by Wild, Bella
She took notes on a green legal pad in her lap. I was tempted to get up, walk around behind her, and look over her shoulder. I wanted to know what she was writing, what her handwriting looked like, to see if she made any doodles in the margins in between noteworthy thoughts. I had expected it to be overwhelming to meet her in person and feel her energy, but so far, I felt surprisingly at ease.
“There’s one thing that you need to know,” Kevin continued. “Johnny’s fan page has been receiving some worrisome messages from a fan we fear may be dangerous.”
I had to force my eyes off Amanda to look at Kevin. I didn’t want her getting completely creeped out by me. Although, the kiss to the back of her hand probably already turned her weirdo-radar on. And why the hell did I do that? I had to wonder. Something about the woman shut off all rational thinking. I had to keep the creepy behavior in check if I wanted a real chance at connecting with her.
Kevin continued, but I missed much of it. It wasn’t anything I had not heard before. Until what he said next.
“This is the reason we’ve been thinking of cutting ties with our current security firm. I didn’t feel they took these threats seriously enough. We had our lawyer file a complaint to the local police, but city police can only do so much. The person has not only made threats against Johnny, but mentioned hurting fans at his events across the country. That’s when the LA police referred us to the FBI. The lawyer and I have been in contact with one of their agents. You can expect to work with them as they investigate further.”
Wait. What? FBI? What in the hell was Kevin talking about? I glared at him, resenting the fact that he had kept me out of the loop on something this big. Sure, he voiced his opinions loud and clear when it came to my music preferences, women in my music videos, my outfits, my haircut. Shit, the man basically lived to make my business his business. So for him to leave me out of something like an FBI investigation, it was unusual. He had shown me messages from some over-enthusiastic fan-girl, and perhaps I had laughed it off as a joke. Maybe I should have taken him more seriously.
“That won’t be a problem,” she told him. “I will help them in any way I can. I had my fair share of obsessed fans when I was still fighting, so I understand the warning signs, and absolutely take those threats seriously.”
Damn, she was good. I sat back and returned my attention to her. Observing her was quickly releasing my frustration with Kevin. I would deal with him later.
“Right. So based on everything you learned, do you believe this is a project you can handle? It’s a short-term assignment, but it carries a lot of responsibility with it. And you’d need to pull a team together quickly.”
Kevin was seriously starting to piss me off with the way he spoke down to her.
“I’ve already identified the members of my team. They are highly experienced in private security. I’m certain I can lead this assignment, Mr. Willis,” she told him. “The assignment plays well to my skills. I haven’t covered rock stars or concerts, but three of my team members have. And I’m familiar with arenas, large venues, the fans, and the hustle and chaos. This work does not intimidate me, sir. I understand the dynamic. I’m a quick leaner as well, so I will take the time to know your preferred way of running security. For the past six months, I’ve been working with a firm that mostly handles political candidates. To be honest, I did not personally lead the detail. But I understand the role and am good at what I do.”
She turned toward me. I felt that energy between us sparking around the room again as I watched her eyes travel up my body before locking on my eyes. “And I should also add that I’ve only recently been introduced to your music, but I think you’re so very talented.”
She really was good. She may have been laying it on thick to impress Kevin, though. And the thought of her listening to my songs made me both rock hard and anxious at the same time.
“Thank you. That means a lot to me,” I told her.
Kevin asked a few follow-up questions, and excused the both of us from the room to talk it over. I nodded to Amanda and followed Kevin to the den. He closed the door behind me and squared off his shoulders, planting his feet and crossing his arms.
“Well? What do you think?” I asked. From my read of his posture, I could already tell it was going to be a fight to get him to say yes.
“Johnny, I don’t know what you were thinking with this one,” he started. “Actually, no, I take that back. I can see exactly what it was. Admit it. You were thinking with your dick, not your head, weren’t you?”
I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He was going to say no. Shit, I had to turn this around fast.
“You’re going to give her the contract,” I snapped.
“Are you crazy?” Kevin flung back. “Were you listening at all, or just staring at her the whole time?”
“I was listening!”
“Good. Then you heard her say in a roundabout kind of way, that she doesn’t have any experience with this kind of job.”
“What are you talking about? She just told us she’s put an experienced team together, and she has been doing high-profile shit for six months!” I almost shouted, my arms flailing for extra effect to save my plan from disaster.
“What she said, Johnny, is she has no experience leading a security team. Watching other people and doing it yourself are two different things. I can’t believe you’re being this insistent. What is it about this girl? You get more pussy than you even know what to do with, so what the fuck is this really about?”
“That’s not what this is about,” I fired back. “I admire her. She deserves a chance.”
Kevin rolled his eyes. “Johnny, we’re talking about your life! And the safety of your band and crew. If you don’t care about yourself, fine. But at least think about all the people who tour with us. They have names, families, and dreams too. And think about the fans. Are you willing to risk all of that on some girl who sort of knows what she’s doing?”
