by M. S. Parker
Despite all the ways I knew I’d be feeling this tomorrow, I wasn’t in any hurry to move. Staying conscious was about all I had the strength for, and even that was up in the air. For now, I was content to let myself float.
Twenty-Nine
Nate
The Golden Words release party was this upcoming weekend, and things were going as smoothly as I’d ever seen. Everyone involved was busy, of course, but there was none of the chaos that had been a part of our most recent event.
I only hoped that meant the party itself would go off without the drama that’d been a part of the other event too. Granted, not many people knew about the drama that had almost resulted in me injuring the lead singer of my label’s first band, but that didn’t mean I wanted it to happen again, quiet or not.
Fortunately, Golden Words was nothing like Unraveling when it came to the antics of their members. Four women who got along better than any band I’d ever seen, they managed to pull off a nice blend of pop and rock that appealed to the masses without being formulaic or trite.
This was going to be their second release, and the singles from it were already getting serious radio play. My gut told me that they’d be our top earners soon, and that, if they maintained, they could easily become bigger than Unraveling.
The reminder of Zed and his idiotic demands made me want to thank Chana Beach for being more mature at twenty-two than Zed was at more than a decade older. If nothing else, I would at least give A&R the go-ahead to take care of anything Chana and her bandmates asked for.
I was in the middle of sending an email to Stu to ask for an update when someone knocked on my door. Hoping it was Stu with an in-person update, I called out for whoever it was to come in.
It wasn’t Stu.
What the fuck was she doing here?
I didn’t bother to ask how she’d gotten past the receptionist in the lobby. Wayne wasn’t necessarily the best person for the job, but Ashlee liked him, and he was a good kid. He could get better at what he was supposed to do, but it was damn hard to ‘teach’ someone to be a good person. I’d decided to keep him on, but I was going to need to talk to Chris about paying closer attention until Wayne was up to speed.
Flora strolled into my room like she owned the place, those cyan eyes of hers gleaming in a way that I didn’t like any more than I liked her attitude.
“It’s easy enough to slip into a group coming back from lunch. Security doesn’t always check those groups as thoroughly as they check people first thing in the morning.”
I definitely needed to talk to Chris.
“I’m not sure why you feel like you should be here,” I said, “but I’ll give you one chance to leave before I call security to escort you out.”
“I think you might want to hear what I have to say before calling anyone.” She sat down across from me, a smirk on her lips.
I wasn’t really in the mood for this, but I suspected it’d be faster to just let her say her piece and be on her way. “Go on.”
“That was a lovely picture in the newspaper,” she began, looking pleased with herself, as if she’d just outmaneuvered me. “You and…her. Though the reporter didn’t seem to know her name. Not surprising. I’m sure you don’t want everyone knowing who she is. Wouldn’t look too good, would it? I mean, dating an employee.” She shook her head, her lower lip poked out in feigned disappointment.
“Get to the point, Flora. I have work to do.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m sure you do. Other employees to take advantage of. People to unjustly fire.”
I sighed. “If you just want to run your mouth, I’ll call the company lawyer, and you can talk to her.”
“And if I want to threaten to tell someone that your new fuck buddy works for you?”
I gritted my teeth, but there were two things I needed to make clear before I called Chris to get her out of here. “Ashlee is my girlfriend, and she is a freelance contractor for the A&R department under Stu Hancock. You clearly haven’t learned anything about spreading lies.”
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe they’re lies, maybe they’re not. Doesn’t matter. People will eat them up the same.”
“And I could sue you for both libel and slander.”
“But a lot of people will still think that Ashlee slept her way into a job she didn’t deserve.”
Shit. She had a point.
“So, you just came here to tell me your vengeful plans?” I doubted that was the case, especially since she knew all I needed to do was pick up my phone and I’d have a lawyer preparing an injunction and anything else she could to make Flora’s life miserable.
“I can’t find a job, thanks to you.” A scowl twisted her expression into something ugly. “I want money. A hundred thousand. Cash or a transfer if you don’t carry that much cash here at the office. No, I won’t take a check, and no, I won’t leave until I have either the cash in hand or see the money in my bank account.”
Blackmail. That sounded about right for Flora.
I knew that if I agreed to it, Jailene was going to have a fit. Logically, I understood that paying Flora off once meant that she’d probably come back for more, but I also knew that if I did anything other than pay her, she’d immediately start contacting media outlets just to beat me to it.
Legal action still would’ve been possible, but like she’d said, the rumors would already be out there. If that small amount of money could spare Ashlee from the same sort of shit Flora had pulled before, only on a larger scale, I’d pay it a hundred times over.
“I’ll do a transfer,” I said. “I don’t keep that much cash at the office. Do you have the account information?”
She wasn’t able to mask her surprise, but she covered it quickly, rummaging through her purse until she found her checkbook. “This will work, right?”
