Page 83 of The Encore Effect

The rhythm of Kat’s steps faltered as she stumbled over her own feet, cold dread sinking in her stomach. “What kind of video?”

“It’s shaky and the music in the background is loud so it’s hard to make out exactly what’s being said. But it looks like Jackson arguing with a guy in a bar.”

Kat turned the corner into her office and closed the door behind herself. She set her laptop down on the little side table and leaned against the door, her head tipping back against the cold metal as her eyes fell closed. “How bad is it?”

“It’s not catastrophic, but it’s not great either. If you ask me, it’s pretty heavily edited to make the other guy look good, but most people on the internet aren’t going to think critically about what they’re watching. They’re just going to react. The woman who posted it claims Jackson was hitting on her and her boyfriend was defending her.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Kat said hesitantly.

“That’s not the bad part. He’s pretty drunk in the video, at least from what we can see before Gideon breaks it up and the video cuts out. The comments, though… They’re full of people with drunk Jackson stories. There’s a guy in Colorado who claims he was his server at a microbrewery after a show. He says Jackson berated him when he cut him off.”

“What? No, Gideon would have told me if—”

“There’s someone from Vegas who says he got so drunk at a house party he couldn’t even walk out on his own.”

Kat slid down the door until she was sitting on the floor, her stomach lurching as though she might be sick. “It was only other celebrities at that party. Who would say that?”

“Obviously someone was there who hasn’t had their fifteen minutes yet, or at the very least they have a big mouth. That’s still not the worst of it.”

“Tell me.”

“There’s a woman in Kansas who says she was at the charity gala. She says he had to be hauled away by a security guard after destroying property. Says her friend is the one who won the lunch with him. Claims he was drunk for that, too, and that he propositioned her. Repeatedly.”

“I don’t… The guys or a member of security are always with him. If he was this out of control, I would have known.”

Didn’t you, though?

“Hold on. Derek wants to talk to you. I’m going to figure out a plan. We’ll fix it.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, her mind spinning back through the last few weeks of the tour, all the little moments where Jackson had seemed off and she’d waved it away. All the times Beckett had seemed on edge, worried in a way he couldn’t articulate. Maybe she hadn’t known the details, but she’d known things were bad. She just hadn’t realized the rest of the world was noticing, too.

“Kat.” Derek’s voice was tired, like he’d been up half the night. “What the hell is going on out there?”

“I—I don’t—he’s been fine. I mean, as fine as he ever is.”

“My partners at the label are breathing down my neck. It’s only a matter of time before Superfan or someone else picks up this story. Once it breaks containment—”

“I’ll take care of it. Beckett and I will make sure he’s on his best behavior.”

She could practically hear his frown through the phone. What had she said wrong?

“Beckett doesn’t work for me. You do,” he said slowly.

“Of course. I just meant that no one knows Jackson as well as his brother. He can help me—help us—get this under control.”

“You are responsible for the smooth operation of this tour. Maybe this fake engagement thing to Beckett has become a bigger distraction than we can afford.”

Panic flared behind her sternum. “It’s not. I am focused on the job. I promise.”

“Jackson’s always liked to party. He’s always pushed the envelope. You told us about the party in Vegas, but you said he hadn’t been seen. And if his drinking has gotten to be more than that…”

Kat couldn’t even form words to respond. Her head was pounding, an incessant barrage of all the ways she’d dropped the ball, all the ways she’d let Derek down.

“I’ll handle it,” she said, her voice hoarse.

“I promised my partners I would make sure there were no more surprises. I’m joining you for the rest of the tour. I’ll meet you in Cleveland,” he said.

“You don’t have to do that. I can take care of it.”