Avery glanced at him. Through the wavy plastic curtain, it looked like she nodded her head.
Laz accepted her answer and wouldn’t push it. As long as she had the passion, he could take over the world with her. Right now, Avery put on an unexpected sexy show. Her foamy, soap-covered hand slid down to her pussy and slid over her nether lips.
Every cell in Laz’s body wanted to join her in the shower and have her, taste her, again. As he took a step toward her, he heard his phone ringing from the bedroom. He darted from the doorway and scrambled to find his discarded jeans. Once he did, he fished his phone from the pocket.
Ordinarily, he didn’t answer calls from an unknown caller. He had a good feeling about this.
“Hello.” He sat on the bed.
“Uh, yeah. Mr. Kyson, we need to talk.”
A shiver went up the back of Laz’s neck. As a result of recognizing the voice on the other line, he sat up taller. “Ms. Farook. Good to hear from you again.”
She sounded as distracted as when he had met her in person. “Come to my office today.”
Like she could see him, Laz stood. Now that he had a company on the hook, he still had to come off like he had control. “Tomorrow. My agenda is pretty full today.”
Sanaa didn’t have to know that he had to pack up his belongings at the hotel and hightail it back to New York.
“Already keeping me waiting.” Her clipped tone let Laz know she had zero interest in dealing with him. “Not a good look for you.”
He also figured out that word must have gotten out about Avery. He would have to play this cool.
“You know how the business works. Things move fast when you’re talking about a hot commodity.” Laz started pacing.
He figured Avery’s video would cause some buzz. Not exactly the way he wanted her career to start, but if it got one of the biggest fish in the music ocean to bite so soon, he wouldn’t fault the method.
This untimely call also gave him an easy way out of this situation to give him some time to think. He still wanted to represent Avery. Sex complicated everything. Always did.
He glanced up and looked at the wall that separated the bedroom and the bathroom where Avery showered. Her singing voice got his attention in a matter of seconds. Avery could snag the world’s attention.
“Be in my office first thing in the morning. We have some things to discuss.” Sanaa disconnected the call before Laz could agree or disagree.
Even though he wanted to pace this meeting his way, he couldn’t assert himself but so much. Sanaa had the power. He held the key to the talent.
Laz heard the shower stop. To keep his mind off the vision of Avery drying her naked body, he got dressed. By the time he slipped his feet into his shoes, Avery appeared in the bedroom with a towel around her body.
“If you don’t want to stay in your hotel room, you can stay here with me.”
Laz could tell she tried playing this off like it didn’t matter. She kept her back to him, but as she spoke, Avery stole little glances.
She dropped her towel long enough to slip on some underwear and a bra, then shimmy into a long maxi dress. “It’s not a huge place, as you can see, but it’s clean and quiet.” Then she gave him a nonplussed shrug. “Plus you can be here to help me with my homework. I’m really struggling in my statistics class. And you can help me with my breathing technique. Did I do better with it last night?”
Shit. This wouldn’t be easy. He ran his hand over his hair again before he approached her.
“I know I’m hitting you with a lot of stuff right now.” She slid a headband on to control her wild curls. “Let’s get back to you staying here. I’m not here during the day, so I wouldn’t get in your way.” Avery slid her feet into some well-worn, black and white flip flops.
“If you’re not here, what’s the use of me being here?” He smiled. Being charming would ease this blow. “I appreciate the offer. That’s extremely kind of you. But I have to go.”
The smile slipped down Avery’s face. “Oh.” She nodded. “I see.”
Laz felt her pulling away. From the way her jaw flexed, he knew she didn’t like his statement.
“Guess it was fun while it lasted.” She kept her back to him while she hoisted her bag on her shoulder.
No way could he let her leave with the wrong assumption. Laz held on to Avery’s shoulders and didn’t speak until she made eye contact with him.
When she finally peered up, he spoke. “I have to go back home to New York for a meeting.” Laz squeezed her shoulders.
Avery snickered. “A meeting. Is that what the kids are calling it now?”
Laz blinked at her statement. “I want you to come with me, but I know you have school and work this week.”
She put her hand to his chest and pushed him back. “I get it. We both got caught up in a moment. It’s okay. I’m learning to stop feeling so guilty for being selfish.”
Before she could pull her hand away, Laz captured it and pressed it against his chest again over his heart. “Look at me.”
He hoped she didn’t take his statement this time as being something sexual. Laz wanted Avery to see him, see into his soul like the way she had when she sang last night.
Avery huffed and shuffled in her spot. “I have to go.”
This time Laz framed her face in his hands and planted a soft kiss on her lips. When he pulled back, he stared into her eyes. “Me leaving is not the end of us, okay?”
She shook her head. “There is no—”
Laz wouldn’t allow her to finish that statement. He barreled on in hopes that she would understand him and his actions. “This is your last week before spring break, right?”
After a beat, Avery nodded.
