Love At The Bluebird

by Aurora Rose Reynolds

  “I swear to God, Alyson, if you’ve gotten into drugs because of that man, I will castrate him.” She waved her fork at me, small pieces of food debris going all over the place.

  Her ridiculous empty threat made me chuckle and I shook my head at her. “I’m clean as a whistle, sister. Want me to pee in this cup for you?” I joke, holding up my empty water cup for her.

  She leaned forward and said in a soft voice, “How can you be in love with someone you just met a week ago? Do you know how crazy you sound?”

  “Yes, I’m well aware of how crazy it sounds, but Val, I’ve never felt this way for someone before.”

  “Aly, you’ve only had two boyfriends in your whole life and they were in high school and college. There’s nothing to compare!” Her annoyed expression angered me, because she had no room to talk with her non-existent love life.

  “You know what, Val? Until you’ve felt what I’m feeling, your opinion doesn’t matter,” I told her, wishing she would just be supportive instead of being so judgmental.

  “Felt what? Love?” she asked in mock-confusion.

  I put my fork down and tried to think of the proper words to describe my feelings for Gavin. “Not just any kind of love—a soul wrenching, wrapping-its-claws-around-your-heart kind of love the instant your eyes catch each other’s.” I smiled at the thought of him, his handsome face and heart-melting smile springing into my mind. I finally realized I wasn’t paying attention and shifted my gaze back to her. The look of I-don’t-understand-a-word-you-just-said was written all over her face.

  I threw my hands up in the air, annoyed she couldn’t understand what I was describing. “You know, that feeling that you can’t live without someone? When you see them, your heart starts to pound like crazy?” She starts to shake her head and I scrambled to think of a better description.

  “You know… like a shazam!” I said loudly, throwing my hands into her face and scaring her to the point she jumped.

  Unfortunately, my shazam analogy didn’t convince her and she voiced her concerns to my mother, who didn’t even know Gavin existed in my world. Both of my parents are not big country music fans, so they had no idea he’s actually a celebrity. They have demanded I bring him over for family dinner on Sunday. I wasn’t planning on introducing him to them so soon, but now that they know about him, better to get the introductions out of the way. I know my mother will quickly fall for his charm and see how wonderful he is, but my father’s a different story. Whatever his reaction may be to Gavin, I couldn’t care less. No one is going to convince me otherwise that I shouldn’t be with him.

  “How we doing over there, sunshine?”

  Shane’s question interrupts my thoughts, and I look up from my computer to smile at him.

  “We’re doing excellent,” I say confidently while looking him in the eye.

  “I swear you are glowing so brightly that you’re about to burn my eyes out. Looks like my little Aly has done the nasty with Mr. McNeer.” I shake my head at him and try to keep a straight face but can’t control the blush that stains my cheeks. He throws his head back and laughs hysterically at my reaction. “Thank you to your cheeks for answering my question.”

  I throw my notebook at him, causing him to laugh even more. Seeing that nothing is going to stop the hyena like sounds, I choose to ignore him instead.

  He takes a couple deep breaths and composes himself before asking, “Are we all set for the game tonight?”

  “We sure are,” I confirm. “Food and beverages have been ordered for the suite and all personalized jerseys are in.”

  Shane decided to use some of his marketing budget to get his staff and the artists who are attending tonight’s game personalized jerseys. I added some to the order for Gavin, Sosie, and Willow, paying for theirs out of my own pocket. I’m excited for tonight, especially to see how Willow and Brodie get along. I sent Brodie a text this morning, letting him know we’ll be at the game and inviting him out to meet us for drinks afterward. Fortunately, the team isn’t flying back to Detroit tonight, so he agreed to meet us at the rooftop bar across from the arena after the game.

  “Wonderful, thank you. Let’s put the jerseys in gift bags and we’ll hand them out to everyone when they arrive in the suite,” Shane tells me before walking away from my desk.

  Excitement is buzzing throughout the office for tonight. It’s the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Predators are tied with Detroit in the series. It’s crucial that the Preds win tonight and then try to win the next game in Detroit if they want to advance to the next round in the playoffs.

