She was standing up to Stone. No one did that. Well, except for us guys.
And it worked. He actually sat back on the sofa, and shut his mouth.
But it wasn’t going to work on me, I didn’t care how hot she was or how many times I might have fucked her. When it came down to it, she didn’t know shit about us or our business.
“You know, lady, I don’t know who you think you are, but we don’t need you to tell us how to conduct ourselves—” I started to say.
But before I could finish, she held her hand up like a stop sign. “You’re right. You don’t need me to tell you anything.”
She reached for her bag and headed for the door. “If you change your minds, you know where to reach me. I have a busy day ahead and don’t need to waste anyone’s time, especially people as busy as you guys.”
She pulled the front door open and stepped into the bright LA sunshine. I could swear I saw a thong outline through the fabric of her dress.
“Wait.” Bryan ran after her, pulling the door closed behind them.
“Well, you guys blew that one,” Hugh said, sighing.
What the fuck?
“Dude. You’ve gotta be kidding,” I said.
He held his hands up. “Look. Every big band does some of this PR shit. It makes a difference. I know it does. And if it means the label will keep us, then what’s the goddamn harm? Seriously. Get over yourselves.”
He looked from one of us to the other, the voice of reason in our trio. Ever since we were kids trying to make music, he’d been the one with the good head on his shoulders.
He continued. “You can’t just give it a chance? See what the woman has to say. If her ideas suck, we’ll send her packing. You know, if she hooks us up with a cheesy, star-studded We are the World concert, we’ll say no thanks. But I, for one, would like to stay with our record label. I want to hear what she has to say.”
I wasn’t as convinced. I didn’t need any distractions. I had a new album’s worth of songs to write.
“Stone?” Hugh said, looking right at him.
He avoided his gaze then shrugged. “Yeah. Whatever, man. I don’t think it will do a bit of good, but if you want to try it, I’ll keep my damn mouth shut and go along.”
Wow. Stone never acquiesced.
“Cool,” Hugh said.
He turned to me. “Okay Ennis. Will you give it a shot? As a favor to me?”
A smile crept across my face. “A favor to you, huh? Did ya hear that Stone? Hugh is asking me for a favor.”
Stone nodded, also smiling. “I heard. You gonna help the man out?”
Then, he burst out laughing so hard I couldn’t help but join him, followed by Hugh.
“Yes, I’ll do both you assholes a favor. I’m outvoted anyway, so what the hell?”
At the sound of our laughter, Bryan came back in the house with Coral on his heels.
She walked right up to us and our laughter subsided almost immediately. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and she was frowning.
Not what I’d expected of her.
“Look. You are on top of the world at this moment in time. Don’t blow your ride.”
She was cute when she was fired up. And her nipples were hard, a fact that wasn’t lost on any of us. Except for maybe Bryan who, as far as we all knew, was pretty much asexual.
“We were thinking the same thing,” Hugh said. “We want to give you a shot.”
Her eyes widened, and her head snapped back. “Oh. Really.”
She sucked at disguising her surprise.
But a moment later she’d recovered. “Wonderful. Let’s get started, then.”
She returned to her seat, and re-crossed those gorgeous legs. Bryan set himself right next to her, standing and smiling like he’d discovered gold.
Maybe he had.
He wanted to keep his job just like the rest of us. And the man really didn’t deserve the shit we sent his way. He’d stood by us through thick and thin, and always worked at least as hard as we did.
Coral continued. “We’re going to clean up the Dirty Bandit image. You will do charity and volunteer work. You will donate part of your ticket sales. And I can assure you, it will all be painless. In fact, you may even enjoy it. Did you know one of the most philanthropic bands is Pearl Jam? And who doesn’t love them?”
She seemed happy she could throw around the name of a big band. She didn’t look like much of a rock ’n roll girl.
But Stone wasn’t impressed. “Pearl Jam? Are you serious? Those guys are a bunch of old fuckers.”
“They may be old, but they are respected, and have had a long goddamn career. Much longer than most other bands.”
Well. Coral had done her homework, and was taking no shit. I liked that in a woman.
Actually, I liked several things about this woman.
Hugh turned toward her. “Where do we start? And when do we start?”
Chapter 10
CORAL
“Let’s get some things out in the open here,” I said, mustering all my courage and staring down each of the guys. The idiots had no idea who I was. I was safe. The past was staying in the past.
My confidence exploded. I was on fire.
“I just need to be straight with you. Do you want a long-term career, or to burn out and be forgotten? I don’t care either way. Personally, I have a stable job and there will always be some other band clawing their way to the top that wants our help. So, I have no stake in what you decide.” I threw my hands up for dramatic effect.
Holy shit. Did I really just say that?
I gripped the arms of the leather chair where I sat so no one could see my hands trembling. I’d never been that forthright. Or rude.
I supposed it was never too late to become a ball buster.
But had I pulled it off? Had I earned a measure of respect from these spoiled, out-of-touch, man-children?
If only I could have been that ballsy in high school. Put these guys and their group in their place. Given the Populars the middle finger. It wouldn’t have mattered if they kept ridiculing me. At least it would have shown a little self-respect.
And doesn’t self-respect bring about respect?
But that was then, and I’d done the best I could at the time, which in the end was to just escape. I didn’t know how else to change my situation except by exiting it as I had. And I was now worlds away from that awkward kid from Perry High.
Right?
At least, that’s what I told myself. It helped with the bad memories.
Well, sometimes it helped. Today, not so much. When you were sitting right in front of your nightmare, what else would you expect?
And when I thought about it, the tirade I’d just thrown at the guys had been nothing short of the absolute truth. I couldn’t give a shit whether they stayed on top or sank to the depths of obscurity. Seriously. I was fine either way, and I would continue to be fine either way. My boss would be disappointed if Dirty Bandit sent me packing, but in time there’d be another client right behind them, more eager and probably more deserving of the privileges that accompany rock star success.
So, I didn’t have a thing to lose if they kicked me out. I’d go on about my day, dealing with other clients, going to my mani-pedi appointment, and seeing Nikki after work if she didn’t have to take another shift at the hospital.