“I’ll be back here Saturday morning to come get you.” He thought about leaving money for her to get a plane ticket, but the gesture would look like he paid for sex. He wouldn’t give her that impression. “I want you packed and ready to go with me for a few days. Will you do that?”
Avery held one of his hands he still had next to her face. “You don’t have to lie to me. I told you. We got caught up in a moment and were very adult last night.” She pulled away from him. “You don’t have to say anything else. You are an exceptional lover.”
“I’m an even better manager.” He followed her in the cramped apartment. “I want you to forget about what we did last night, and I want you to remember what I really came here to do.”
“Which is?” Avery completed the question with a hand on her hip.
“To make you a singing sensation.”
She snickered. “I hate having to admit my father and friend were right in anything.”
Laz caught up to her when she reached her front door. “Will you stop sounding so defeated, especially when there’s no reason for it?” Before she could open the door, he spun her around and pressed her back against it. “I need to go back home to, hopefully, secure something for you.” He pressed the tip of his finger against her chest. “Things are starting to happen, which is a good thing. Right now, I need to get to work, and you need to get to school.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her forward, pressing her body against his. “I have your number. I’ll call if there are any changes. You have my phone number. Call or text me anytime. The next time we see each other, we’ll be mapping out your future, okay?”
Avery studied him for a while before she opened her door and held it open. “This was fun while it lasted, but I have real life to get back to, and you have some other starlet to meet.” She shook her head. “I’m not the one.”
No way. No way could Laz get this close to perfection and have her dismiss him. “Avery, we have to—”
“Just leave while I still have my dignity.” She kept her stare down to the floor.
Laz wanted her to do more than just stare at his feet as he stood in
front of her. “I’m not giving up on you. Don’t turn your back on this opportunity.”
At that statement, Avery looked up and finally smiled. She placed her hand to the side of his face. The softness of her skin had him thinking about their lusty night together and the way she touched him.
With a smile, she said, “I’m not giving up on this opportunity. I’m giving up on dreaming.”
Avery’s face became serious and she took a determined step back as she nodded out the door. It didn’t help that she had her backpack on her shoulder and looked like she had become one of his old high-school sweethearts dumping him over something trivial.
Instead of retreating with his tail tucked between his legs, Laz leaned forward and kissed her, quick enough that she wouldn’t have time to reject him, yet tender enough to make her regret this decision. Deep down, though, he knew sex and intimacy wouldn’t keep her. He would have to show her results. Meeting with Sanaa Farook would have to go well.
“I’ll be back for you.” Laz walked out with a plan in his head and hope in his heart.
Chapter 12
Even after getting back to New York, it didn’t relieve Laz of his anxiety. He wished he could have had a different outcome with his encounter with Avery. After all he had done and everything they had been through, she still didn’t trust him. Then again, he hadn’t given her a great reason to believe him, either.
She didn’t believe him when he said he would work hard for her to get her in the business. Now he sat in the CEO’s office of Section Eight Records, waiting to hear why she wanted to meet him so quickly.
Laz had a feeling he knew why. The video Avery had posted had gone viral. Comments ranged from wanting to know Avery’s identity to calling her the next Whitney. He relaxed back in his seat as he thought about the positive reactions. Then his actions may have lost it all for him.
Not calling her as soon as he had gotten home didn’t ease his guilt. The old Laz reared its ugly head. He also wanted Avery to reach out to him, to want him, to need him. Why hadn’t she called him?
Like a whirlwind, Sanaa entered the room, this time with an entourage. The voluptuous woman wore all red, from her shoes to her knee-length dress, to the color painted on her full lips. As she had done before, she kept her attention on the tablet she had in her hands, even after she took her seat behind her desk.
The three people following her, a short, stocky man in a suit, a young, slender woman with heavy box braids, and a tall, imposing man in a track suit, all stood off to the side of her desk and remained quiet and obedient, probably like she had trained them.
“A very good day.” Sanaa kept her attention on her device until an image appeared on a large-screen TV off to the side.
Laz had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling when he saw the video he had taken of Avery the first time she had sang at the coffee shop.
“Thank God this woman credited you in the description.” Sanaa nodded her head toward the screen and set her tablet down to focus on him. “You work fast. Who is she?” Sanaa leaned back in her black leather swivel chair as she stared at him like she wanted to dissect him.
Laz shook his head. “So this meeting isn’t about me getting a job here?”
He wouldn’t be revealing anything until he got something concrete. With the traveling and other expenses, Laz’s savings started to dwindle down faster than he had anticipated. He would need to find work soon or he would be living out on the streets.
Sanaa stared at Laz for a long, uncomfortable moment. Laz didn’t blink or even swallow. He couldn’t show fear or trepidation. He glared right back at her, expecting her to crumble soon. If she didn’t, he would leave this meeting and head right back down to Virginia to Avery.
A smile curled at the corner of her mouth. “You’re like a dog with a bone, aren’t you?”
