These are white oriental casa blanca lilies. I’m told they stand for beauty, class and style. All qualities that fit you to a T.
I couldn’t find flowers that stand for, ‘I’d love to tie you up again.’ So these will have to do.
Today is crazy. I’ll swing by tomorrow to return your necklace.
Holt
Holy shit.
I can’t believe this guy.
I hold the card against my chest and sway from left to right.
Hmmm. Holt.
“I assume from the big ass grin on your face it’s about last night,” Callum says.
My cousin’s words shake me out of my momentary reverie.
“Yes,” I say in a shy voice. I clear my throat, “I forgot my necklace. It was still in his pocket––”
Callum holds a hand up. “I don’t need to know the details. We’re family, remember?”
After Ainsley left the suite, I checked my phone. To my absolute delight, I was greeted with a few text messages from my sexy hookup. Lucky me. Holt and I exchanged numbers before he had to slip into the night. Just because a guy asks, doesn’t mean he’ll do shit with your phone number. Of course, Holt is the exception to the rule. One of his messages mentioned he inadvertently left with my necklace. He quickly added it was a clever ruse to see me again. Yeah, my feet left the ground after reading his message.
Dear God! Holt is quickly becoming an addiction.
“Then I won’t share,” I lift my chin defiantly.
“Glad to see ‘the very hot dad’ is a gentleman. I’ll give him that much, he isn’t cheap. That’s a stunning bouquet,” he says.
“His name is Holt Christensen.”
Callum’s eyes widen like saucers and his eyebrows hit his forehead as realization sets in. “What?”
“I said his name is––”
“I might not have been there, but I caught last night’s highlights. Isn’t he the former rock star who cleaned house with his label’s record-breaking wins?”
“Yes,” I hesitate.
“He’s all over the news.”
“Is he?”
“Yeah. Did you know he’s a guitarist and a bassist? He’s one of the rare guys in music who can navigate different octaves with ease. Since he crushes bass like it’s nobody’s business, it became his calling card.”
“I didn’t know that about him.”
Callum shakes his head. “Wow. You sure know how to pick ’em. Talk about going from zero to hero.”
“He did mention he was a rock star, but I didn’t realize he was that well-known. Or talented.”
“You might want to Google him. I did. The guy has an impressive background. At the height of his career, he was considered a rock god. His band, Random Misconception, was at the top of the charts month, after month, after month. I can’t believe my little cousin managed to nab a guy like that.”
“I didn’t nab him. It was just one evening,” I correct.
“One evening followed by flowers and a note,” he says with the arch of an eyebrow.
CHAPTER 16
Holt
Even though Sydney texted me three times since I left my all-morning meeting in Century City to warn me, I’m still shocked.
As I turn off South Glendale Avenue onto Chestnut Street, I cash sight of the mob of people standing behind barricades. Half a dozen guards stand in military position, preventing the crowd from spilling onto my property. Thank God. On Monday, I gave Derrick Hammond––my head of security––the green light to beef things up. I hoped we might win an award or two, but last night was a tsunami of good fortune. I’m glad my security staff erected temporary blockades to contain the crowd. Without them, we’d have a serious problem on our hands.
There are so many fans, I have to reduce my speed to a crawl to avoid an accident.
“Out of the way.” I honk my horn in my determination to get past the gate.
As I drive through the mob, I glance at the signs these kids are waving.
Misty, I love you.
Bryant Harris, you’re number one.
Vickie Sky, you’re my favorite. Ever.
Bryant Harris, I want to have your baby.
Denisa Luka, Belinda Knowles and Taylin Shiftt can eat your dust, Misty. You’re the best.
And it goes on.
I can’t help but chuckle. This is reminiscent of our heydays as rock stars. Fast forward and this time around, the shoe is on the other foot. This outpouring of love is for my artists, not for me.
After a fairly challenging tour de force, I manage to park my Range Rover in its usual spot.
“Morning,” I say as I walk into the office.
“Good morning, Mr. Christensen,” Sydney says.
“Wow. You weren’t joking. There’s a sea of people out there.”
“Glad to see you were able to make it through without killing anyone,” she jokes.
“Barely.”
“Those little eager buggers have been trying to get into the building all morning. Do they seriously believe the artists are here?”
She’s funny when she’s on her high horse.
“We really stirred up the industry last night,” I say.
“It was absolutely ‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’,” she sings, waving her hands above her head.
I laugh.
“Good one.”
“I may make light of it, but it’s been nonstop since this morning. The phone has been ringing off the hook. There are so many emails sitting in our inbox, it’ll take the customer support staff a year to go through them. You have so many interviews lined up, don’t count on seeing your daughter ever again… because you’ll be too busy. And if that wasn’t enough, the sales team tells me we’re having a record day of sales, downloads and views to our artists’ YouTube videos—and it’s only one o’clock. In other words, boss, it’s all good for you,” she grins.
“Wow! Those are too many blessings to count.”
“Nonsense. Bask in your glory. You deserve it,” she tells me.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I chuckle. “I’m going to head to my office and bask there. Who knows? I might even get some work done while I’m in there.” She laughs. “Seriously, I have to knock off a few important things before I head out to pick up Naomi at the end of her school day. I can’t stay late.”
“Right. Best to get to it then,” she smiles.
I take a step away from her desk, but I don’t get far.
“Oh, I forgot to mention you’ve received tons of congratulatory gifts ranging from expensive bottles of vintage champagne to rare collector’s cigars. I opened everything and placed them all in the small conference room near your office.”
“Thank you. What would I do without you?”
“Well, we both know the answer to that,” she says in a pointed accent. “There is one gift that had me puzzled.”
“Why is that?”
“Angela was the first one to arrive. Someone dropped off a package at the front door. The courier didn’t bother to come in. She thought it was strange, but since she was on the phone when it happened, she couldn’t run after the guy.”