Page 70 of Indescribable Love

Ten minutes later, she felt calmer as she rejoined them and went back to her spot on the sofa. Maybe it was rude not to offer them anything to drink, but it was rude of them to show up unannounced too.

Looking at Mick, she kept her expression neutral. “It wasn’t my place to tell you Simon’s reasons. And he shared them with me as…as…” She let out a soft breath. “He shared them with me as a lover, not a publicist. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a bad person. I protect my clients and the people I care about.”

“Okay, but you knew this was a huge sticking point and things were getting ugly,” Mick pushed. “If I had known…”

Since she didn’t have anything to lose, she said exactly what was on her mind. “Here’s the thing, Mick, you did know. You knew how much Simon was against this and you didn’t have his back. You figured he’d keep being the nice guy, the compliant guy, and just do what needed to be done without making waves. And you know what? Shame on you! Even nice people need help sometimes! Hell, sometimes they need it more than anyone because people walk all over them or simply don’t take them seriously! If you had put your foot down as soon as he raised his concerns, none of this would have happened! It wasn’t a big deal for Max and Jacob to ignore Simon, but they sure as hell never would have ignored or defied you!”

He pulled a kitchen chair away from the table and sat down without uttering a word.

So Juliette continued, “I did my job to the best of my ability—I looked out for Simon. I stood up for him. I was the one who went toe-to-toe with Nick and Max and everyone else on that damn project whenever they pushed the envelope. But my personal relationship with Simon was private. I wouldn’t have told you anything he said to me in confidence, and I still won’t. You are the one who dropped the ball and created this nightmare, not me.”

It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Mick studied her, scratching his chin. Then he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and gave her a nod. “You’re absolutely right. I should have taken Simon’s request more seriously. I thought maybe he’d be able to handle whatever the guys threw at him. Hell, the only reason I know anything about his childhood is because of these guys.” He nodded to Jax and Noah. “A lot of people have baggage from their childhood, Jules, and honestly, I thought it was just something minor. I had no idea the extent.”

She glared at his brothers because she felt like they betrayed Simon.

The urge to throat-punch them both was strong.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Noah said to her. “And we told Simon we were going to talk to Mick.”

“And he was okay with it?” she asked. “Because I don’t believe it. I begged him to speak up and he refused.”

“Well…he hasn’t really talked to anyone, or responded to anyone, I should say,” Jax explained. “He’s just…he’s not in a good place, Jules. You have to go see him.”

“The film deal’s dead in the water,” Mick told her. “And Max Yearsley’s career is as well. I have a lot of friends in this industry, and my legal team is one of the best. He won’t be making films about anything ever again. Hell, I’ll make sure he can’t even take video at a friend’s wedding. He’s done.”

“How…?”

Now he smiled. “The thing about being the nicest guy in show business? People want to defend you when you’re under attack. Simon’s got a lot of people behind him. Once word got out about what happened, no one was going to work with Max.”

“Or me,” she added with more than a hint of sarcasm. “Most of those news reports dragged me pretty well too.”

Mick waved her off. “Pfft, please. You think you’re the only one who knows how to put a favorable spin on things? Grab your phone and Google your name and Simon’s and tell me what comes up.”

“Mick…”

“Just do it.”

With a huff, she grabbed her phone and did as he asked. “Juliette Bellucci and Simon Bennett.” And then she waited.

…The Power of You singer and his publicist recently went their separate ways professionally and personally, but sources close to the power couple say both were manipulated by filmmaker Max Yearsley.

Groaning, Juliette looked up. “Seriously?”

“Keep reading,” Mick encouraged as he pulled out his own phone.

Juliette saw one news report after another stating how people were rooting for the couple and how happy they were together.

“Mick, this is all a bunch of BS. No one even knew we were together.”

“Everyone on that tour knew the two of you were together,” he countered. “You didn’t have to be groping each other in public for people to know.” After a moment of scrolling on his phone, he handed it to her. “Here. Read this one.”

There’s talk of Simon Bennett’s The Power of You tour turning into The Power of Heartbreak tour. Reports of a break-up between the singer and his publicist, Juliette Bellucci, have people wondering if the show will go on. Last week, false accusations fired at the publicist stating she was the cause of a devastating reunion between Bennett and his estranged father. Those reports were quickly cleared up when a recording of filmmaker Max Yearsley began making the rounds where he admitted to manipulating the pair for the sake of wanting a more dramatic documentary on Bennett.

Handing the phone back to Mick, she shrugged. “Okay, great. Everyone knows Max is a douche. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m out of a job. People aren’t going to remember what he did; they’re going to remember the crap about me first. Trust me. It’s what I do for a living. I know how the media works.”

He chuckled. “You don’t pull any punches, do you?” It wasn’t a question. “Come with us to LA today. Talk to Simon. We can have the two of you out and about being interviewed by breakfast tomorrow to clear this whole thing up.”