by Terry Towers
Of course it did. Everyone in the music industry knew who Edward Hudson was. But just because her father was a legend didn’t mean she knew her asshole from a hole in the ground.
“Violet Hudson? That’s who we’re talking about?” Dylan asked.
Frowning, I looked over at Dylan a little surprised he knew who we were talking about.
Carter’s smile widened. “That’s exactly who we’re talking about.”
“Hmm.” Dylan rubbed his chin. I could see he was processing the information.
“She’s Edward’s daughter. Good for her. What can she do for us that makes her so special? Any manager would be giving their firstborn to work with us.”
Taking a deep breath in, Carter responded. “Can we be frank?”
“Please do.”
“Your band isn’t the easiest to find a match for.”
Annoyance raced through me. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, forgive me for saying this, but you’re developing a bad reputation. Many managers, while they’d love to work with a band of your caliber, are scared that they’ll end up in the trash heap with the other managers who have worked with you in the past. You’re going to end up running out of people willing to risk their careers to work with you and without a manager you might as well kiss your careers goodbye.”
“It’s not my fault we’ve been working with people who don’t have the ability to manage us effectively.” Who in the hell did he think he was? We expected a certain level of service from someone making money from our hard work. If they couldn’t produce, then of course we’re going to cut them loose. Our band gave 110% each and every time we created new music and went onstage, so of course we’d expect the person working for us would do the same; if not, they were history.
“I think we need to hear Carter out. Maybe she’s what we need; someone fresh and hungry to make a name for herself to get out of the shadow of her father wouldn’t hurt,” Dylan stated, giving me a nod of the head.
He hadn’t even met this person and was on board?
Well, whatever. Wouldn’t hurt to size her up in person. If she was fuckable then that would be an added bonus.
“Okay, well then, where is she? Let’s meet this person who thinks they can handle our career.”
“One moment and I’ll summon her up.” Carter picked up the phone and a little more than five minutes later there was a knock on his office door.
“Come in Violet,” Carter called out.
The door opened and in walked a fucking bombshell. Holy shitfire, just looking at her made my dick jerk alive in my pants. Her face—which was donned with faint freckles along the bridge of her nose—was framed with long, fire-red hair. And her body…. Damn. When I said I liked a woman with meat on her bones, she was exactly what I was referring to. She had a nice heart-shaped face, with modest breasts—I’d guess a solid C cup—and a nice hourglass figure to boot. I could easily envision myself spinning her around, grabbing onto her nice, thick hips, and fucking her senseless from behind, giving her nice, plump ass a slap here and there while indulging in her.
My dick grew thicker the more I thought about fucking her. All of a sudden having her as a manager didn’t seem like such a bad idea. If it didn’t work out, then there were always new managers. But before I cut her loose, I’d make sure she got a good ride on my dick.
“Violet, I’d like to introduce you to Zack Wyatt and Dylan Kane, also known as the leadmen of Hypnotic,” Carter said.
Dylan and I stood and met her halfway. Dylan gave her hand a brief shake, once done, it was my turn. Smiling, I took her hand and gave it a shake, but I wasn’t so quick to release her butter-soft hand as Dylan was. Instead, I kept her petite hand in mine for a couple seconds longer than necessary. As I released her, I ran the tip of my index finger along her wrist and palm. My grin widened as I watched her inhale sharply and a flush color her ivory cheeks.
This might be a lot of fun. How long would she hold out before she let me between her legs? Hopefully she would provide a challenge. I liked a challenge; it made the conquest all the more enjoyable.
She cleared her throat and walked around us to position herself behind the desk. Next to Carter. Her reaction made me chuckle inside.
“Zack, don’t even think about it,” Dylan whispered to me as we sat back down.
Dylan and I have known each other since middle school. Did he not know me well enough by now to know his warning me off fucking her was only going to make me want her more? Silly, silly Dylan.
