“I want them in the studio by the end of next week and on tour by the end of the year,” he demanded before walking out.
By the end of the year, was he crazy? I had a feeling Cristiano was setting me up to fail, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Crimson Heat would be ready if it was the last thing I did.
Picking up my phone, I dialed Walker’s number and waited for him to answer. I couldn’t help but think back to the last time I saw him. He was sprawled out in his bed, where I left him without waking him up. He looked so damn young as he slept. He had the face of a child but the body of a Greek god. One I wanted to worship. One I needed to stay away from, which was going to be extremely difficult now that I was their manager.
Was it childish of me to sneak out? Yes, but I wasn’t prepared to deal with what happened the night before. I couldn’t believe I masturbated in front of him. I wish I could have blamed it on all the beer I’d had, but I couldn’t. There was no way I could deny my attraction to Walker, no matter how wrong it was.
“Hey,” Walker answered, like I called him all the time. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you.”
“I know, but there was a holdup with the contract. Do you know anything about that?”
“Maybe,” he said playfully. I knew he had a sexy ass smirk on his face.
“You didn’t have to do that, you know?”
“Yeah, we know, but you were the one who believed in us and did everything you could to get us that contract. We want you to be a part of the band until the end.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You shouldn’t be thinking of the end right now. You’ve got a long, lucrative career ahead of you. One that you might not have had by insisting on me being your manager.”
“It’s worth it. You’re worth it, Penelope.” The way he purred my name had my toes curling in my boots.
“Listen, Walker, if you did this because you think it’s a sure-fire way to get me into bed with you, you couldn’t be more wrong. I can’t sleep with you. Not now. Not ever. If I do, I’ll lose my job. A job that I love.”
“We… I didn’t do it to get you into bed.” His voice went lower as he got serious. “I already told you why. Your belief in us means everything. Now,” his tone changed again back to playful. “I won’t deny that I want you because I do, but I won’t push you either. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be in your position.”
“Thank you. Cristiano informed me that you are coming to sign tomorrow. I’ll take you all out to dinner to celebrate and to thank you for making me a part of the band.”
“Ah, you don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. I promised you I’d take you out to celebrate, and I keep my promises.”
“Okay,” he agreed quickly.
“Okay,” I laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” he rasped out, sending tingles down my spine before hanging up.
How could one single word cause such a reaction?
I knew then that Walker Pierce was going to make my job very difficult.
“What do you think now that you’ve officially made it?” I asked the guys from Crimson Heat as I walked out of the conference room.
They each had the biggest smiles I’d ever seen on their faces. Kenton was jumping on the balls of his feet, full of energy. Greer’s wasn’t so much of a smile, but he wasn’t pissed off and seemed to be in a good mood, so I wasn’t going to push it. Walker and Cross had their heads together as they whispered back and forth.
“I hope you’re not plotting something that’s going to get me in trouble the first day I’m officially your manager.” I stopped in the middle of the hall and turned around to look at them. “I know I’ve already said it, but thank you for thinking of me when you didn’t have to. It means a lot, and I promise that I won’t be a tyrant, nor will I let you down.”
Cross looked up and met my eyes. “You’re one of us now.”
“Now, who’s ready to celebrate? I’ve got reservations for dinner at one of the hottest clubs in all of LA, but we can do whatever you want.”
“Sounds perfect,” Walker said quietly. He’d been quiet with me since he stepped foot in the building. I guess he finally took to heart there could be nothing between us.
“Good, I’ve got a limo waiting for you.”
At the mention of the limo, they ran down the hall and outside to where a black SUV limo sat waiting. They piled inside, and by the time I was in, they had the sunroof open, drinks in their hands, and a bong had appeared out of nowhere.
I’d only been around them once when they drank and never saw them smoke anything. While it wasn’t illegal, I wasn’t sure being high tonight was the best idea. I kept my mouth shut, though. I didn’t want to be a killjoy. Not tonight, but if anyone made a habit out of it, I’d definitely have to put a stop to it.
The driver used the intercom and asked where we were off to first. I didn’t want to dictate the night and wanted them to decide. “Do you want to stop by the house the label rented for you, or are you good to go out now?”
“Let’s do dinner because I’m starved, and it’s only about to get worse.” Kenton laughed as he took a hit.
I nodded with a tight smile. It looked like they weren’t going to make my job easy. “To dinner, it is,” I informed the driver.
I’d asked all of them to tell me their favorite things to eat in a text last night. The boys were easy meat and potatoes men, so I took them to the best steakhouse in town, where we had melt-in-your-mouth steaks. The moment their plates were cleaned, they were ready to roll and hit the club where I’d reserved a VIP section for them. I knew they’d love the preferential treatment and all the women being in VIP brought. What I didn’t expect was how I’d feel seeing women vying for Walker’s attention. I knew he wasn’t mine, but that didn’t stop the green-eyed monster from rearing its ugly head when he paid them any attention.
“Hey, Pen,” Cross shouted from a few feet away. I dragged my eyes off the girl who was running her hand down the front of Walker’s chest and over to Cross. “Why aren’t you drinking?”
Good question, because if I wasn’t responsible for keeping them out of trouble, I would no doubt be drinking—a lot—enough to burn the touches of other women out of my brain.
“Can’t. I’m on the job.” I held out my water to him and gave him an air cheer.
“That’s got to suck. You can’t let loose for one night,” Kenton muttered beside me, or at least that’s the way it sounded with the loud beat of the music filling the air.
“I’ve already done that, remember?”
“Yeah, you were awesome,” he chuckled. “Does it bother you to see all these girls— “
“Not at all,” I cut him off, not wanting to hear him voice what they all probably knew. “I was young once, and I know boys will be boys.”
Leaning forward, Kenton’s grin grew. “I still think you’re lying to me. There’s no way you’re in your thirties.”
One brow rose as I asked. “Who said I was in my thirties? What if I’m in my forties?”