“Where are we?” I ask as I take a seat next to Tristan on the couch.
“Just trying to work out the beat for the one you sent us last week,” he tells me as he continues to tap his sticks against the couch.
I glance over at his notebook and see it’s the ballad I had been working on in Hawaii. We don’t do a lot of them, but we want this next album to be eclectic. Wrapping my arms around my guitar, I close my eyes and begin to sing the lyrics, which are already memorized.
Reality is closing in
Is it me or is it you
The lines are blurred within these walls
How do I know when to take the fall?
Just like that, I’m lost in the music. We stay in the same spot until the early morning hours. We make it through the entire song with lyrics and rhythm that we’re all pleased with. I’m exhausted when I reach my room, but sleep evades me as I think about her. This extraordinarily fucked-up day turned out better than I expected.
Chapter 11
Logan
As soon as I clear the gates and steer my car onto the main road, I take a deep breath. Today was . . . unexpected, to say the least. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that my vacation fling would end up being my new boss. That’s why I steer clear of situations like this. If I hadn’t given in to the desire, then today would have been a hell of a lot less awkward. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’ve slept with my new boss. I had myself convinced that Kacen was going to fire me on the spot. He surprised me by saying we can give it a shot.
He’s worried about his bandmates. I wanted to tell him that it was still him that I felt between my thighs and he had nothing to worry about, but instead, I bit my tongue. That would have been unprofessional, and that’s what our relationship has to be from here on out.
Nothing but professional.
I’ve kept myself from texting Stacy all day today to fill her in. I didn’t want to be glued to my phone on the first day. I know she would have been blowing the damn thing up until she had all of the details. As if she can read my mind, my phone alerts me to a text. I have no doubt it’s my best friend, so I wait until I’m stopped at the next traffic light to read it.
Stacy: Hey! What time will you be home?
Me: On my way now, about 15 minutes.
Stacy: Great! I ordered pizza to celebrate our first days.
The light turns green, so I end the conversation with a quick “K.” I decide to stop and pick up a twelve pack of Angry Orchard. After the day I’ve had, pizza and hard cider sound amazing.
I find Stacy sitting on the living room floor with the pizza box, paper plates and napkins spread out on the coffee table. Kicking off my shoes and ridding myself of my purse and keys, I wave a quick hello as I pass her for the kitchen. Tearing into the twelve pack, I grab us both a hard cider and place the rest in the fridge. I have a feeling we’ll be needing a few more before the night is through.
“Hey! How was your first day?” she asks, bringing the bottle to her lips.
“Good, but you first. I’m starving.” It’s the truth. I am starving, but I’m also using it as a stall tactic.
“I really think I’m going to like it. I’m shadowing with another rep for the next four weeks, and then they’ll give me my own territory.” She stops to take a bite of pizza. I shove in another bite as well, hoping she’ll keep talking.
“We take lunches to physicians and their staff and meet with them about the medications. We visited about twelve offices today, and Lisa, the girl I’m shadowing, said that’s low, but she was taking her time to introduce me at each place and explain the process. I was worried at first, but if today is any indication, I’m really going to love it.” She beams.
She takes another bite of pizza and looks at me expectantly. Shit, stalling is no longer an option. “My day was good. You’ll never guess who I ran into.” I decide to string her along a little.
“I got nothing,” she says, taking a swig of her beer.
Damn. She’s not even going to try and guess. “Funny story, you remember Michael, right?”
“Michael? From Hawaii Michael?” she asks, confused.
I nod. “Yeah, Michael from Hawaii.”
“Logan, that was two days ago, of course I remember him. What does he have to do with your job?”
“He’s my boss.”
Stacy coughs. I guess I should have waited until she swallowed her drink to put that little bit of information out there for her.
“Are you freaking kidding me? No way!” she exclaims.
“Yep. Turns out I’m not actually working for the record label. I’m his, well his and his band’s, new personal assistant.”
“Holy shit! What band? Did he mention Hawaii? What did he say? Do you still have a job?” She fires off questions one after the other.
“Soul Serenade, yes, that we would see how it goes, and yes,” I address each of her questions. “Turns out his name is Kacen not Michael.”
I watch as she starts to speak, and then clamps her mouth shut. I take another bite of my pizza to buy some time. I’m still on the fence with how I feel about this, and I know she’s going to ask.
“We haven’t really talked about that night. You were really quiet on the way home, and I was giving you time. All you’ve told me is that he ruined you for other men. I can only assume that means you did, indeed, sleep with him and it was life changing. So my question is, how do you feel about all of this? Can you work for him? Can you keep your hands off him?” She winks.
Tilting back my bottle of beer and taking a big drink, I ponder her question. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I mean, I know I can be professional, and yes, I can keep my hands off him. I will not, however, be able to not think about them touching every inch of his body every time I see him, but I can keep that to myself. I guess a lot of it depends on how he acts toward me. If he’s an ass, it will make it easier, but if he’s nice and flirts at all, it’s going to be hard to not . . . want him.”
Kacen gave me a night to remember, one that we both thought would be just that, a memory. Seeing him every day is going to be a constant reminder of the night we shared. I know I can remain professional, unless he uses his charms on me. If that happens, I’m going to be looking for another job. It might be a good idea to put a few feelers out, just in case. Working for him, regardless of how he treats me, could turn out to be more than I can handle. More than I’m willing to deal with.
“I say have some fun with it. If he gets all flirty, you flirt right back. Let him know what he’s missing, not the other way around. If he wants to play games, make him want you.”
“And if he decides that he does?”
Stacy shrugs. “Then let him have you. It wouldn’t be the first time a boss slept with his PA. Worst-case scenario is it doesn’t work out and you need to find another job. As long as you leave giving them proper notice, there is no way he would give you a bad reference, regardless of how things turn out. Besides, it could also turn out in your favor and you all could live happily ever after.”
This has me throwing my head back in laughter. “You remember Daniel, right? I was fooled once into believing fairy tales existed. I was sadly mistaken. I will not make that same mistake again.”