Pinning my stare on the fiery redhead I asked. “What makes you think you’re equipped to manage a group like us?”
“Well, I—” she broke eye contact, which made me grin. She was going to be putty in my hands.
But then she did something that surprised me. She straightened, squared her shoulders, and her gaze recaptured mine. “I know what you’re thinking.”
I cocked a brow up at her. “You do?”
“You think I’m not experienced enough. You think I’m just riding my daddy’s coattails. And you think I won’t be able to handle you.”
“You mean the group.”
“No, I mean you, Mr. Wyatt.” She left the safety of Carter’s side and rounded the desk to stand before me. Slowly, she lowered herself so that she was perched on the edge of the desk. “But let me set you straight.”
“Oh, please do.” This little show of attitude she was giving me was fucking turning me on. I couldn’t have helped the shit-eating grin on my face if I wanted to.
“I know the position your group is in. You’ve run off every manager you’ve had, but I guarantee I won’t break as easily. I’ve grown up in this industry and been around groups more demanding then you could ever be.”
Funny how she was looking just at me when she threw the demanding accusation around.
“But I’ve built a reputation all on my own. I didn’t need my father to launch the careers of a number of artists.”
“Okay.” Leaning forward, I braced my elbows on my knees. I was close enough to her now that I could smell the lilac scent of her perfume. I liked it. “Goodie for you. You launched some groups. But sweetie, we don’t need to be launched. We’re fucking gods all on our own. So, I ask again: what can you do for us that no one else could?”
She smirked. “I can keep you on the minds of everyone in this country, hell, in the world. All the while, keeping a smile on my face while putting up with your bullshit and keeping you in line.”
The room went deathly silent as Violet and I stared each other down. Her green eyes were like wide emeralds as they twinkled their challenge to me. I couldn’t wait to see those eyes widen as she called out my name, while coming all over my dick.
Suddenly a burst of laughter erupted from Dylan. “Holy shit, that was sweet.”
Violet broke eye contact with me to glance over at Dylan, cocking her head and staring at him. She began to break down a plan she had for us, but it didn’t matter. Those were just details that I really didn’t give a shit about. The fire in her attitude reflected that of her hair. Oh man, did I ever love it!
She was going to be fun indeed.
Chapter 3
Dylan
What a day. I won’t lie; I was worried. Zack was such a damned wildcard and he really needed to learn to keep his pecker in his pants. Anyone with a vagina was fair game to him, but by God I was not going to allow him to make our new manager his newest conquest. No way, no how.
If I couldn’t convince him on my own then maybe the other guys in the band could chime in and make him see where he was going wrong, so I’d called up our drummer, Ethan, keyboardist, Salvatore, and guitarist, Flinn, and asked them to meet us at an exclusive New York City club called the Cavalier Club. It was one of our favorites and we tried to drop in each time we were in the Big Apple.
The SUV pulled up to the curb of the club. Being that it was Friday night there was a line all the way down the block of people waiting to get in. I’d called ahead a
nd the security staff was on alert for us. As the driver shut off the engine, four large bouncers in suits burst from the front entrance and made their way to the vehicle. One stepped forward and opened the back door for us to exit.
Zack exited first, and as normal, as soon as he appeared the crowd in line went nuts.
I sighed. A part of me wished I had a normal life where I could go somewhere and not be recognized. I sometimes had fantasies of going to the local Wal-Mart and shopping for everything and nothing without a single person demanding a photo or autograph. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated how fortunate I was to have this life. I was damned lucky to be able to do something that I loved and be paid for it! But sometimes I longed to be normal, if only for a day.
Slipping from the car I groaned out loud. Zack was already at the line and signing autographs and pulling women from the crowd.
No, and fuck no. We weren’t doing this tonight. Tonight was about getting some drinks and getting our priorities in order.
“Hey dude, this is Brittney and Eliza and…” He wagged his finger at the third woman. “Sorry baby, I can’t remember your name.”
