my ears. “Nobody on my roster can have you. In fact, nobody on planet Earth can have you, until this thing between us has run its course.”
She stares for a long beat, flabbergasted. And then throws her head back and bursts out laughing. “The ramblings of a madman. Nobody on Earth can have me until you’ve grown tired of me and thrown me away? Gosh, what a lovely offer, Mr. Rivers. But, no, thanks. You don’t get to have me. You don’t get to plant your flag in me vis-à-vis the entire fucking world. And you most certainly don’t get to screw with my job, just because you want to fuck me and I’ve turned you down. That’s illegal, you know. I’ve got rights. Or haven’t you been following the news lately? That kind of shit isn’t allowed anymore, Reed.’”
Oh, Jesus fucking Christ. “Georgina, I have no intention of screwing with your job. On the contrary, I only want to help you do it. I want this special issue to be a grand slam, every bit as much as you do. But don’t, even for a minute, forget your job is to write about my artists. You’re in my house now, Georgina, which means you’re going to play by my rules, whether I want to fuck you or not. Which, to be clear, I do. Very much. I don’t deny that. But that fact doesn’t change the fact that you’ll toe the line when it comes to my artists. And not just you. Anyone who wants to interview my artists, whether they’re from Rock ‘n’ Roll or any other publication, whether I want to fuck them or not, always, always plays by my rules in my house. No exceptions, not even for you.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “God, you’re so full of shit. There’s no ‘sound’ business reason for you to put the kibosh on the C-Bomb interview. You’re feeling jealous and territorial. Plain and simple. You might as well have pissed on my leg when you walked in here and found me with him, you looked so freaking jealous.”
She’s absolutely right. But there’s no way in hell I’d ever admit that. “Find something else to write about this week,” I say. “I’m done talking about this.”
Georgina lets out an exasperated sigh and sits back down on the couch. “Reed, listen to me. I need this tour. CeeCee said she’ll consider everything I write this summer as an audition for me to write for Dig a Little Deeper.” Emotion threatens at the mere thought of it, but she swallows it. “I know I could get an incredible interview of Caleb, if only I had the chance to hang out with him for a full week.”
“I have faith you’ll find some other amazing person or topic to write about, if you put your mind to it.”
She takes several deep, calming breaths. And then drags her palm down her face. “I didn’t want to have to play the sympathy card here, but you leave me no choice. I was really counting on those free hotel rooms this week. Please don’t mess that up for me because of petty jealousy. Please.”
“What are you talking about?”
She tilts her head back and sinks into the sofa, her body melting in adorable surrender. “I had to vacate student housing on graduation day. My student loans are all used up, and I’m told I won’t get my first paycheck for this job for about three weeks... ” She sighs. “I’ve got, like, seven dollars to my name right now, so I was counting on a week with no expenses to get back on my feet. Before I got this job, I was going to move back home with my dad in the Valley, so I could help him with his expenses. But now that I’m going to be spending so much time in Hollywood, commuting like that won’t work. I was hoping to take this week, with no expenses, to figure out a cheap living situation for the summer. Maybe a friend’s couch. A room to rent.”
My heart twists. It’s so rare for Georgina to drop her tough-girl routine. But whenever she does, I find her all the more alluring. “I’ll book you a hotel room for the summer—on me,” I say simply. “Something within walking distance of my office.”
She sits up. “Seriously?”
“Sure. I wish all life’s problems were this easy to solve.”
She’s absolutely elated. She hops up like she wants to hug me, but