I almost wanted to laugh. I loved dealing with people who thought they were smarter than they actually were. Cash could be tracked, but generally only under a specific set of circumstances. A wire transfer of money was risky but made less so when it was to an off-shore bank or one under a false identity. Flora had just handed me all the information I’d need to give the police if I wanted to file a report.
If she left Ashlee and me alone after I gave her this money, I’d let her go about with her life as well. Going to the police wouldn’t be worth the time and hassle. If she broke her word about talking to the press or if she came back for more money, however, then I’d make this a legal matter.
But that was a problem for another day.
Thirty
Ashlee
I had to tell my mom that I’d talked to Finley. Needing a short time to process things myself made sense, but I didn’t want to wait too long. Then again, it wasn’t like there was some book on what the appropriate amount of time would be. How long should someone wait to tell their mother that they’d broken this kind of news to their biological father, who also happened to be their boyfriend’s best friend slash business partner?
It wouldn’t be a bad conversation, but it was going to be a weird one. I supposed other children who’d been conceived the same way had been part of similar talks, though I doubted the whole employment or boyfriend aspect had come into play very often.
Part of me wanted to talk to Mom face-to-face because this didn’t exactly feel like the kind of conversation one should have over the phone, but the drive to and from Staten Island was unappealing, to say the least.
If I hadn’t already told her that I’d looked for and found my biological father, I would’ve made the trip, but I knew her well enough to know that she would be okay with me calling her for this update. It was also miles better than a text.
Once I’d made the decision, I was ready to act on it, but I still had an hour left at work, and calling her from here wasn’t even an option. While I doubted Mr. Hancock or Ms. Lamas would mind, I didn’t want even the appearance of receiving special treatment, especially not now that the majority of the people here knew I was dating Nate. I�
��d even taken to cutting my breaks and lunch short by a few minutes so no one could claim I was late.
Not that I’d told anyone that. Nate would probably ignore any complaints. Mr. Hancock and Ms. Lamas would most likely keep an eye on me to make sure the claims weren’t true. No matter how it played out, however, if anything was even close to the line, it’d look like I was being shown favoritism.
I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if anyone found out that Finley was my father. He and Nate knew I wasn’t after money or anything like that, but it could still be blown out of proportion. The last thing Manhattan Records needed right now was scandal.
Nate hadn’t said anything, but I knew that Unraveling’s numbers were still falling. With the exception of “Fire and Light,” all of the tracks from their most recent release were bombing. People were buying the single and ignoring the rest of the album, or they were buying the album and writing reviews about how there was only one good song on it.
Not helping at all was Zed Hipwood’s arrest for drunken disorderly yesterday morning. Fortunately for us, there’d been enough bigger stories that Zed’s incident was barely covered at all. Still, it was out there, and I had a bad feeling that his antics would only increase as his popularity waned. Judging by the reviews I’d seen and the chatter I’d heard, things would only get worse.
I hadn’t talked to Nate about any of it since we were still figuring out how to talk about work without crossing any lines. It was a strange dance, but more than worth it.
That was something my mom needed to hear about too. She knew how much I cared about Nate, and she believed he cared a lot about me too, but she was wary, and I understood why. Not only did Nate and my relationship have its own complications, but Mom knew firsthand what it was like to have her heart broken, and she didn’t want that for me.
I sent out my last email and double-checked the list of things I had to do tomorrow. Only two workdays until the Golden Words release party and organization was the key to making everything go smoothly. Unlike those who were thrown when something random disrupted a schedule, I handled sudden situations more easily when everything else was planned out. Well, if I was on schedule. If I got behind…
A burst of laughter from down the hall made me look up, and I saw people closing down their computers, chatting as they gathered their things. I’d been so absorbed in what I was doing that I hadn’t seen the hour turn. I finished up what I was doing and did a last look-over to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
I would call Mom while I fixed my dinner tonight, I decided. Nate and I hadn’t made plans until the party this Saturday evening, so I wouldn’t have to worry about interruptions or rushing. Mom wouldn’t be upset about this, I knew, but I still didn’t want to make her feel like I was brushing her off with a few cursory details, especially since I’d kept Finley a secret for so long.
I made it home in record time and quickly changed out of my work clothes. Once comfortable, I headed to the kitchen. I called my mom and set the phone on the counter while I opened the fridge to see what I had to eat.
“Hey, sweetie! What’s going on?”
“Getting some dinner together and calling my mom. What about you?”
“Eating dinner and talking to my daughter.”
I smiled, the familiar banter exactly what I needed to help me arrange my thoughts about the main reason I’d called. Mom and I talked often, usually without any specific reasons, but she knew that if I needed to tell her something, I’d get to it when I was ready.
“How’s work going?” I asked. “You said something about doing some research on a ship’s manifest from the seventeenth century while you waited for some information on your Quaker project?”
“Yes, Professor Luther wants to do a special workshop over the next winter break for a handful of his grad students. It should be interesting.” She paused, then asked, “How is work going with you?”