  I grab a stack of our branded gift bags and tissue paper we keep on hand from the supply closet and start wrapping the jerseys in the paper before putting them into the bags and writing that person’s name on the outside. I’m halfway through when I hear the sound of someone’s high-heeled shoes coming toward me. I look up to see Kathleen Davidson standing in front of me.

  “Hello, Aly,” she greets me with a nod. She’s an attractive woman in her late forties, who takes care of herself by working out. Her youthful appearance is courtesy of Botox and fillers, and her straight, red hair is made up of the best extensions money can buy. I’ve always admired her style of clothes, and today is no exception with her lacy, emerald-green tunic, skin-tight black leather pants, and black, pointy heels I recognize as Louboutins with their red bottoms.

  “Hello, Mrs. Davidson, how are you?” I ask, my smile overly bright to cover up how shocked I am that she knows my name.

  “Oh please, call me Kathleen.” She laughs, waving her hand in the air.

  “Okay… Kathleen.” I look behind me at Shane’s open door to see he isn’t back in his office. “Shane is around here somewhere. Do you want me to tell him to go see you in your office when he returns?”

  “Actually, you’re the one I wanted to see. Do you have a moment to chat?”

  My eyes widen in surprise at her request. Kathleen Davidson doesn’t spend alone time with A&R assistants. Anything she needs gets streamlined down through the A&R directors and managers. A knot in my stomach forms, my intuition screaming at me that she wants to discuss my new relationship with Gavin.

  Please, God, don’t have her tell me to break up with him.

  “Sure,” I say and follow her back to her office, which is upstairs on the second floor. She stops at her door and gestures with her arm for me to go inside. I walk past her, and she shuts the door behind us.

  “Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable.”

  I obey and sit down while she walks around her desk to sit in her own seat. I’ve never been to her office before, and I glance around, admiring her decor. Her large office is decorated in a charcoal, gold, and white color palette. My eyes follow around the platinum albums of past and present artists of Big Little Music that decorate the walls. Her accomplishments are impressive in an industry that is predominantly ran by men.

  “You’re office is gorgeous,” I tell her while I continue looking around in awe.

  “Thank you! My favorite part is seeing all the beautiful, blingy records on the walls,” she says laughing. I smile while studying her, hoping she cuts to the chase soon, so I don’t have to sit and make small talk with her.

  “Well, Aly, I know you’re busy, so I’ll make this brief. I’ve heard you’re dating Gavin McNeer. Is that true?” Her tone of voice turns business-like, her eyes studying me for my reaction.

  “Yes, it’s true. Is there a problem?” I ask, matching her tone in what I hope shows that I’m not intimidated by her.

  “No, of course not. I just wanted confirmation to come from you. Pictures on the Internet can be so deceiving.”

  I nod in agreement, silently wondering where this conversation is going.

  “I also wanted to check in and see how you’re doing under all the scrutiny of dating a celebrity. A couple members of the paparazzi were waiting for you outside the office this morning when I arrived.” She holds up her hand at my horrified expre
ssion. “Now, don’t worry; I told them this was private property and would call the police on them if they show up here again.”

  “Thank you for doing that, Mrs. Davidson… I mean, Kathleen,” I say with sincerity. I hate the fact that these kinds of people are showing up at my work. I’ve enjoyed not having social media anymore, and I have refrained from googling myself and Gavin. “I’m sorry for the disturbance.”

  “It’s not your fault; it comes with the territory of dating someone famous. I just wanted to make sure you were handling it okay.”

  “To be quite honest, I don’t enjoy the attention, but it’s just something I will have to get used to.”

  “Right,” she agrees and smiles at me with sympathy. “And how is Gavin handling this newfound fame? Being a well-known songwriter doesn’t have the attention that a performer in front of big crowds and cameras does.”

  “He doesn’t enjoy the loss of privacy, but otherwise, he’s great.”

  “Glad to hear this,” she says, folding her hands together and leaning back in her chair. “Are the people at Charisma still treating him well?”

