Daylight

Chapter III - I think he knows

November 19, 2018.

"Origato or origato?"

They are standing near the window, overseeing the brightest-lit district of Tokyo. Despite the paracetamol she had before the flight and the painkillers ten minutes ago, Taylor's headache is pounding and the penultimate rehearsal knocked her for six. Joe shrugs, running a hand through his hair as it falls in front of his eyes.

"Second one, I think." He says softly, "Hey – is your deal done?"

She nods and it earns her a playfully soft punch in the shoulder.

"Well done," She turns to look at a grinning Joe, "We should celebrate."

"I'm not sure whether you have noticed but I have got a show to perform tomorrow, and then the final one in general."

"I know, darling, but still." Joe pauses, "You have to eat anyway, don't you? How about you do whatever it is you need to do for the rest of today and I'll take you out tonight? Quick bite to eat somewhere, just you and me." He grins, "Get a cheeky drink afterwards!"

"Actually", She draws out, "Yeah. Yes. Good thinking, Joseph."

"Hey." He grunts, "Don't."

"Don't what, Joseph?" Taylor grins, "I'm sorry, I do appreciate you a lot."

"That's," The blonde Brit squints, "A choice of words."

Taylor hums and continues looking over the city. Joe's moving around in the hotel room and going through devices and cables until the room finally goes silent. In the reflection of the glass, she can see him sit on one of the ottomans, typing away on his phone. Quite lucky. She ponders over the deal she's signed with Tree and the lawyers, the head honchos from UMG, the looks she got from Tree and her team when she added her own caveat near the end, then the looks of the men at the opposite side of the table.

I'd like to ask that any sale of your Spotify shares result in a distribution of money to the artists, non-recoupable. Not just mine, all of them.

Monte had looked at Lucian and the latter has just grinned, gestured at one of the lawyers to put it down in writing and that had been it. She'd felt incredible in the moment, if it weren't for Tree's foot on hers, slightly pushing down. Afterwards, the redhead had given her grief for a solid five minutes about letting her know beforehand and strategies and commitment analyses with the lawyers and she'd let her rant for a while. The conversation had ended with Tree smiling and saying she'd done good.

It was all she ever wanted, really.

---

If Tokyo had been bright before, it'd got even worse with the dozens of paparazzi lurking in every shop or café or hotel lobby in the district. The flashes, if possible, made her headache even worse. Joe, who she would argue was the most patient person she knew, muttered under his breath when two paparazzi on a motorbike drove past them close enough for one to knock against Taylor's bag.

"Watch it!" He snaps, "And you two," he turns to Sam and Jake, "aren't you supposed to make sure that does not happen?"

"Leave it, it's fine." Taylor tries to soothe.

"Well, it's not." The blonde man grunted, "It's mental, Taylor. It's not normal – hey," She turns to look in the direction he is shouting in before several flashes go off, "oh my god, stop."

Jake is already walking over to stop the impromptu photoshoot and Joe does not waste anytime reaching for her hand and clasping it in his before rushing to the black SUV parked in front of the hotel. There are a few more flashes, although Taylor is sure Jake will have made sure the shots were useless, and then it's dark. Thank god for tinted windows.