“No, I’d like you to meet him. It’d make it seem more official,” he says with a wink as he starts typing on his phone while walking back to talk with his security team, leaving me wondering if he meant his brother and him or me and him being more official.
Thirty minutes later, I’m walking down the hallway. I hear voices coming from a room off to the side. This penthouse is crazy big, larger than a normal house. I peek around a corner and find an office. Grady is sitting at the head of a large conference table, looking very official. Three men sit around the table, including the one who he called Dean.
Grady looks up and beckons me inside. “Gentlemen, this is my girlfriend, Emma Baldwin.”
A slew of hellos fills the otherwise quiet room.
“Please come sit with us. I think it’s important that you hear what they have to say,” Grady insists. I enter the room and take a seat next to him in a chair he pulls out for me.
I listen as the men begin to speak about all the security protocols. They show us layouts of his home. They show him how to access live video from his phone, the whereabouts of all the motion sensors, and a detailed list of other items.
I hear a doorbell, and I jump, startled by the unexpected sound.
“Excuse us for just a moment,” Grady says as he stands and motions for me to follow him. I do, nodding at the men as I leave. I feel very out of my element with all of the security talk and this huge penthouse.
Grady opens the door before I can ask what is going on. The moment he does, I know I’m meeting his brother. Jason has Grady’s eyes.
Grady hugs his brother. “Come in, I’ve ordered us food, but it’s not here yet. I have to meet with some staff, but I figured you could have a drink with my girlfriend while we wait. Emma, this is Jason. Jason, Emma.”
We shake hands and he gives me a smile. “Nice to meet you,” he says cheerfully.
“Likewise,” I reply. I look to Grady because if I’m supposed to play hostess, I’m at a total loss.
He reads my mind. “There’s a wine and beer fridge in the kitchen.” He points toward it, and we all walk into the kitchen.
I nod. “You want anything?” I ask Grady as I open the wine and beer fridge that he’s pointed to.
“I’ll get something in a minute. Feel free to make yourself at home. I’ll let you two get to know each other while I finish up this meeting,” he says to Jason as he heads back to the office.
Jason sits down in the kitchen, which looks straight out of a magazine with white modern cabinets and some sort of white stone countertop.
“Beer or wine?” I ask him.
“Beer is fine,” he says.
I pull two different types out, and he chooses one. I take a guess at a drawer near the fridge and find a bottle opener.
“Sorry,” I squeak. I lean toward him as I set the bottle down. “I literally just got here today. I don’t know where anything is, and I feel like a fish out of water.”
Jason chuckles. “It’s all good.” He looks around the kitchen. “So, this is how the other half lives, huh?”
I follow his gaze, taking in not just the pristine, expensive-looking kitchen but also a family room with white, expensive-looking furniture. Blythe apparently isn’t big on color or maybe her decorator isn’t.
“I suppose it is,” I agree as I open the other bottle. I hold mine up and we clink glasses. “To new acquaintances,” I say.
He raises his glass and takes a sip. “So, what do you do?” he asks me.
I launch into some stuff about school. He tells me a little about himself, including that he wants to go back to school for either a medical degree or a law degree, so he’s working a few jobs to save up for it.
Our conversation flows easily as we talk about things we like to do. I enjoy talking with him. He seems super chill.
“So, why are you staying here?” he asks me, looking around again.
I hesitate because I don’t want to scare him, and I don’t know if Grady has said anything. But I’m saved when I hear Grady’s voice answer, “Some issues with a stalker at home. This place is a fortress compared to my house.”
I watch as Jason studies the rooms. It must be so strange to find out you have a sibling.
“Well, I hope it’s nothing serious,” he adds, looking back at Grady.
“It’s fine. It happens here in Hollywood.” Grady downplays it, and I frown. I don’t like keeping secrets, but I also know their relationship is new. I’m in unchartered territory, so I keep silent.
The rest of the evening is pleasant as we eat Chinese takeout. I watch Grady and his brother interact. Their similarities are astounding. Even the way they hold their glasses with their first two fingers together is oddly the same.
By ten o’clock, Jason is yawning. “I should get home. But I’m glad you called me. This was great.”
“Absolutely, we should do something again this week, if you have time,” Grady says. We all stand and walk to the front door.
“I’d love to”—Jason pauses as at the door—“maybe Thursday night? There’s a new Mexican restaurant over in Arlington Heights.”
“Yeah, that sounds great,” Grady says. “Text me a time, and I’ll be there.”
“You should come too, Emma,” Jason says to me with a smile.
“Uh, yeah, sure. I’d love to, I mean if you guys want me to tag along? I don’t want to rain on the parade.”
“Not at all,” Jason assures me as he steps into the elevator. “See you guys on Thursday.”
The doors close and Grady shuts the penthouse door. “What do you think?” he asks me.
“I like him. He’s sort of awkward and nerdy. He’s different than you, but he seems nice. I’m glad you invited him over.”
“I’m glad you approve. I’m a little nervous about Mom meeting him. I suppose that will happen in time, but I’m glad someone other than me has had a chance to talk to him.”
I yawn.
“Let’s go get some sleep. You look exhausted,” Grady says as he wraps an arm around my shoulder.
“Oh, I don’t know why, it’s not like my boyfriend spent all weekend making love to me,” I say and then freeze at the words I just spoke. “Making love.” And “boyfriend.” I cringe hoping he doesn’t read into it.
“Well, I could make love to you again,” he says as he kisses my neck. I sigh at his relaxed voice.
“You might be able to talk me into it,” I admit as we enter the guest suite, shutting the door behind us.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Grady
After enjoying my girlfriend thoroughly all night and again this morning, a security agent named Carl accompanied her to school.
And here I am, sitting at my mother’s conference table after a grueling morning of going through album issues with Kellen from the recording studio after which I had a fitting for some clothes I need to wear for a shoot for the album cover. My publicist, Clyde, and his assistant, Wilson, stopped by to discuss things with my brother. Wilson still creeps me out with the way he watches me like I’m some sort of alien.
And don’t forget my manager and his assistant popping by to check out the new digs. Dean has a secured video conference call set up with Benson, Rhett, Max, me, and Calvin. Calvin is sitting in his office along with a record executive from our label who suddenly gives a shit about us after a few news outlets reported on the stalker issue.