“You’re underestimating her,” I challenged. “I want her to do this tour, and if you don’t want to take the risk, I have a simple solution. Don’t come. I can handle it on my own. But then again, you’d never let me go without you, because in addition to missing out on your share, it would seriously put you to shame when I pull it off alone.”
I crossed my arms, waiting for his response.
“Is that what you think this is? That I’m just here, managing your career for my share? My ten percent?”
“Yeah! That’s exactly what I think this is about. That and controlling me. Anytime I want to do things my way, you swoop in and tell me a thousand ways that I’m wrong. I think when we first started working together, you actually cared, and it was about the music. But that’s all lost now. You don’t give me any room to do anything out of the box. And it’s because if it fails, you lose out. You even have that financial advisor telling me what I can and can’t do with my money. Face it, Kevin. I’m your retirement plan! Nothing more.”
Kevin rubbed his hand down the side his face, shaking his head. “Johnny, I don’t give two shits about the money. And that financial advisor has helped you do so well, you’ll never have to worry. Ever.”
“Oh, really?” I threw my hands up in the air. The entire conversation aggravated me more as time ticked on.
“Listen to me. We helped manage your money because you’re young and prone to being irresponsible. Lady and I made a promise to your parents—”
“Don’t you dare start talking about my parents,” I interrupted, my voice low in a growl now.
“You need to hear this, so listen to me. We promised your parents we would look after you, and that’s what we’ve done. When they passed and you came to live with Lady and me, we knew we had to keep a close watch on you. We’ve been there for you, and we’ve protected you so you can have a life later on too, long after the fame fades away. I push you because I want you to be a legend, to live up to the potential you have. Lady and I had more than enough money to last
a lifetime, long before you were in the picture. And now, you do too. So it’s not about the money, kid.”
It was hard to process everything he was saying with my mind now distracted by the memory of my parents. It had been fifteen years since they died; I was eleven at the time, but just the mention of them was enough to send me back to the anger, sadness and depression I went through. I tried to clear my mental fog so I wouldn’t sink back into that pit.
“What did you mean about me having enough money to last a lifetime?” I asked, desperate for something to fill my mind, other than my parents’ passing.
“See? This shows you never listen to me, Johnny. You do remember my brother, Jeff, right?”
I nod. I’m still upset, and way too irate to speak.
“He’s a sound, proven investment broker, one of the best around. He’s handled Lady and my finances for years. We hired him to manage your money as well, when we became your guardians. We put aside most of your parent’s inheritance. The bulk of it was put in a trust fund, to be released to you when you turn twenty-eight. We let Jeff invest it, and much of what you earn as a performing artist. It’s grown substantially over the last fifteen years.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “How substantially?”
Kevin hesitated; he never talked about money with me, so for him to even approach the topic was an opportunity I knew I had to take. I just wished the timing had been better. I hated the thought of making Amanda wait this long for us.
“Johnny, you have over two billion dollars in assets.” He held up a hand to hold off my questions that were surfacing. The man knew me too well. “Now, it’s not all liquid. It’s tied up in real estate, some airplane manufacturing shares, blue-chip stock, part-ownership of a few data centers, and other investments. But if you were to liquidate everything—”
“Shit!” I breathed out. “Holy shit, Kevin! Why didn’t you tell me any of this sooner?”
“Because I need your eye on the prize. I need you focused and working your ass off like it could all be gone tomorrow. That’s what it takes to become one of the greats—a hunger, a resolve. Telling you that you have access to two billion dollars wouldn’t keep you challenging yourself to be better.”
“So why did you tell me just now?” I asked, completely confused.
“Because I never want you to accuse me of being in it for the money. Ever.” His voice was low, deadly serious, and his eyes locked with mine in an intense gaze I couldn’t look away from. “Do you understand? Everything Lady and I have ever done for you, has been for your own good. Don’t ever question my motives.”
I nodded. Was I ever wrong about this guy. Damn, I really had been a prick lately. In any case, I wanted to stay on topic about Amanda. I wanted to pitch one more time for Kevin to give her the job, but his face was stone cold. I didn’t want to provoke him further. He passed by me and went out into the hallway; I waited a beat, and then followed along.
We re-entered the living room, and Amanda was bent over her legal pad, furiously scribbling notes. She had her phone laid on top, and seemed to be referencing the screen in between jots. When Kevin cleared his throat to get her attention, her head popped up.
“Oh, hello. I’m so sorry,” she said, gesturing at her phone. “I was just reading some of these threats on your page. You weren’t kidding. This is serious. And some of it is quite disturbing.”
Kevin’s brow creased. “What do you mean? All the threatening posts were removed by our web service. Shit. Are there new ones?”
Amanda handed over her phone. She and I glanced at each other before turning our attention to Kevin. He had an increasingly horrified look on his face as he scanned the messages she had pulled up on the screen.
“I’ll be back. Excuse me one minute. I need to make some calls.”
With that, he was gone, leaving Amanda and me alone in the living room. I sat next to her, finally able to look over her shoulder at the notepad that still lay in her lap.