“It’s Jewel,” the slender blonde he was referring to offered.
Smiling, I nodded at the women. “Nice to meet you ladies, but we’ve got to go.”
“Aren’t we joining you? Zack said we could be your company.” The brunette of the group caught her lower lip between her teeth and looked at me with sex in her eyes.
Hell no.
“I’m sorry girls. Not tonight.” I looked over my shoulder and gave one of the bouncers a head nod, indicating for him to take care of the problem.
“Dylan,” Zack protested, but allowed himself to be ushered away from the women and the screaming crowd behind them. I smiled and gave everyone a wave but ignored requests for autographs.
“Dylan, please, can I have an autograph?” A young woman yelled, reaching over the rope and grabbing at my arm.
“I’m sorry sweetie, but if I did that for you, I’d have to do it for everyone, and that wouldn’t be fair.” Generally, I’d be happy to give autographs, but I was a firm believer if the crowd was too big for me to give everyone one then I wouldn’t start at all. I remember when I was a kid growing up in L.A. It would upset me when I was part of a crowd, but never seemed to be able to get an autograph because there were just too many people willing to stampede the less aggressive people to the celebrity.
Disappearing into the building, we were led through the backway to an exclusive room at the back of the club. The room had a one-sided window. To the patrons it appeared to be a mirror, but we could see into the crowd of young adults bumping and grinding on the dance floor.
The other three had already arrived and were already seated and enjoying some craft beer. Our arrival was greeted by a chorus of hello’s and laughter.
“What’s the deal?” Ethan asked the moment we’d sat down and ordered bottle service. “Do we have a new manager or what?”
I nodded. “Yes. Her name is Violet Hudson.”
“Violet Hudson,” Flinn clucked his tongue off the roof of his mouth. “That name sounds familiar.”
“She’s this fine piece of ass that I’m already calling dibs on,” Zack said, “And once I’m done with her we can move on to a real manager.”
“Violet Hudson,” Salvatore parroted. “Yeah, she’s the daughter of Edward Hudson. Wow. That might be great, I’ve wondered about her. There’s a couple of bands she’s managed that have found some success.”
Salvatore kept up with the movers and shakers in the industry better than anyone else that I knew. It boded well that he knew of her.
I turned to Zack. “See,” I waved to Salvatore. “He already knows of her, which says to me that she’s a good choice and that we need to keep her.”
“Is there anything else I can get for you boys?” the waitress cut in. The waitress was a beautiful woman, I’d guess to be about twenty-three, who normally served us. It was appreciated that we were given the same server each time we arrived, she was used to us and we didn’t have to worry about the whole fan-girl silliness. She was very professional and we tipped her extremely well for her professionalism.
“Not for now, baby. Catch me later,” Zack winked and gave her a little pat on the ass.
Rolling my eyes, I snapped my fingers in front of Zack’s eyes. “As important as your dick is, you need to focus. We have to have a serious discussion right now.”
Annoyance flashed in Zack’s eyes. “Fine.”
“Okay everyone. Here’s the deal. We were talking to Carter and he told us that we’re in a very delicate situation right now. He’s starting to have difficulties finding us solid, quality managers. Apparently our group is starting to get a reputation in the business and that’s not a good thing.”
“That’s bullshit man.” Flinn shook his head in disgust, taking a long swig from his beer.
Of course Flinn would be pissed off over the news. He was the second biggest whore of the group, right behind Zack. If it wasn’t Zack causing issues, then it would be him. Zack and I grew up together and we were the ones that formed the band to begin with. On a number of occasions we’d considered dropping Flinn. We didn’t really need a second guitarist. It was just nice having him for when Zack or I wanted to sing and not have to worry about playing our instruments. Some songs just worked better when we could focus on just the vocals and mingling with the crowd.
“Bullshit or not, it’s what it is. Which means Violet is off-limits.” I looked from one face to the other until I’d looked deep into the eyes of each band member, ending with Zack.
