that he tricked me into thinking he could be last night.
“That remains to be seen,” Houston argued. “Nonetheless, do we have an agreement?”
How could I say no to that much money in exchange for quitting a job I hated? It should have been a no-brainer, so why was I hesitating?
Perhaps it was because they’d so very clearly decided this for me without thinking of including me in the discussion. I didn’t appreciate the high-handedness, even if it did come wrapped in a pretty bow.
“What if I don’t want to quit my job?” I asked them.
“That was never an option,” Houston answered, proving me right.
“Hence why we’re paying you more than you’re worth,” Loren added. “So there’s no reason for you to say no.”
“I can think of one.” Holding up the offer, I tore it in half with a smile that would make Miss America look like a sourpuss. “You both can kiss my ass.”
“Love to,” Loren smoothly and immediately responded.
“I’ll quit Succulent and devote myself to this band when the three of you show me some respect.”
Loren snorted. Houston stared.
“And not a moment sooner.”
Ignoring the plate full of steaming eggs, I pushed away from the island that separated me from them. At the entrance, I peered over my shoulder. Both still stood in the same place, watching me like I was some mystical creature they’d just discovered.
“Shall we?”
I was beginning to think my advice to Braxton had done more harm than good. She’d put her foot down and got our attention.
It turns out it was much more than she’d bargained for.
Since she refused to quit her job, Houston never let up, no matter how much her playing improved. Not once—not for a second, an hour, or a day in the weeks since. If Houston was on her ass anymore, he’d be in her ass. No doubt that thought had crossed his mind once or twice.
At least today would offer her some reprieve since we had our first photo shoot and interview with Braxton.
While the magazine that had been promised the exclusive set up, I caught sight of a familiar face entering Clive’s. I was holding up one of the cracked concrete walls the owner tried to embellish with celebrity posters, neon signs, and photos of patrons and employees. The molded ceiling looked like it would cave any moment, and the floor appeared as if no one had cleaned it since opening thirty years ago.
This was the most rundown bar the magazine could find in L.A., with Braxton as the centerpiece to commemorate Bound’s “discovery.”
I snorted.
If we hadn’t taken Savant’s deal five years ago, this wouldn’t be happening right now. This would not be our reality.
“The world must be on fire if you’re bothering to show your face,” I greeted the suited man approaching me in a blue tailored suit.
As usual he’d forgone a tie, so the top few buttons of his white shirt and suit jacket were left undone, exposing the deep-brown skin of his chest. Xavier Gray, recently forty, stroked his beard trimmed close while his dark brown gaze studied me. His black hair was also cut close and had the appearance of waves so deep they made me seasick whenever I looked at them.
Gray became our manager about a year or so after we signed to Savant. According to him, it was the least he could do after we saved his son, who was now a big-time rapper, from sharing our fate. Raleigh, who’d been nineteen at the time and dead set on fulfilling his dreams, hadn’t been willing to listen to his father. The details of how it led to us stepping in were murky, but what mattered now is that it had done some good.
Raleigh signed with a record label that wasn’t shady and was now at the top of his game. It was just one reason Carl was determined to take us down, and Braxton was his way to do it.
“Not quite,” Xavier answered as he slapped hands with me. “How’s it going with your newest addition?”
“You’d know if you brought your ass down sooner to meet her.”
He gave me a look as if I were insane. “You mean leave Portland willingly? Pass. I hate L.A. You know that.”
I scratched my chin, the lie already on my tongue. “It’s not that bad.”
“So you’re not itching to get back home?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” He peered at me then. “You sleeping all right?”
“Like a log,” I answered shortly, hoping he didn’t push. It’s been