You know that Dad doesn’t think we should be managed by Max. He’s always going on about not mixing business with pleasure. And,’ Belle lowered her voice, ‘Dallas does have an amazing track record, whereas Max has never managed anyone before.’

‘Well, I just think we need to look at both offers, and then decide who we really want to manage us,’ Crystal answered, somehow not wanting to be disloyal to Max.

For the rest of the day Crystal didn’t see Max or Belle. They’d gone into San Antonio to meet one of the club owners Max knew on the island. Crystal was relieved when the pair left. Max still seemed angry with her and was being snappy with Belle. It was a side to him that Crystal had never seen before.

‘What’s
his
problem then?’ Rosie asked when Belle and Max had left.

‘Promise you won’t say anything to Dallas but Max really wants to manage us and he doesn’t seem to get it that we need the best deal,’ Crystal replied.

‘To be honest, Crystal,’ Tahlia put in, ‘I don’t know if I want him to manage us any more. It seemed like a good idea before we won the competition, but now, don’t you think Dallas would be a better choice?’

Crystal hesitated; despite her feelings for Max, the other more logical side had to agree with Tahlia. ‘I think we’ve got to see both deals and then make up our minds.’

Crystal swam and sunbathed for the rest of the day. It was the first time in ages that she’d had any time off and she needed the break. But as she lay in the sun her thoughts kept returning to Max. Despite his earlier behaviour she couldn’t stop herself from fantasising about him, replaying in her head the last time they’d made love.
He probably just felt awkward because Belle was here as well
, she told herself, quick to excuse him.

Max and Belle didn’t return until dinner that night and it soon became clear that Max was drunk. Barely acknowledging anyone at the table, he reached for the bottle of wine and poured himself a large glass, not bothering to offer it around. He drained it and poured himself another. Crystal raised her eyebrows at Belle, who looked extremely pissed off. Dallas was having dinner on one of his friend’s yachts.

‘How was your friend, Max?’ Crystal asked to break the awkward silence that had fallen around the table.

Max shrugged. ‘Alright.’

Then Belle said, ‘Max is thinking of opening a club out here too; that would be so cool, wouldn’t it?’

Crystal looked at her. She seemed unusually uptight; clearly she’d had a stressful afternoon with Max.

‘Yeah, well, I don’t want a bunch of freeloaders hanging out in it. This club would have to pay its way,’ Max muttered, sounding surly.

‘What do you mean by that?’ Crystal asked before she could stop herself. The last thing she needed was a confrontation with Max.

‘It means I can’t have Belle and her friends ordering champagne on the house, non-stop, like they do in London. I’m running a business, not a fucking charity.’ Max shot her a hostile look and Crystal thought it wise to change the subject so she turned and made a comment to Rosie about the food. She was hurt by his tone and snide remarks.
What the hell was going on? Was this because she said she wanted to look at both deals?
She didn’t understand; the Max she knew was easy-going and charming. The man in front of her was like a stranger. She’d spent so long fantasising about them being together, but if this was what he was like when he didn’t get his own way, she wasn’t so sure.

Max didn’t say anything for the rest of the meal; he just moodily picked at his food and drank a bottle of wine on his own. It was a relief when he stood up and said he was going to have a cigarette outside. As soon as he was safely out of earshot, Tahlia exclaimed, ‘What’s his problem?’

‘He’s been like this all day,’ Belle answered. ‘He’s just been going on and on about how we promised him that he could be our manager and questioning why we want to go through the contract rather than just trust him. He’s been a right shit.’

‘But we never promised that he could manage us, did we, Crystal?’ Tahlia said, looking worried.

‘No,’ Crystal answered confidently, although she didn’t feel it. She remembered meeting him in the pub in Covent Garden, how he been talking about managing them, in a way which suggested he thought it was a foregone conclusion and Crystal had been too loved up to remind him that they had other offers to consider.

After dinner Tahlia put Leticia to bed, Rosie read her book in the living room, Belle went to her room to call her parents and Crystal wandered outside, half wanting to see Max but also hoping that he’d crashed out in bed.

But he was lying on one of the sun loungers by the pool smoking, and drinking yet more wine.

‘Don’t you think you’ve had enough?’ Crystal asked softly.

