Rock Me: Sexy
by Arabella Quinn
Rock Me: Sexy
Copyright © 2013 by Arabella Quinn
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1
I glanced at my watch, cursing under my breath as the unwieldy load of three-ring binders threatened to topple out of my arms. It was already past two in the afternoon and my empty stomach was starting to noisily complain. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to run out for a sandwich if I wanted to finalize the edits on the latest interviews for the Tunguska meteoroid documentary that I was working on. I was running up against numerous deadlines and time seemed to be slipping away faster than I could keep up with.
I kept a stash of protein bars in my desk drawer that would have to suffice as lunch for yet another day. Later, I promised myself, I would definitely take a break and find decent food for dinner. It was going to be another late night at the office.
I had already begun composing e-mails in my head that urgently needed to be sent out as I made a beeline for my office, ignoring Sally’s frantic attempt to flag me down. She would have to deal with her own crises; I was too damn busy to hold her hand at the moment.
When I rushed into my office and saw Beth sitting across from my desk, patiently waiting for me, my heart sunk a little. “Beth, why aren’t you working on the potassium research?”
She swallowed nervously and began wringing her hands together. “I am. It’s just- I just don’t know what I’m looking for. I don’t understand all this chemistry stuff.”
My hands tightened on the binders. I felt like bopping her on the head with one of them, but I refrained. “We’ve been over this before and I don’t have time to walk you through it again. You have all the contact information for all the experts on this. Pick up the phone and start talking to them.”
Beth’s voice took on the whiny tone that I hated so much. “But, those guys are so smart. I won’t understand a word they say. I don’t even know what questions to ask. Can’t I just work on another project? How about I help you with one of your projects?”
I deposited the binders on a small table in the corner of my office and fixed Beth with a stern stare. “I spent an hour reviewing the potassium angle with you yesterday. You need to start doing some research and getting some leads on this right now. I can’t believe you haven’t called anyone yet.”
Beth’s head drooped as she studied the pattern on the ugly green industrial carpet in my office.
I continued in a softer tone. “Listen. I’ve talked to many of those same experts myself for other projects. They’re just regular people. They know you’re not a scientist. They’ll break things down for you. And if you don’t understand something, just ask them to clarify. That’s why we use these guys. They know exactly how to explain things so that our viewing audience understands.”
Beth took a peek at me. “I guess you’re right.”
“Yep, I am.” I moved behind my desk and sat down. “In fact, think of yourself as representative of our audience. If you don’t understand something, then how can our viewers understand? So it’s really the expert’s job to articulate something in a way that you fully understand. Now go get cracking on that research.” I shooed her off with my hand.
Thankfully, Beth rose. “True. It’s really their job.”
I nodded my agreement as she left my office. Was I that awful when I first started out? I supposed I was. I pushed Beth from my mind and began scanning the new set of e-mails that had poured into my inbox while simultaneously digging through my drawer searching for lunch.
I had just taken the first bite of my protein bar when my phone buzzed. I fully intended to ignore it, until I saw the name displayed. Hugo Black.
My boss, Hugo, didn’t play by the same rulebook as everyone else. But then, he didn’t have to; he was a titan in our industry and well respected by everyone. He cursed like a drunken sailor, constantly made inappropriate remarks, stared at my cleavage all too often, and expected me to fetch his coffee every morning. And yet, he was the best boss I’d ever had. Well, technically he was the only boss I’d ever had, but I‘d been exposed to many personalities over the years, some with names even bigger than his, yet few behaved as outrageously.
Actually, Hugo was much more than a boss; he was my mentor. He had taken me under his wing and had taught me everything about the business. Despite his constant sexual advances and the fact that he was exceedingly handsome, I loved him only like a surrogate father. I was far too smart to lose my heart to the powerful mogul whose sexual liaisons with much younger women were all too notorious.
The phone buzzed again breaking my reverie. What did Hugo want now? I debated whether I should answer it, but of course, in the end, I never could ignore Hugo.
I snatched up the receiver. “Hello, Hugo.”
I was the only one that called him Hugo; everyone else called him Mr. Black. I secretly enjoyed it. It gave me some status. Some power. Not with Hugo, of course, but with my colleagues.
“Come out to lunch with me.” He sounded upbeat.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s two o’clock. Isn’t that a little late to ask someone out to lunch?”
I could hear the smile in his voice. “Did you eat already?”
“No.” I replied while chewing on the protein bar that tasted like cardboard.
“Well, then- that’s settled. The usual, okay?”
“Hugo, I’m up to my neck with Tunguska. There’s no way I can get away for lunch today.”
“This is more important than meteors. Besides, you need to eat. I insist.”
His smooth warm voice could be very persuasive and I desperately needed a break. Still, I knew that I would pay the price if I let up now. Deadlines were looming on this project. “I just can’t right now.”
