you could betray me, proves how disconnected we’ve been.”
“I’ve been working too much. Missing a lot. All of that is going to change and I won’t waste time saying it. I’ll show you.”
“And Serena?”
I wondered if Val noticed the biting edge when she said her name. “I don’t know for sure that it was hers,” I admitted.
“Who else could it be?”
“If we’re talking band members getting it on in my car, there are two other guys who could’ve rewarded a groupie. But whether or not it was Serena, I’m setting some rules. When we’re done for the day, we’re done. I’m going home and turning off my phone. Her calling me at three in the morning because she changed the lyrics again and I have to listen to it now— That’s over. Work is always going to be a little crazy, but it doesn’t have to be like the last few months. Let me tell you right now, I will never go another three weeks without you.”
She laughed. “Good to know. I need our private dance sessions.”
Adam came back, handed me my cone, and climbed on Val’s lap. He dropped his head on her shoulder and promptly closed his eyes.
“Seems it won’t be a fight today,” she said softly. “I’m taking him up. Wait for me in your room. We’ll have another dance session.”
I raised a brow. “Promises were made earlier.”
“You’ll have to convince me,” she tossed over her shoulder. “But I did say you could talk me into just about anything.”
Chapter Five
Jaxson
“I’m here for whatever you need and I support you guys one hundred percent.” I gestured to Gwen. “So does my other half. Whenever I’m out, just call her up and she’s got you.”
“Why does it feel like you’re breaking up with us?” Chandler joked.
The next morning, Gwen, Beyond Berlin, and I snagged one of the meeting rooms. It was strange being in here and surrounded by pictures of Dad, Dad, and Dad wailing into a mic and thrusting his hips at the camera. I would’ve taken it into my closet if I could fit more than two people in there.
Heaving a sigh, I clutched my heart, lowering my head. “I am, C. What we had was special. You were a sweet and tender lover. But I’m in love with someone else.”
Chandler tipped out of the chair howling. The other guys busted up, though Serena’s blank expression didn’t twitch. She swiveled in her chair, side to side, grating my ears with faint squeaks.
“He’s not kidding,” Gwen piped up. “He is in love with someone else.”
“And she, plus my kid, need me to cut down on the late nights and broken promises,” I said. “This isn’t really a breakup. Gwen and I are working out how to split tasks to make it easier on us both. Bianca likes me listening to demos and scouting out new talent, and Gwen’s great with album details and managing in the studio.”
Serena kicked her feet onto the table. “You’re pretty much saying we’re her problem now.”
“No,” I replied. “I’m saying that Gwen and I will both be here to help you out. I’ve got other stuff on my plate now, but that’s not going to change. Call me up whenever. Just know that when I’m off the clock, I might not get you back until the next morning.”
Serena scoffed. “Are you serious, Jaxson? Stars don’t live or work by nine to five. Inspiration strikes in the middle of the night. Concerts go until one in the morning. Stupid fucking sound guys bust the speakers and suddenly you’re doing an a cappella set. There is no schedule. There’s no off-the-clock.
“Isn’t the whole point of you being down here instead of in the penthouse with Daddy, to prove you can handle all aspects of this job?” She spread out her hands, squeak, squeak, squeaking in her chair. “If you’re to the point of passing all the work to the assistant, I say you failed. You can’t handle it.”
I bore her speech in silence, Val’s warning coming back to me.
“It’s a sneaky, cruel, manipulative person that would do something like this. And if she is after you, she won’t have the conscience to stop.”
I still couldn’t say the thong I dumped in the trash the day before was Serena’s, but if all that shit she said wasn’t an attempt to keep me at her beck and call, I didn’t know what was. Playing on my desire to prove myself to Dad was hard-level manipulation. If she