I fired back, “And don’t you forget that I stuck my neck out for you. I could’ve been ruined if you’d choked.” Ruby howled with laughter.
“So, we’re on to the European tour next,” George stated, tipping back in his chair and lacing his fingers together behind his head. “We need to keep Ruby’s momentum going now that she’s established herself as a hot new up and coming artist.”
“We do,” agreed Mr. Drake. “And as for Kiki, she needs a new song for next quarter. We get on it now, we can make some slight changes to her concert routine, and if it works out right, we can reclaim some of the sales that have slumped after her initial album release. Ruby, I want you in the studio with Kiki today getting started.”
“A new song?” Ruby asked, looking slightly panicked. “How long do we have?”
“I want it soon. Mandy’s already working on scheduling live performances and interviews over in Europe before the tour kicks off. We’ll be announcing Kiki’s new release at the end of the week,” Mr. Drake answered. “That should give you plenty of a head start.”
“Right,” Ruby said, sitting up straighter in her leather office chair. She already had that faraway look in her eye that she got while daydreaming about new songs she was going to help produce.
While Ruby was excited about the new endeavor, I hadn’t missed Mr. Drake’s slight dig at me. “Um, excuse me? Why do I need a new song for this tour? My European fans have liked my stuff just as much as anyone. Why change a good thing?”
Mr. Drake signed a few documents Mandy handed him and said, “Some of your songs are getting a bit stale, and part of the draw of this European tour is that we’ll be able to promote a new song. If we can get you another hit single, it’ll help boost the tail of profits even after the tour concludes.”
“Stale isn’t exactly what I’d call my music,” I said defensively. “Several of my songs have been at the top of the charts for weeks.”
“But it’s been nearly a year since you’ve hit number one, and the ones that are close are slipping, not rising. People need a reminder that you’re the pop star they know you to be,” said Mr. Drake without the slightest hint of pity.
“If I’m not as brilliant of an artist as I thought I was, maybe I don’t need a bodyguard then,” I said, glancing at Josh.
The corners of his mouth twitched, but he could control his outward emotions as well as I’d learned to master mine. I wished I knew what was going on in his head. I didn’t like having a silent observer watching every move I made.
“Nice try, Kiki, but Josh is staying,” said Mr. Drake.
“Fine. Mr. Coleman, would you be so kind as to fill up my water for me?” I asked, holding up the empty bottle I’d just finished. “There’s a cooler in the break room down the hall.”
Mandy looked at me in disgust. “He’s not your servant.”
“At least this way he’s being useful,” I sassed.
Josh stood and placated Mandy with a gesture of his hand. Taking my bottle, his fingers brushed mine and a very definite bolt of electricity buzzed up my arm. “I don’t mind.”
Josh strode out of the room, returning momentarily with my bottle filled to the brim. He leaned across the table to hand it to me but I didn’t reach for it, partly because I was distracted by watching his forearms flex with the effort.
“Oh, I forgot to ask for ice. Half full,” I said in a fake, syrupy sweet voice. Josh looked at me, and I was locked in by his hypnotic gaze. He knew I was toying with him and trying to be difficult so he countered with his own tactic: he was being obliging.
“Of course,” Josh said pleasantly.
He left again. The conference room was so awkwardly quiet that everyone could hear the ice tumbling into my water bottle from down the hall. Returning, Josh walked around the table and placed the bottle directly into my hand. I could smell his cologne and manly essence again, and thankfully, I was already sitting because my knees might have buckled otherwise.
I swallowed, and my stomach did a flip, thinking of how I liked the contrast of his manly hands, which made mine look sleek and feminine. Stealing a look up into his face, I wondered if he noticed me gawking. Something about his expression seemed to also be enjoying the brief touch of our skin. I muttered a thank you and shifted in my seat to turn away from him.
“Don’t be such a snob to Josh,” Ruby whispered.
“Why not? It’ll make him leave faster.”