  “As far as I know, yes, but we don’t usually talk business.” I tilt my head to the side and look at her in confusion. “With all due respect, Kathleen, why are you asking?”

  “I personally have had to deal with Atticus Langston before and know firsthand what a treacherous human being he can be. I just didn’t want to hear that Gavin is being ostracized there, since he’s not dating Atticus’s daughter anymore.” She glances down at her manicure before continuing. “We would never do anything like that here, and I think it’s important for Gavin to know he has options if he ever starts to feel that way.”

  I narrow my eyes at her, not liking the direction this conversation is going. “What do you mean by options?”

  She smiles, sits up, and leans in closer. “Imagine how wonderful life would be if Gavin signed with us? We would promote you to be his A&R manager, so you can be there every step of the way with him on his future albums. Because he would be such an important client, we could arrange it so that you would only have one other client besides him. You would be invested in him both personally and professionally.”

  Bile starts to rise up my throat, and I have to force myself to swallow it down. “I prefer not to mix business with pleasure,” I tell her coldly as I stand up, signaling I’m ready to end this conversation and leave.

  “This would be the next stepping stone for your career, Aly.” She smiles at me, but I don’t return one back. “No harm in thinking about it. After all, you want what’s best for the both of you, right?” she questions with a raised eyebrow, a sly smile playing on her lips.

  Shane said Kathleen can be a shark when she needs to be. I just never would have guessed I would be the one she would prey on. She stands up and walks around her desk to open the door for me.

  “Thank you for all of your hard work for us, Aly. Shane raves about you and we’re lucky to have someone so dedicated to her job. You have a very bright future with us ahead of you.” I nod and give her a stiff smile as I walk past her to leave.

  “Oh, and Aly?” I turn around to look at her when she calls out my name. “Please make sure to introduce me to Gavin tonight when we’re all at the game. See you later!” She smiles one more time and then closes her door.

  I storm back to my office, my emotions turbulent on what just occurred. With it almost being five o’clock and Shane still not back in his office, I decide I deserve to leave early to get ready for tonight. I leave him a note and grab my belongings, needing to get out of this place to calm down and think about how to handle this.

  _________________

  Gavin invited me to spend the night at his house after the game, so I head home. There are a few things I need to take care of around my place; plus, I need to pack my bag and change for tonight. Sosie is supposed to be meeting us at Gavin’s, so the three of us can ride to the game together—something I’m not exactly looking forward to. I tried to convince Willow to meet us as well, hoping she could be a little bit of a buffer, but she couldn’t get off work early. She’ll meet us outside of the arena and we’ll all walk in together, since I have everyone’s ticket.

  After I accomplish everything I need to do at home and have packed my bag, I change into jeans and a cute tunic with booties, since it’s cold in the arena, and freshen up my makeup. I give Apollo some extra attention and love, since I won’t be home tonight, feed him, and leave for Gavin’s.

  While I’m excited to finally see his place, I’m also still bothered by my conversation with Kathleen. There’s no way in hell I’m going to try to convince Gavin to sign with Big Little Music when his contract with Charisma is up. I don’t want Gavin to have any doubts about me and my motives for being with him. Trying to get him to my record label would throw up red flags. I think it’s best not to tell him what happened, so that way there’s no awkwardness between him and Kathleen whenever they run in to each other, which happens quite frequently at industry events.

  I silence the warning bells going off in my head that I should be one hundred percent honest with Gavin on this. If our relationship wasn’t so new, I would call him up and tell him right now. But it isn’t, and until I know he trusts me completely, I will stay silent on this matter. As for Kathleen, I’ll just ignore her as long as possible before she brings the subject up again.

  Satisfied with my plan, I focus on my drive to his apartment, which takes me less than ten minutes to get to. I get lucky and find street parking across from his building. I grab my belongings out of my trunk and cross the street. Gavin lives in one of the new, trendy high-rise apartment complexes that just got built two years ago. I hit the intercom button outside the front door and wait for someone to answer.