I couldn’t have asked for a better segue. “It’s going well. The new contract and job description was a brilliant idea on Nate’s part.”
“I take that to mean he’s been behaving himself at work.” Mom sounded amused.
Heat crept up my neck. “He has.”
“Good. I’d rather not get myself into trouble vandalizing his expensive car. I assume he has an expensive car.”
I laughed. “I wonder how many other mothers would admit to considering vandalism for their child.”
“Any good mother would.” She joined in my laughter. “But a good daughter would offer an alibi.”
I put my chicken in the oven and brought up the main reason I’d called. “So, I talked to Finley.”
A beat of silence. “How did that go?”
“Really well.” I leaned against the counter. “Nate actually invited Finley over to have dinner with us at Nate’s place. A neutral place, but also a private one.”
As I told her the story, I suddenly realized how worried I’d actually been about this thing with Finley damaging my relationship with my mom. But Mom wasn’t reluctantly supporting this simply because she didn’t want to hurt me. I knew her well enough to hear what she wasn’t saying.
She wasn’t only happy for me. She wanted to be a part of this, if that was what I wanted too.
I’d been so afraid of hurting Mom with my search, and now I found myself tearing up because things were working out better than I’d ever imagined possible.
Thirty-One
Nate
For a week, the only communication I had with Ashlee were in texts and a couple calls, and I felt the absence of her presence like an itch underneath my skin. We were both busy with the Golden Words party, and usually, when I was focused on work, especially for something like this, it wasn’t strange for me to go days or weeks without making contact with a girlfriend. I didn’t treat them like shit, but they knew they weren’t my priority.
My relationship with Ashlee was different. I wanted to see her, talk to her, be with her. I’d been able to focus on work this week, but only because I’d had in the back of my mind that I wanted this to be the type of event that Ashlee would be proud to attend with me. I’d never considered anything like that before. Other women had been with me because of who I was. Ashlee was with me because…well, honestly, I sometimes wondered why a woman like her wanted me.
I pushed that thought aside. I refused to let the insecurities I always tried to hide screw up my night. I had very specific plans for tonight. Ashlee and I were going to attend the release party, and I’d make sure the reporters knew exactly who she was this time. After we’d been there an appropriate amount of time, I’d bring her back to my place for a weekend of decadence.
To kick things off, I’d sent her a dress for tonight. I’d included with it a note, telling her that I wanted to see her in it, but that I didn’t want her to wear anything underneath it.
The moment she opened the door to her apartment, and I saw her in it, I knew I’d made a great choice.
Floor-length with a slit that went half-way up her thigh. A tucked-in waist that flared back out to accommodate her full breasts. A sweetheart neckline that left a tantalizing bit of pale skin bare. Clingy, soft turquoise fabric the exact shade of her eyes.
I let out a low whistle, letting all of my admiration show on my face. I was going to fuck her in that dress before I took it off her tonight. Hell, I was tempted to have her ride me in the back seat of the limo on our way to the party. The only thing that kept me from suggesting it was knowing that it would make Ashlee anxious the whole night, wondering if people would suspect what we’d done. I didn’t want her nervous tonight. She deserved to relax and enjoy herself.
“Right back at you.” She smiled warmly, her heated gaze running down my body and then back up again. When her tongue ran along her bottom lip, my cock stiffened.
“Damn, you tempt me.” I held out my arm, and she took it. “As soon as we can leave without our absence drawing attention, I’m taking you to my place, and I’m going t
o show you just how much I like that dress.”
“I like the sound of that.”
I was impressed by how natural Ashlee had looked on the red carpet. She’d smiled as we’d walked and hadn’t looked away when I’d introduced her to the journalists clambering to know who she was. I’d felt her hand trembling on my arm, but she hadn’t shown any fear at all.
I was going to reward her for that tonight.
We made our way through the party, shaking hands and making small talk. Or, rather, I made small talk and Ashlee smiled, speaking only when someone directed something at her. She wasn’t shirking away from people, but it was clear the attention wasn’t something she craved.
Another way she was different from all the other women I’d dated.
The thought made me smile.
“Nate, nice to see you.”
I turned to see Saya Wong smiling at me. She was one of the few agents I liked, and fortunately, Golden Words was one of the three Manhattan Records artists she represented. Saya was professional, intelligent, and had a good sense of humor. She’d also never flirted with me or expressed any interest in dating me. I didn’t know if I wasn’t her type or she had stricter rules than I did about dating someone she had a work relationship with. Whatever the reason, I liked it.
“You too,” I said, extending my hand. She shook it and then held hers out to Ashlee.
“Ashlee Webb, right? You were here with Nate at the last event.”
“I was.” Ashlee shook Saya’s hand, a genuine smile on her face. “I’m a big fan of Golden Words.”
Saya winked at her. “I like to hear that.”