She leaned closer, “You just wait. He’ll probably end up saving your butt someday. Maybe you’ll even get lucky, and it’ll be super romantic, like he’ll rescue you, then scoop you up and carry you off into the sunset.”
“Ruby, stop!” I hissed. “You need serious help for your delusional fantasies.”
She tilted her head and gave me a one-shouldered shrug. “Since when has being a hopeless romantic been a crime? I know you’re one, too. Under that hard exterior beats the mushy, lovey-dovey heart of a lonely woman.”
“You’re so ridiculous,” I said, shoving her seat away from me.
Ruby grinned at me as she slid the rest of the way over to her spot. She’d perked up at the idea of getting back to recording something, and part of me wanted to pinch her for being so happy about it. Ramiro’s words had been the first blow, and then, Mr. Drake’s insinuation about my waning popularity stung my ego. Any more disappointments and I might throw in the towel.
“There’s another change to the concert lineup as well. Monica Best will be part of your act, too,” Mr. Drake said without looking up from his stack of papers.
“Monica’s back?” I asked, rocking my seat as I slid one knee over the other. “I thought Harper Music had cut their losses with her.”
“Yes, she’s back,” Mandy confirmed.
“What does that mean for me?” Ruby said, looking worried again. “I basically replaced her when she went off the deep end and tried to murder her boyfriend, right?”
“She didn’t try to murder her boyfriend,” I scoffed. “She just set his car on fire for cheating on her.”
“Oh, that’s comforting,” Ruby said with wide-eyes. “I don’t want to give up all the hard work I’ve put into my career because someone else decided they wanted a second chance.”
Mr. Drake held up his hand to stop Ruby. “That’s not going to happen. Monica will mostly be serving as backup vocals and won’t have a shot at solos of her own until she can prove she’s stable enough to meet industry standards as a performer.”
“Why haven’t I heard anything about this?” George asked. “I’ve been managing this whole tour, and having her come back could throw a wrench in the plans.”
In a rare show of weakness, Mr. Drake sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. “Let’s just say she flew in under our radar with a new and very persistent manager who’s been able to exploit a loophole in the contract we had with her. So, until further notice, Monica Best is on the team.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to make sense of all that was being asked. “How is this all going to work? This seems like a train wreck waiting to happen.”
“I’ll admit it’s a Hail Mary,” Mr. Drake said. “But that’s the kind of risk I’m willing to assume in order to turn a healthy profit. Think of this as a way to solidify yourself as a timeless artist. Now, let’s get moving. Ruby, Kiki, I want you in that recording studio in half an hour.”
Mr. Drake shut his binder with finality and handed it to Mandy, leaving the room without a backward glance. I let the room clear out until it was just Ruby and Josh, waiting at the door for me.
Ruby clapped her hands together and said, “I think I’ve already got some great ideas for your new song. You could really let your fans get to know a side of you that no one else has seen before.”
“I’m not looking to reinvent myself,” I sighed in defeat.
Ruby drummed her fingertips along her songwriting journal and gestured to the door with her head. “Let’s go. I think you need a therapy session in the recording studio as much as I do
.”
Josh waited for me to wearily drag myself out of my seat and head for the door. I hated to admit it, but I was already starting to get used to him silently flanking my every move. He was so good at being discreet that it was possible to forget that he was there at all. Then, with a single look, my girlish heart did backflips in my chest, and I remembered the incredibly sexy Josh Coleman was in the room with his focus entirely on me.
I was in trouble, and I knew it.
Chapter Five
“Kiki,” Ruby groaned, “we’ve been at this for three hours, and we’ve got nothing to show for it. Not even one cohesive line of lyrics.”
“How is that my fault?” I asked.
We’d locked ourselves in the recording studio, a spacious room full of glossy wood and high-tech sound equipment. Though it was part of Harper Music’s expansive building, I felt as comfortable in it as if I was lounging in my own living room. It’d practically been my home away from home for the past several years, one of the few constants in my ever-changing life. I kicked my feet up onto the countertop and leaned back in my cushy office chair.