‘Not nearly enough,’ he replied bitterly.

‘What’s going on, Max?’

‘What’s going on is that for six months you’ve all been having a laugh, pretending that I’m your new manager and all the time you’ve been planning to stay with Dallas.’

‘Oh come on, Max, we never promised anything. We’ve got to look at Dallas’s deal but I promise if yours is better we’ll go with you.’

Suddenly Max leapt from the chair, grabbed Crystal’s arm and pulled her close to him.

Crystal stopped herself from crying out in pain and tried to pull away, but Max only held her tighter and said nastily, ‘Too fucking right you will, Crystal. You choose me. Remember, I can ruin this band. All I have to do is let Belle know what we’ve been up to. And then it’s goodbye Lost Angels
.
You’ll just be another reality show band on the scrap heap.’

Crystal felt sick. ‘Why are you being like this, Max? I thought you wanted us to be together?’

Max laughed harshly. ‘You like me because I’m a bit of a bastard, don’t you, Crystal, so just enjoy the suspense.’ And before Crystal could stop him he kissed her, forcing his tongue into her mouth. She tried to push him away, dreading that someone would see them, hating what he was doing. Finally he stopped. ‘Just remember, Crystal, I can do
whatever I like.’ And picking up the bottle of wine, he sauntered down the steps and on to the beach.

Crystal stood rooted to the spot for a few minutes, trembling and trying to regain her composure.
I’ve made a terrible mistake
, she thought. She almost had to stop herself screaming out loud. What the hell had she been thinking getting involved with him? She’d been so caught up in the competition and in what she thought was her love for Max. But now it was clear; she didn’t love him, she didn’t even know him. It had been a wild infatuation. And judging by his behaviour tonight he’d been using her as a way of getting the girls to sign with him. He didn’t love her. He obviously had no intention of ever leaving Belle for her. How could she have been so stupid?

Eventually she forced herself to go back into the house. Rosie, Tahlia and Belle were in the lounge. They started when Crystal walked in.

‘Thank Christ it’s you. I thought it was Max,’ Belle said, sounding on edge. ‘Did you see him?’

Crystal shook her head and Belle carried on, ‘I hope he’s gone to see his mate. I can’t deal with him when he gets like this.’

‘Does he often get like this?’ Tahlia asked, looking concerned.

Belle shrugged. ‘Every now and then, it’s all to do with his racing accident. He gets really down sometimes because he can’t drive any more and the doctors have told him he is suffering from depression, but he won’t do anything about it. And he
definitely
has mood swings.’

He didn’t seem depressed
, Crystal thought,
more like a bully who wanted his own way
.

‘God, Belle, I had no idea. How do you handle it?’ Tahlia spoke again.

‘Oh, it will blow over,’ Belle said breezily. ‘He’ll be lovely again tomorrow, he’ll apologise, want to buy me a present and take me out for dinner, and it will all be forgotten.’

Crystal couldn’t help thinking that Belle was in denial and
that no amount of bling and meals at flash restaurants could make up for having to put up with Max in one of these moods.

He reappeared the following day at around midday. Crystal had been swimming in the sea and emerged from the water to find him looking his usual handsome self, in designer sunglasses, surrounded by several bags from expensive boutiques, smiling and chatting away as if his mood the day before had never happened.

‘Crystal!’ he exclaimed as soon as he saw her. She nodded and went to pick up her towel. ‘I wanted to say sorry about yesterday, I was a total twat and I apologise. I bought you a little something to make up.’ And he handed her a small cream bag from a jeweller’s. Crystal muttered her thanks and put the bag down and carried on drying her face.

‘Aren’t you going to open it, Crystal?’ Belle asked. ‘Look what Max bought me.’ She held out her arm and showed off an expensive-looking platinum watch, the face edged with diamonds.

‘And look what he bought me,’ piped up Leticia, showing off a cute pink bead necklace and matching bracelet, and he got Mummy and Tahlia, I mean Rosie and Mummy gold bracelets.’

Crystal looked at the new charm bracelet hanging round Tahlia’s slim wrist.

Talk about trying to bribe us
, she thought bitterly.

