“Er, because of this.” Mia fished her phone out of her back pocket and scrolled to the WhatsApp message that contained the music file her friend Pat had sent her a few weeks ago. She tapped play and a powerful, impressive voice boosted from her phone’s inadequate speakers. “Is this you?” She glanced at Josephine’s face.

“Sounds like me. Where did you get this?”

“A friend sent it to me. She went to one of your gigs and made this recording. Sent it to all of us, that’s how blown away she was by your voice. I could only agree.” Mia gave Josephine a wide smile. “It’s an honor to be working with you.”

“I’ll sing you a tune once in a while.” Everything about Josephine smiled.

“If you don’t mind me asking—why are you working here? There’s so much buzz about you in Sydney right now. You’re about to blow up.”

“Very simple. I need the money,” Josephine said matter-of-factly. “Singing in student pubs doesn’t pay that well.”

Mia couldn’t help herself. The question that worked its way from her brain to her mouth in record time was out before she could think about it. “Do you have someone looking out for your interests?”

“I have Jimmy.”

“Who’s Jimmy?”

“The guy playing guitar on that clip you just heard.”

“Your guitar player is your manager?”

“He’s not my guitar player and he’s not my manager either. He takes care of all the bookings and the admin stuff, for which I’m very grateful.”

Mia didn’t know how to go about this. Tact had never been one of her strong suits. “The fact that I have this clip on my phone says so much. I don’t usually know about new music, let alone about local bands or singers, but I do know about you, Josephine. You’re on the verge of something. Just playing that ten-second clip gave me goosebumps.”

“It’s still just a hobby,” Josephine said.

“My guess is it won’t be for much longer. Your voice is too heavenly to keep it from the masses.” Mia smiled at her new colleague.

Josephine tilted her head and painted a soft smile on her face. “Thank you for the kind words. I approve of the buttering up to your brand new co-worker strategy.”

“I mean every word of it.” Mia was starting to love the Pink Bean and its employees more by the second.