“We haven’t come up with anything good,” I continued defensively. “I’m not going to agree to producing a subpar song just because we’re on a deadline. That’s how artists butcher their careers.”
“I’m not arguing with that,” Ruby agreed, softly shutting the journal where she scribbled all her snippets of lyrics that came to her, “but I feel like you’re fighting me on every suggestion I’ve given. I know I’ve got some good stuff in here, but unless you’re willing to help, we’re just spinning our wheels.”
“It’s not that what we’ve been talking about hasn’t been good, it’s that it’s not me. All the stuff we’ve discussed has sounded like a great song for someone else. Like you,” I said.
I stubbornly held Ruby’s gaze until she sighed and rolled her eyes, then dropped her head onto the desk with a thud. Though I’d given Josh permission to take the afternoon off since we were going to be stuck in the studio all day, he’d simply chuckled and took a seat in the corner. To his credit, he’d been unobtrusive. Usually, whenever people barged into a songwriting session, they were suddenly sure they were the next John Lennon.
“So, what do you want to focus on?” Ruby asked.
“I don’t know. Love is sounding so cliché,” I said. “I’m burned out on the sugary sweet, happily-ever-after stuff. That’s not how it ever works.”
“That’s how it worked for Collin and me,” Ruby said proudly, tilting her chin up and looking at me with a haughty grin.
“Um, in case you’ve forgotten, Troy almost ruined that for you,” I said. She winced at my words, but I didn’t apologize. She knew I was right.
“Who’s Troy?” Josh piped up.
I half-swiveled in my chair, not wanting to fully face him. Maybe if I didn’t look directly at him, he wouldn’t appear so attractive. I met his blue-gray eyes, and it took great control not to stare. I was not going to admire his choppy blond hair and how it was fixed just enough to make it appear trendy rather than messy, or how his pecs stretched the fabric of his t-shirt. By the flutter in my chest, my heart and brain weren’t on the same page.
“He was a former associate with a wandering eye that happened to fall on Ruby,” I informed Josh. “It was all very scandalous. He tried to sneak right in and steal her from Collin, the love of her life.”
Ruby folded her arms and frowned. “Don’t sound so jealous. I was so naïve, and he seemed genuine. In my defense, I thought Collin’s secretary, Jill, had won him over. Sometimes, I’m still surprised he picked me over her. She was always so…pristine.”
“And evil,” I reminded Ruby. “A pretty face and long legs don’t hide a black heart very well.”
“Well, it’s a miracle it all worked out, as far as I’m concerned,” Ruby said. “I don’t know what I’d do without Collin.”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Just so you know, you’re going all gaga and starry-eyed again.”
Ruby rested her chin on her hands and batted her eyelashes dramatically. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“I’m happy for you, I really am. But most people don’t meet their rich, attractive, brilliant soulmate before they’ve had at least one or two duds that jade them and their view of love.”
“Is that why the only love song you produced for the concert was that ballad that’s straight up demented?” Ruby asked, arching an eyebrow.
“That song resonated with plenty of people,” I huffed.
“Kiki, you were dressed as a drop of blood. That’s the kind of stuff people seek therapists for.”
Waving my hand at her, I grumbled, “You and Prince Charming wouldn’t get it.”
Bringing the conversation back around, Josh asked, “Why didn’t Troy come after you?”
His question caught me by surprise. No one had ever asked why Troy hadn’t pursued me. Everyone knew Troy was prowling for a girlfriend who would help him coast to stardom, and I would have been the obvious choice. I’d had plenty of other guys try to ride my coattails to success, but I’d only let them for as long as I got something in return—a boost in ratings, positive blurbs in the gossip column, flattering paparazzi photos. Mina Quackenbush might have given away something for free but not Kiki Loveless. That’s when people would start thinking they could walk all over me, and I was done with being the girl who let them.
“Of course he tried, but I made it abundantly clear that I wasn’t some trophy to be collected,” I said simply.