Reluctantly she picked up the cream bag, pulled out a black leather box and opened it to reveal a solid gold love heart on a black leather string. It was gorgeous, exactly Crystal’s style.

‘Oh, that’s so
you
,’ Belle said. ‘Max has got such great taste hasn’t he?’

‘Yes, it’s lovely,’ Crystal replied without enthusiasm.

‘Let me put it on you,’ Max said.

Crystal shook her head, but Max took the box from her and slipped the necklace over her head anyway. The heavy gold love heart hung between her breasts and Crystal almost
winced at the feel of it against her skin. She felt as if Max was trying to buy her.

For the rest of the day Max made it his mission to charm everybody. He played with Leticia, got everyone drinks. Crystal almost thought she must have imagined his outburst the night before, but she knew she hadn’t; the vicious look on his face and his threats were burned on her memory forever. And whatever he said to her, she had seen quite clearly that he didn’t love her. Belle seemed to have completely forgiven his behaviour but Crystal could tell Tahlia and Rosie were still wary of him. The three of them were all relieved when he and Belle decided to hire a boat and cruise round the island for a couple of hours. Max had tried to persuade them to come but they had all made their excuses.

As soon as they’d left Crystal took off her necklace and Rosie questioned it. ‘Don’t you like it, Crystal?’

‘I don’t like what it represents,’ Crystal answered.

‘Why don’t you like it?’ Leticia demanded and immediately Crystal back-tracked and said that she didn’t want the sand to spoil it.

‘Come on, Leticia,’ Tahlia said, ‘let’s go for another swim.’

Crystal watched Tahlia and Leticia walk hand in hand to the sea and sighed.

‘That was a heartfelt sigh, Crystal,’ Rosie said.

‘I’m worried about these deals,’ Crystal answered. ‘I really want the best for the group and whatever he’s saying now we never promised Max that he could manage us.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m sure it will be okay,’ Rosie said reassuringly.

Crystal wasn’t so sure. She lay back on the sand and closed her eyes, dreading later that evening when they would have to go through Max’s offer. All she wanted to do was get off the island and tell Max that she never wanted to see him again. He wasn’t the person she thought he was. She couldn’t believe that she’d been so taken in by him.

That night Dallas joined them for dinner. Max was visiting his friend again. He’d told Belle to expect him back
at ten when he wanted to go through his contract. And that prospect left Crystal on edge.
What had she got herself into?
But Dallas, though, was on good form and whatever deals he’d been doing that day must have gone his way because he kept insisting that everyone drink champagne. Crystal raised her eyebrows at Tahlia and Belle. They had agreed to go through the contracts that night and Crystal wanted them to have clear heads when they got down to business. They got the message and slowly sipped their drinks. After dinner Dallas wanted them to go out by the pool to discuss the contract.

‘Actually, Dallas, can we stay here?’ Crystal asked. ‘It’s easier to make notes.’

Dallas smiled. ‘Whatever you say, Crystal.’ Rosie took Leticia out and Dallas’s staff efficiently cleared the table around them. Dallas waited until everyone was out of the room, then spoke.

‘I think you’ll find that this contract speaks for itself. I made a mistake with the last one, but I’m sure you’ll agree that this one is a hundred times better.’

He caught sight of Crystal’s sceptical expression. ‘Okay, ninety-nine times better. Jesus, Crystal, I’m a businessman!’ He handed each of them a copy of the contract and, whereas before he had hassled them to sign there and then, on this occasion he seemed to have learnt his lesson and went through it clause by clause, answering Crystal’s questions. It was a vast improvement on the last one. Not only were they guaranteed more money from the royalties but Dallas had also lined up some of the best songwriters in the business to work on their album as well as giving Crystal and Tahlia the chance to write and record at least three songs of their own. And to cap it all, it was a two-album deal.

‘The bottom line is I really want to manage you. I think you’ve got great potential not just in the UK but in the States as well and I’ve got all the contacts there to ensure you make it,’ Dallas said finally. The three girls looked at each other. Crystal could tell they were swayed by what Dallas had said
and so was she. Max was going to have to come up with something pretty damn special to top it.

‘Okay, I’ll leave you to discuss it. There’s just one thing: I need an answer first thing in the morning,’ Dallas told them, walking with his usual confidence out of the room.