“Kaitlyn, I admire your work ethic, but I’m going to have to pull the ‘boss card’ on you. We can go out and enjoy a nice lunch together or we can meet up here in my office.”
Everyone called me Katie, except for Hugo. I sighed. “Lunch it is. I’ll meet you by the elevators in five.”
***
New York City could be brutally cold in January, so we hailed a cab instead of walking the short distance to the quaint Italian restaurant. While the hostess led us to our table, I was already calculating how I could shuffle my schedule around and make up for lost time. There was no way around it; I would have to give up something extremely precious to me: sleep.
When Hugo ordered a bottle of wine, I knew he was settling in for a long luncheon.
I shot him a look of disapproval, but he merely shrugged. “Relax, Kaitlyn.”
How could I relax when Hugo was screwing up my schedule so badly? If those edits didn’t get finalized today, it would push the entire project beyond the deadline. It would be disastrous.
Hugo chuckled. “As much as I enjoy seeing the venom flashing in your eyes, I think I’ll put you out of your self-induced misery, so we can discuss other things. You can stop worrying so much about Tunguska. You are now officially off that p
roject.”
Oh, God. “What!?” My voice actually squeaked with stunned dismay.
Hugo was smiling lazily at the look of horror on my face. He was actually loving this. Bastard. “In fact, you are not only off the project, but you are fired. You no longer work for me.”
My mouth hung open in shock. Was this some kind of sick joke? I felt my insides twist. This job was my life. “Hugo, this is not funny.”
Hugo shrugged nonchalantly. “Don’t panic. I’m not leaving you high and dry. Let me explain. But maybe we should wait for the wine. You look a little pale- ”
I fingered the shiny fork at my place setting, imagining piercing his eye with it. “You better explain right this instant, or I’ll….”
He laughed. “Promises, promises. I’ve been waiting for years for you to fulfill your threats. How long has it been that you’ve worked for me, anyway? Five years?”
I answered automatically. “Six. Not counting the three years I interned for you.”
Hugo sat back and nodded. “Nine years, Kaitlyn - and you’re still caught beneath my shadow. You’ll never make a name for yourself working for me.”
I felt a twinge of panic. He was right. It was something that had flitted through my mind before, but I had always quickly banished it. But now, I could no longer ignore it, because, apparently, Hugo was firing me for my own good.
“I’m starting to get lots of recognition in the industry for my work.” I squirmed in my seat, because I knew it was only half-true.
Our conversation was interrupted as our wine was presented and served. When the sommelier left, Hugo sat back and took a sip. “Vague recognition means nothing. You realize, Kaitlyn, that most people assume I’ve kept you on board for sex.”
I winced and grabbed at my wine glass. This was getting awkward.
Hugo smiled sympathetically at me. “Now, the colleagues that we have worked closely with certainly know better. It’s quite apparent how talented you are. But those outside our immediate circle… I’m afraid my reputation is hurting your career.”
I had always turned a deaf ear to all the rumors. But even if it were affecting my career, I didn’t want to leave Hugo. He was exasperating. He worked me like a dog. We argued at every turn. We fought passionately. He made me defend my every decision. He criticized my best work until even I saw better options available.
But I would do anything for him. He had made me who I was today. He was powerful. Brilliant. I idolized him.
I had to stop this. “Hugo, I’m exactly where I want to be in my career. Where I need to be. I don’t want to leave.”
Hugo steepled his fingers together on the table. “I should have done this years ago, but I was too selfish.”
Panic started to claw at my insides. He was actually serious about this! “I’ll start to put out some feelers in the industry. But I want to see Tunguska all the way through and I need – ”
Hugo put up his hand to stop me. “I’m sorry, but it’s already done. I’ve hired someone to replace you on Tunguska. Don’t worry, you’ll get full credits. Now it’s time for you to do something different – to make a splash in the business. Make a name for yourself.”
I took a huge gulp of wine. My world was collapsing right beneath my feet. I had lost my anchor. My job. Hugo. “This can’t be happening.”
“Things have gotten too easy for you. Everything has become safe and predictable. With the security of this job, you’ve been too timid to step out into the world and spread your wings. Now it’s time for you to reach for those stars. That’s why I’m kicking you out of the nest.”
I looked at him like he was insane as I drained my wine glass. He was insane. Kicking me out of the nest?
Hugo refilled my glass. “Easy on the wine. You have a meeting with your new boss in less than an hour.”
Against his advice, I took another sip. I needed it. “What are you talking about?”
Hugo tapped his fingers on the table. “I’m sorry that I didn’t give you more time to prepare, but I just got the final word today. I never mentioned the project before, because I knew you would balk at this opportunity.”
“What project?” My head was spinning. “Hugo, spit it out. What have you cooked up?”
He had that look in his eye that he got when he was excited about something. “A friend of mine, Jeff Thornton, is the President of the cable channel The Vibe –”
I gasped. “But that’s an entertainment channel!”