“If I want to fuck her, I will,” Zack growled. “Who do you think you are, my father?”
“No. I’m your friend and I’m sick of this rotating door of managers. It ends now.”
“Or what Dylan? What are you seriously going to do?”
“One thing I will tell you is that I won’t go down with the ship. I’ll leave the group before hanging around as our name gets tarnished to the point where I couldn’t have a solo career if I wanted it.”
“You’ve actually considered going solo, man?” The bravado was beginning to disappear from Zack’s eyes. “You wouldn’t do that.”
“I would before I get such a bad reputation that no manager will take me on. Do you want to go back to wondering where your next paycheck is coming from? It’s happened time and time again in this business. A person or group gets a crazy amount of success, they party too hard for too long, before they know it they’re washed up, broke, and obsolete. This life we’re living isn’t going to last forever so we need to make the most of it while we can. We need to start thinking of our future and I think Violet can help us secure the future that’ll set us up for life.”
Zack tapped the edge of the table in front of us. “I wouldn’t even consider leaving you and going off on my own.”
I groaned inwardly. He wasn’t getting my point. “I never said I wanted to, but I would if I was backed into a corner. I’m saying that we need to clean up our act. We need to treat this like a business instead of just getting paid to party.”
Zack nodded. “Okay, so what do you want?”
“I want for us to try to make this work with Violet. I think she’s smart and I think she can do a lot for our careers.”
“Okay.... Fine. Whatever. I wasn’t all that into her anyhow.”
Bullshit you weren’t.
“That means I don’t want this fucked up. And if you go on hot pursuit of her I’m afraid one of two things will happen. Either she’ll get fed up with having to constantly turn down your advances or she’ll give in, you’ll get bored of her like you always do and then she’ll be a royal mess and not able to properly manage the group. That means we’d have to fire yet another manger and we may not be able to get another one as good as I suspect she is.”
“All right. Fine.”
I struck Zack with a heated look. “I’m serious. If you pursue her, I’m going to be d
one with this band. Done.”
Anger overtook his expression. “Fine. I said fine. Do you need it in writing?”
With a sigh, I slumped back into the chair and looked at the other three band members. “That goes for everyone. I’m not messing around and playing games with our futures any longer. She’s completely off-limits to us all.”
They reluctantly agreed, though I really wasn’t as concerned about the others. As much as we were brothers, the truth was the other three were replaceable. Zack and I were the front men for the group and if either of us left, Hypnotic just wouldn’t be the same.
Chapter 4
Violet
Dylan seemed quite sensible, but Zack…. He was going to be my problem child, there was no doubt about it. I wasn’t blind; I saw how he looked at me when I’d walked into Carter’s office—like I was prey.
He didn’t think I could do the job. I knew that much as well. Well, I’d show him. His attitude had lit a fire under my ass.
The more I thought about the situation, the more I was determined to show the band, Carter, and more importantly myself how capable I was. I wanted to be known as Violet Hudson, a force to be reckoned with, not Violet Hudson, daughter of the great Edward Hudson.
Entering the hotel where the guys were staying, I walked directly to the elevators and hit the up button. I would see Zack for a few minutes so that we could straighten a thing or two out before his show. This would be their first show under my watchful eye and I was hell-bent on ensuring it went smoothly.
Arriving on Zack’s floor, I went to the suite number I was given and knocked, waiting for several beats before knocking a second time. Where in the hell was he? God, I hoped he wasn’t high. Rome wasn’t built in a day and if that was the frame of mind he was usually in before a show it would take some time to wean him off that habit. The last thing we needed was a rehab controversy.
As I was raising my hand to knock a third time there was a click of the door being unlocked and moments later it was swung open to reveal Zack in the flesh. His dark hair was disheveled, he was glassy-eyed, and had a partially drunk bottle of whiskey in his hand.