“No, you’re not,” Josh agreed.
Again, I was having a hard time figuring out how to respond, and my mouth flopped open, then shut. What was wrong with me? I always had a cool, collected answer. I was the one who left people speechless with my confidence. Turning my chair back around, I grabbed a pair of drumsticks on my left, thumping them lightly in a steady rhythm on my thighs, keeping my tangle of thoughts to myself.
“So, do you have a boyfriend I should know about?” Josh asked.
A thin smile tugged at my lips. “Interested, are we?”
Josh returned my flirtatious smirk with twinkling eyes. “That would get me fired. No, I need to get to know the people who run in your circles so I can perform my job to the best of my abilities.”
“Don’t you worry,” Ruby blurted, “Kiki hardly ever is attached to anyone. She’s way too difficult for most people.”
I turned toward her with a glare, wondering what on earth she was doing. Inconspicuously, Ruby winked and looked too pleased with herself.
“No boyfriend,” I muttered bitterly. “Just a string of bad apples.”
“That’ll certainly make it easier,” Josh agreed.
Changing the subject, I directed the questioning back to Josh. “Do you have a girlfriend that I should know about, Mr. Coleman?”
“Josh,” he corrected.
Stubbornly, I refused. I didn’t allow men to get under my skin, and I definitely didn’t let them call the shots. “It’ll be Mr. Coleman to ensure we maintain a level of professionalism. So, do you? Have a girlfriend?”
Josh folded his muscled arms across his chest, and I swallowed hard. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I need to know I have your complete and utter commitment to our security. If you’re distracted by a needy girlfriend you had to leave back on the farm in Kansas, then this assignment might be too difficult for you.”
Dropping his head, Josh shook with laughter. Frowning, I wrinkled my nose and scowled at him.
“What is it?” I demanded.
“No more of that timid, knock-kneed little girl I knew in middle school, huh?” he said with a laugh.
“I killed her and was reborn as something much more impressive.”
“Apparently,” Josh said. Not sure what to make of his comment, I kept my lips shut and watched him from the corner of my eye as I went back to drumming.
“I think I’ve got it,” Ruby said after a mo
ment of awkward silence. Her eyes were sparkling and she was holding back a giddy smile. I knew that look and that it meant she was on to something good.
“Oh, really? Do tell.”
“It’ll be a love song…” she trailed off.
I covered my face with my hands to avoid saying anything mean, then pushed myself out of my chair to pace the room. I’d long since kicked off my heels and was strolling barefoot. The smooth, cool floor felt good on my feet. “Didn’t we just discuss that I do not want to do a love song? I’m sick of them.”
“We didn’t discuss anything,” Ruby corrected. “You said you didn’t want to do a love song, like that was the end of it.”
Behind me, Josh chuckled softly. “I like this girl,” he murmured to himself.
Ignoring the fact that Josh was ganging up on me, I continued. “There’s nothing that we can do that hasn’t already been sung to death about love.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Ruby said, slowly shaking her finger at me. “You’ve been so wearied by bad or passionless relationships that you assume it’s boring for everyone. Love—real love—is alive. It’s changeable yet constant, thrilling and terrifying and comfortable, like being home, all at the same time. That’s what you’re really not giving your fans—a chance to see you at your most vulnerable.”
“Of course I’ve put a wall up. That’s what you have to do to not get hurt in this industry,” I huffed, slapping my hands across my legs.
“To an extent, but that also will keep you from being really great. You’ve got to let people know the real you, not the fake, glittery, caked with makeup, showy Kiki that shimmies on stages for them.”
“And do tell, what would be so fantastic about being raw and exposed? That’s like handing over the ammunition and giving haters permission to fire.”
“It’ll make your real fans feel connected to you. People are going to hate, regardless. This way, it shows that you are, in fact, human, just like them,” Ruby countered. She waited for me to say something, and when I didn’t, she exclaimed, “You know I’m right!”
How a Star Shines: A Pop Stars Romantic Comedy Book 2 Page 4
