Prologue

                                    

                                          
Taylor let out a soft breath as she approached Valerie's, the little coffee shop just two blocks from her new apartment in New York City. She'd been coming here for the last month for her caffeine fix, having found the coffee shop they say she moved into her new apartment. She liked the coffee shop, it was quint and never too busy, which was good for her, less chance of being recognised. She lifted her hand to the handle as she stepped up the door. "Do you want anything, Drew?" She asked, turning her head to the plain clothed bodyguard standing not two feet away from her. 
He glanced around, his head constantly on a swivelled, and shook his head. "No thank you Miss Swift." He said very formally. This irritated Taylor. 
"Drew, how many times do I have to ask you to call me Taylor?" She asked, her hand gripping the door handle a little too tightly. "You've been working for me for nearly two years, I think we are past the formalities." She knew the t he knew exactly what she meant. He knew she was referring to every single time he'd seen her get her heartbroken, all the misery she'd been through in the last two years. 
Drew offered her a small smile and chuckled. He was going to lie. He did enjoy pushing her buttons, just a little bit, but he'd never admit it out loud. She'd probably fire him on the spot. "Miss Swift, it would be unprofessional of me to call you by your first name." He said politely. 
Taylor rolled her eyes at the man who was twice her age. "Whatever." She grumbled as she pushed the door to the coffee shop open and stepped inside. She took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar, calming aroma of coffee. 
The shop was a little busier than usual but she out that down to the fact that it was a Saturday in April and it was slightly warmer than it had been over the last few weeks. It appeared that New York was finally shaking off the winter cold which Taylor was extremely happy about. As much as she loved the snow and warm nights by the fire, her body was definitely not built for the cold. She'd shiver at the slightest hint of a cool breeze and had to wrap herself up in two jackets when she went out just to stay warm which resulted in the media posting articles online about her looking fat or mentioning that she pregnant with her previous boyfriend's baby. That could never be true because they never made it far enough to risk making a baby. She was kind of glad about that because he wasn't good for her, he made her a person she didn't recognise or like. She was glad to see the other side of him and wished him well on his next adventure.
Taylor's phone buzzed in her purse and she reached in to pull it out, stepping towards the counter. It was just a notification reminding her of her meeting with her publicist Tree Paine in an hour. She sighed softly as she walked without looking where she was going and suddenly found herself bumping her head on someone else's and the sounds of papers hitting the floor followed by a soft thump and then the lyrics to Paramore's 'Misery Business' blaring out of the speakers of an old Blackberry.
Once a whore, you're nothing more, I'm sorry that'll never change...
Taylor pressed her hand to her forehead over the red mark that was forming on her forehead under her bangs and looked up to see a redheaded girl with the most strikingly bright pale blue eyes she'd ever seen scrambling to pick up her phone and shut off the song. Her cheeks were a deep shade of red with embarrassment, accented by her locks of auburn hair under her black beanie. Taylor didn't miss the way her hands trembled ever so slightly as she plugged the headphone jack back into the phone.  
Taylor removed her hand from her forehead, eerily aware that everyone was now staring at them. "I'm so sorry." She apologised as the girl finally managed to shove the headphone jack back into the blackberry, successfully silencing off the music. Their faces were so close together that Taylor could hear her breathing. She could smell the coffee on the girl's breath mixed with a strong vanilla scented perfume and just the small hints of cigarette smoke.