Laz exhaled while still maintaining his composure. “I’m more like a man with a plan. If you plan on getting anywhere with me as far as business, then I need to know where this is going.” He glanced at her squad. “I don’t remember these people from the last time we had spoken.”
“That’s because things have changed since that time.” Sanaa gave the slightest of head nods, and the portly suited man rushed over to the corner of the room where behind a hidden wall panel sat a refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle of water, rushed it over to Sanaa, and poured it into a glass for her before assuming his original spot again. Yes, she had these people well trained.
“If all goes well with this meeting, Mr. Kyson, you will be a part of the Section Eight family, and so will that amazing talent you found.”
Laz smiled and gripped the arms of his seat to stand when Sanaa took the wind out of his sails.
“But, before any of that, I want to meet her. I’ve been duped in this business before. Videos can be altered.” She took a sip of her water. “So my team is here to look out for my best interest.”
He regarded the group again, who now all stared at him.
“I will add you to my artist management team if you can secure that artist here with Section Eight.”
On the outside, Laz kept calm. His face didn’t even crack. On the inside, he fist pumped, did cartwheels, and could hear imaginary fireworks going off in his head all at the same time.
“You will get the job once you bring her here to my office and I hear her myself. If what I hear is real and I’m impressed, I’ll sign her to a contract.” Sanaa placed her hands on top of her desk, and drummed her fingernails of one hand on the top. “Sound like a deal?”
Again, Laz had to keep his cool. The only way he would be able to maintain control would be to act like he could do without this deal even though he knew he had to have it.
“I want to see this contract first.” He uncrossed his legs and planted his feet on the floor.
“I figured you would say that. That’s why my attorney is here.” She pointed to the group.
Laz’s attention automatically went to the short, overweight man. The track suit guy stepped up and handed Laz a leather-bound folder.
“I’m sure you’ll find everything is in order and is fair.” The man’s deep voice rolled over Laz like a steamroller. “It’s our standard boilerplate contract.”
Laz accepted it and rested the folder on his lap.
Sanaa continued. “If you get the job, you’ll meet with our human resources department about your contract terms.”
Before Laz could peer over at the young African-American woman in the room, the short man ran over to Laz and dropped his folder first before picking it up and handing it over to Laz.
Laz’s curiosity got the better of him. He directed his attention to the woman. “If he’s her attorney and this guy works in H.R., what do you do?”
“Don’t you worry about that.” Sanaa wagged her finger at him. “Trust me when I say she’s essential.”
The woman simply smiled at Laz. Looked like he couldn’t make assumptions about this company. Conversely, Sanaa or anyone at Section Eight shouldn’t assume he would simply roll over or run simply because they dangled a carrot in his face. He had something to prove and Avery’s interests to protect.
“So when can you get her here to me? My schedule is tight.” Sanaa picked up her tablet again.
Laz took that opportunity to stand to excuse himself. “I’ll have to get back to you on that. I need to coordinate with her schedule.”
They didn’t need to know he would also have to get her to talk to him again. If she would at least answer his call, he could share this great news.
“Will you have time next week in your schedule?” Knowing that Avery would be out of school next week would free up some time in her schedule, but he also realized she had an evening job and she had to trust him. The second obstacle would be massive to overcome.
“I’ll check my schedule and have my people get back to yo
u.” Sanaa nodded toward the door.
Apparently, she wanted Laz to leave and take her subtle cue as his sign to go.
Laz smiled and extended his hand to her. “Very nice talking to you again. I look forward to working with you soon.”
The sudden motion had the young woman standing off to the side making a few strides forward. Maybe this woman worked security for Sanaa.
Sanaa shook Laz’s hand and, again, nodded to the door.
This time he took his signal to leave seriously. He strolled away until he got outside the building. Away from the prying eyes and ears, he finally pumped his fist.
He’d done it. Beyond all odds, he made his way back into the music industry and with an artist he believed in and could fully endorse. He saw a lot of great things happening for Avery.
Laz pulled out his phone and started to call her. That side of him that wanted to be wanted stopped him. Fear prevented him from hearing her rejection over the phone. He told her before he left that he would see her on Saturday. He would be a man of his word and do that instead. She couldn’t turn down the surprise visit. At least, he hoped she wouldn’t.
* * * *
Avery sat in the back of the class with her head down in the hope that Professor Klein would overlook her. She knew her teacher liked to push her, but right now she needed a break.
Trying to push Laz’s hasty retreat from her apartment almost a week ago still plagued her thoughts. Boning up on her schoolwork should have cleared her mind of extracurricular activities. Focusing on her education highlighted the fact that she would have to stick to this path.
After Klein allowed other students to answer his questions, he must have decided within the final minutes of the class to direct his full attention on Avery.
“Miss Shields.”
Her professor’s raised voice got her attention. Then the stares from her fellow classmates snagged her notice. She had been daydreaming again about life outside of these school walls and Virginia. She couldn’t keep it together for a few more minutes before Klein dismissed the class and she could do what she wanted for a week while on break.
Love Like Crazy Page 16
