“Great,” Laura said with a little too much enthusiasm. “I’m going to get back to work and I’ll see you two later. Jeremy, just show him the basics. I’m not sure where he’s going to fit in at this point, but we can definitely use the help.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t really listening to her. When she’d said my name, Brian’s mouth had twitched. Not much, but I saw it. What was more important is that he saw me notice the twitch. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who remembered that night.
Laura left and we were standing alone in the hallway. He was between me and the workspaces, still scowling. There was no way to pass him unless I squeezed up against him, and there was no way I was going to do that. So I gestured toward the cubicles and tried to hide my smirk. “It’s that way, first cube on the left.”
His voice was low and almost threatening when he spoke. “Whatever did or didn’t happen is between you and me, clear?”
The laugh that escaped me was soft, but unexpected. “I don’t know what you think happened but I was a perfect gentleman. You should be thanking me, but if rude and bristly is your thing, have at it.”
His cheeks colored an instant before he spun on his heel and stalked down the hallway. Guess I hit a nerve, I thought smugly. Men like Brian were used to having most people bow down to their wealth and celebrity, but I wasn’t most people. If Brian wanted my respect he was going to have to earn it.
He was still grumbling when he stopped at my cubicle and stepped inside, arms crossed. A quick peek into the next cube had me surprised. A workstation was already set up. I quickly showed him how I signed in on my computer without revealing my password, then sent him over to his workspace to do the same. When he was done, he called me over, but the sound was so low I almost missed it.
When I didn’t rush over to him right away, he cleared his throat. “You need to come back into my cubicle,” he said. Not “I need you,” not “could you?” He was demanding, overly sure of himself. I found the entire thing preposterous with him being essentially a trainee, but at the same time, I knew he was more than that. He and Laura went way back-further than she and I did. Trainee or not, Brian had something that Garret and the rest of the employees didn’t have; an in with the boss.
Brian cleared his throat again when I didn’t respond. I sighed. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Clearly,” he retorted. “I asked you what all this is? I can’t access it.”
Interesting, I thought, hiding my glee. Laura might be good friends with the washed-up tennis star, but she hadn’t given him carte blanche yet. “It prevents tracks from being leaked before they’re for sale. Only a few people have access.”
The finger that had been absentmindedly flicking the scroll on the mouse froze and his shoulders stiffened. Gotcha, you pompous jerk. With Brian still facing away from me, I made no effort to hide the moment of triumph. Laura might be creating a job for him, but he wasn’t at my level yet.
Maybe he never would be.
Movement caught my eye at the corner of the window and I checked my watch. “As fun as this is, I have to get home before the party tonight and-” I sucked in a quick breath when I realized what I’d done.
This time it was his turn to laugh. “Don’t pretend to feel bad for letting it slip. Laura invited me to the party so I’m not missing out on anything.”
“That wasn’t my intention,” I said through gritted teeth. It wasn’t, but when he rolled his eyes and shook his head, I shrugged. “Actually, I don’t care if you think that was my intention. You think what you like about me. It’s obvious you made up your mind long before this and I can’t change that.” I scoffed. “I never thought I’d bear the brunt of your self-hatred over that night.”
He opened his mouth to say something but I was already leaving the cube. When he called out to me, I threw my hand up to dismiss him, holding back the middle finger that itched to extend. Pompous or not, he was still a coworker and I wasn’t going to get fired over a rich pretty boy with a killer serve. I loved my job too much.
By the time I made my way to the parking lot, I could see the feral cat sitting near the bowl. It was empty and when our eyes met he cowered, but he held his ground. It was so tempting to go to him then, but it was too much, too soon. Behind me, I could just barely see the corner of my window from where I stood. I tracked the thin strip of grass that ran along the inside of the bushes that circled the property and found the exact spot the cat had gone so I could see him from the window shared by my cube and Brian’s. He’d gone out of his way to get my attention.
I tilted my head and he did, too. “There’s no way you know that’s my window, so you must circle the building until I come out,” I said thoughtfully. “Is it possible that you’re starting to like me?”
I chuckled and the cat narrowed his eyes, then he was off like a shot, over the grass and into the safety of the bushes. We would try again another day. Tonight, I had to figure out how to deal with Brian and Garret in one room.
6
Brian
Laura was waiting for me at the entrance when I arrived, a simple black dress showing off her long legs, her high heels a gorgeous shade of turquoise. “You look divine” I told her when she hugged me hello.
“That’s funny,” she said in my ear. “I wasn’t sure you saw me. Care to tell me who you’re looking for?”
I laughed. “I’m just people watching.”
“Mm-hmm,” she said, then she stepped out of my embrace and sashayed around me. “Come on in when you’re done ‘people watching’.”
“Don’t you air quote me.” I chuckled. “Fine, you caught me. I guess I’ll join you.”
She looped her arm through mine and leaned in close. “Shall I try to guess or are you going to tell me?”
“No on both counts.”
“I’ll figure it out,” she insisted. “You’ve never been hard for me to read. Now come on. It’s your first launch party. Let’s have some fun.”
Stepping through the double doors when we got off the elevator, I was surprised to see the lavish decorations in the ballroom that took up the entire fifth floor of the luxury hotel. “Wow,” I said. “I didn’t expect it to be this-”
I groped for the word and Laura offered her own. “Extra?”
I laughed. “I normally wouldn’t say that, but yeah, it fits. You do this for every album drop?”
“Only when an album debuts in the top ten across the charts.”
“How does that happen?”
“Teasers, videos, and leaks.”
I blinked. “Wait. How do leaks happen? I thought that was the point of all the gatekeeping software.”
“That’s to keep unplanned leaks from happening. If something is leaked too soon it throws everything off.”
A slow smile spread across my face. “Jeremy made it sound like Dis-chord Records was Fort Knox to prevent any leaking. Even well-timed, it seems like that would be something to avoid.”
“But people love to love something they think they’re not allowed to have. Leaked tracks spread like wildfire. It’s one of the industry’s closely guarded secrets.” Her soft laugh danced on the air like wind chimes. “You didn’t think that many songs slipped through the cracks, did you?”