“Doesn’t that freak you out?” she asked, turning her face to me, her sultry, light green eyes locking with mine.
I shrugged. “I try not to take it too seriously. What did these new ones say?”
“I only wrote down part of it, but the newest one is a bomb threat at each of your concerts. It makes sense the FBI wants to look at it. It easily falls into their definition of cyber-terrorism, and as your concerts are all over the country, local and state police just aren’t enough.”
“The FBI will know what to do. And…you can handle the rest. I trust you.”
She smiled. “You do?”
I nodded. “Completely.”
“Why? You literally just met me. What makes you so sure?”
I shrugged, realizing a little too late that I needed to dial it back. Damn, it was so hard to play it cool around her. “It’s a hunch. And you have a…I don’t know, an aura about you.”
She laughed again, and I worked to memorize that sweet sound.
“I really am in LA now. It’s less than a few hours in, and my aura has already been assessed.”
This was going to be fun. For the first time…ever…I found myself wishing the tour dates would happen sooner. Normally, I had a love-hate relationship with tours. It meant entirely too much time shoved in a small space with Kevin in a limo, on a bus, or on a plane. And sure, the girls and the after-parties were always fun. But what people didn’t realize was we had a lot of downtime on the road.
Back when I started in the music business, my bandmates were some of my best friends. Touring was a blast back then. We could be stuck in the middle of a snowstorm and still have the time of our lives. Ever since Kevin came into the picture, everything changed. One of the first things he did to piss me off was replace my band, one member at a time.
“Are you okay?” Amanda’s voice broke into my distracted thoughts. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sure it will all be fine. Most of these turn out to be harmless. We just have to be careful and take each one seriously.”
I looked at her. She seemed genuinely concerned, the way she leaned toward me and placed a hand on my shoulder. I was all tensed up before, but her touch chased all that away. Suddenly I wasn’t angry at Kevin anymore. I could figure that out later, given the new information he had shared with me wasn’t actually all bad.
I smiled at her. “Yes, I’m fine, really. It’s just been hectic, that’s all.”
She asked me about my music. I was starting to get into a relaxed conversation with her when Kevin re-entered the room.
“I just got off the phone with the FBI. They’re on it.”
“That was fast,” I answered.
“They’re sending an agent out here tomorrow morning.”
“What? You mean for protection?”
“I don’t think so. They’re still investigating. But as an extra precaution starting tonight, they recommended that we beef up the security here at the house, and wherever you go, Johnny.”
Shit. Like I didn’t have enough going on already.
Kevin looked at Amanda. “Is there any way you can stay here with Johnny tonight and start the assignment early?” he asked. “We have perimeter guards on the grounds, but I’m not sure they’re trained for personal security.”
Kevin was on board! On the inside, I was pumped at the thought of Amanda under the same roof with me tonight. I did my best to stay neutral at the news. That was incredibly difficult—all I wanted to do was kiss Kevin for suggesting it, then get him out of my house so I could focus on this woman who had plagued my thoughts for years.
“Tonight?” Amanda asked. “My things are at the hotel, but, yes. Definitely. Does that means I got the contract?”
I couldn’t help but smile. We needed her. Kevin needed her, and he was miserable. He hated being backed into a corner.
“The contract is yours.”
Chapter Six
Amanda
I got a million-dollar gig. I got a million-dollar gig! If no one were around, I would have run arou
nd the room, whooping and pounding my chest for effect. I couldn’t believe it was happening. With the offer on the table and the contracts ready to be signed, the knot of anxiety in my stomach faded away, but was replaced with some new concerns. I let myself start taking it all in. It was no small task I was getting into. With the FBI already looking into the threats against him, this was serious business. Still, the stars aligned and put me in the right place at the right time. And I was the right person for the job, at last. This was meant to be.
Almost as soon as we finalized the arrangements verbally, Kevin kicked into gear. He started by calling the hotel where my things were, so they could send them here with a driver. After that, he called his assistant and got her to change my return flight details. I had originally been scheduled to leave the next day, but with this development, he wasn’t sure when I would fly back to Miami.
It felt surreal. It was really happening!
After it started to sink in, it hit me—neither of them bothered to ask if I had family, pets, or other plans I needed to rearrange to be able to stay indefinitely. Kevin seemed to just assume I would be free. Which was correct, to be honest. I had nothing going on. And I wasn’t about to jeopardize a million-dollar job offer over the inconvenience of having someone swing by my place to feed my two goldfish, Trevor and Lulu. I could easily get my best friend Eva to do that. Still, it would have been nice to have been asked. For all he knew, I could have been married with six kids waiting at home for my return. Somehow, my gut told me they already knew a lot more about me than they let on.
Kevin finished up with his phone calls. He turned his attention back to me, and the two of us got started on the very large pile of documents. He sat across the coffee-table from me and went over each section of the contract, answering any questions I had. It was all straightforward—and because he had emailed me the documentation beforehand, my lawyer had already checked it out and given the okay.