  “Can I help you?” I look through the glass windows of the door to see the doorman looking at me, a phone pressed to his ear so he can hear me talk through the intercom.

  “Hi, I’m here to see Gavin McNeer.”

  “Name?”

  “Alyson Dawson.” He looks at something behind his desk and nods.

  “Come on in. Please have your driver’s license ready for me to look at.”

  A loud buzzing noise sounds and I pull the door open to enter. I walk over to his station and hand him my driver’s license. He types my information into his computer and hands it back to me.

  “Mr. McNeer has put you on his approved guest list. Please type in your own personal four-digit code for you to use on the outside keypad to get in. After you have your code, please hit the pound sign.” He produces a keypad that is connected to his computer, and I type in four digits I know I will remember. I hit the pound sign and tell him I’m done. “Now please enter your cell phone number.” Once I’m done, he takes the keypad back and I hear his mouse clicking a couple more times until he’s finished. “You’re all set, Ms. Dawson. Elevators are around the corner to my right, and Mr. McNeer is on the fourteenth floor, apartment 1405.”

  I thank him for his help and walk to the elevators. The decor in the lobby is very cold and modern, making me wonder why Gavin chose this building, since that doesn’t seem to fit his personality. Yet again, I could be completely wrong, since this is my first time seeing his place. I push the up button and the doors to my right open immediately. The ride to up is quick and quiet. The elevators slows to a stop and the doors open to reveal one handsome-looking Texan leaning against the frame, waiting for me.

  “There’s my girl,” he says in his yummy, husky voice. He grabs my wrists and pulls me out of the elevator straight into his arms. His lips come down on mine, his tongue immediately demanding entrance through my parted lips.

  I sigh in happiness as I kiss him back with equal vigor. Lord, this man knows how to kiss, and after a few moments, all brain and body activity is focused on him. I drop my bags to the ground and wrap my arms around his neck to pull him in deeper. I feel his hands slide into the back pockets of my jeans, cupping my ass, and rubbing me again
st his erection. I moan at how good the friction feels, my body aching for him to be inside me.

  I wonder if we have time for a quickie.

  “Sosie got here early, and I could fucking kill her for it. It was my plan to ravish you before we left,” he tells me in between kisses, as if he’s reading my damn mind. “There might be a janitor closet somewhere on this floor.” He gives me an evil smile with a wink before continuing his assault on my lips.

  “Tonight,” I say breathlessly, releasing my hold on him so I can start getting control over myself.

  “You bet that fine ass of yours tonight,” he growls, giving me one last hard peck on the lips before pulling his hands out of my pockets. He picks up my duffle bag from the floor and then eyes the three gift bags. “What are those?” he asks, pointing to them.

  “Surprises,” I say vaguely, giving him a mysterious smile. I pick up the three bags off the floor and shake my head at him when he tries to carry them for me.

  “Darlin’, you’re the only present I’ll ever want.” He grabs my free hand and leads me down a hallway to his apartment.

  “Well, that’s no fun because you already have me.” I squeeze his hand in mine and we come to a stop in front of his door. He brings our joined hands up to his lips and kisses my knuckles.

  “I hope so,” he whispers and softly kisses me on my mouth. When he pulls back, I see a look in his eyes I’ve never seen before. It’s filled with tenderness and, dare I hope… love?

  Please, God, let him be falling just as hard and fast as I am.

  He gives me a reassuring smile and opens the door to his apartment. He pulls me into his place and lets go of my hand to close the door behind us, giving me the opportunity to look around. Light-gray paint coats the walls, and the first thing that catches my eye is the floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing a gorgeous view of the city. High ceilings create the illusion of a bigger place than what the square footage actually is.

  I walk farther in and look to my right at the kitchen with dark cabinets, white quartz countertops, and stainless-steel appliances. Two industrial-looking chandeliers hang over the island. In front of me is the living room with rustic wood beams on the ceiling, a small, black leather sectional couch that Sosie is sitting on, working on her computer, and a very large television hanging inside a built-in entertainment unit on the opposite wall.