Hugo smiled. “You say that as if it’s an insult. You’re getting too snobbish, Kaitlyn. The Vibe is a very successful channel and it makes a lot of money. More money than our little channel.”
“But our stuff is important…” I hated the way I sounded.
Hugo waved aside my objections. “The Vibe is starting a new project. A new series. They’ve already contracted for six episodes. And Thornton is hiring you as the Executive Producer / Director based solely on my recommendation.”
For the second time, my mouth hung wide open with shock, even as I felt the first stirrings of excitement bubbling in my veins. Executive Producer / Director!
Hugo continued, “This project will make or break your career. If it fails, you’ll find it almost impossible to fight your way back. You know that I will always take you back, but you’ll never shine to full potential under me. But if you succeed, the sky’s the limit for you. And I know you’ll succeed. I expect you to. After all, I taught you everything I know.”
I was grinning like a schoolgirl just praised by the headmaster. “What genre is it in? What is this series about?”
Hugo’s brilliant smile faded just slightly. “In many ways, it’s very similar to the documentary work we do. Just with an interesting twist.”
I knew Hugo. Something was up. “Hugo, spill it. What have you got me into?”
He reached for his wine glass and sipped slowly, clearly stalling. “Well, it’s a series following the trials and travails of a rock band while they are on tour.”
My reaction was loud and explosive. “What! You’ve got to be kidding me!” Heads were turning in the quiet restaurant, but I didn’t care. “You want me to do reality TV? To go from the world of prestigious documentaries to this low-brow, reality-” I couldn’t find the right word. “Crap?” Found it.
Hugo winced. “It’s going to be a challenge. Especially since Jeff is not personally interested in this project. That will be a difficulty for you, certainly. You are going to have to spin this into something bigger than it is. You’ll need sex and drugs and rock-n-roll to reel them in, but then you need something huge to launch your star on. If it becomes an average run of the mill reality show, you’ll be crushed professionally.”
I groaned. “How could I possibly spin gold from… crap?”
Hugo took a long sip of his wine. “There lies the challenge. But I hear this band is wildly popular right now. With the right touch, this show could become the next big thing. It could become huge.”
My heart was pumping furiously. This was crazy. Reality television? I looked around the room. “Where’s the camera? Am I being punked right now?”
Hugo laughed. “See? You do like reality TV.”
I drained my second glass of wine. “I know absolutely nothing about ‘fake’ reality shows.”
Hugo checked his watch. “Well, it’s time to start learning. Jeff is waiting for you. He wants you there when he meets with the band’s manager to review the contract. I pulled Michael James from the Cordoba project to work as your assistant. Thornton already okayed it. James is fairly inexperienced, but he’s showing great promise. You’ll need someone solid to assist. He’ll meet up with you at the Vibe headquarters.”
“Now? But I didn’t even accept the job yet.”
Hugo shrugged. “They always do things backwards. I’ve already looked into everything. Your personal salary would be generous, but your show budget, I’m afraid would be paltry.”
My eyes narrowed. “We’ll see about that.” It slipped out
before I could stop it.
Hugo laughed his approval. “That’s my girl. Go get ‘em, Kaitlyn.”
Oh my God. Was I really going to do this? Two glasses of wine on an empty stomach leant me the courage, or was it the foolishness, to set out and try.
Chapter 2
Tyler Matthews was on top of the world. Things had been going so well for him, he almost wondered when it was all going to come crashing down. His band, Cold Fusion, was at the height of success, and looked to be rising even higher.
After the nationally televised New Year’s Eve performance in Time’s Square, the band was in high demand. They were heading out for the second leg of their tour in less than a month and tickets were already sold out.
So when Scott, Cold Fusion’s manager, asked to meet with him, and specifically told Tyler not to mention it to the other band members, he was worried. What was going on? When things were good, Tyler was always waiting for the next shoe to drop.
He handed some cash to the cabbie and stepped out into the biting cold air. Tyler strode across the busy sidewalk and into the small bar where Scott had asked to meet him. The bar didn’t have any interior windows so it was fairly dark inside. There would be little chance of being recognized there, so Tyler slipped off his shades and tugged the knit cap off his head.
Scott waved to him from a small table tucked into the corner of the bar. As Tyler headed over, he noticed that the place was fairly empty. In a few hours it would be packed with people stopping in for a drink after a long day of work.
Tyler sat across from Scott on the black metal chair. “Hey, Scottie. Those two beers for you?”
Scott slid a full beer mug towards Tyler. “Got you a Guinness. Hope I didn’t get you up too early?”
Tyler smiled. “I had some overnight guests. This was a good excuse to get rid of them. So what’s up?”
Scott tapped nervously on the table. “I’ve got this offer. It’s a manager’s goddamn wet dream and it just fell into my lap. I know it would take Cold Fusion higher than we ever imagined. To the fucking top…”
Rock Me: Sexy (New Adult Rockstar Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Erotic Romance) Page 1
