belly to those assholes. They won’t show you mercy.”
“Thanks.” I dragged myself onto the high stool before snagging her drink and taking a large gulp. I barely knew her, but since we were about to walk through hell holding hands, I figured swapping cooties was the least of our worries. “Speaking of warnings, I could have used one before walking into that room.”
“I wanted to see what you would do when your back was against the wall. Get used to it because what happened today was just the start, and when you’re on the road, there will be no one to play the mediator. I needed to know you could hold your own.”
“Sure.” I still wasn’t happy about being ambushed, but what could I do other than let it go? No one else was beating down my door to give me an opportunity like this. I wanted to make some noise, and now I had my chance. Touring with Bound would reach all corners of the world.
I could take that to the fucking bank.
“Now, for the reason I called you down here.”
“You mean scaring the shit out of me wasn’t the reason?”
“Not even close.”
“Fuck.”
She looked away, toying with a dark curl as she sunk deep in thought. I took the time to check out the band walking on stage now and realized I’d never heard them play before. I wondered if they knew who sat in the audience tonight. Oni was one of many A&R reps at Savant Records, but she was obviously willing to think outside the box, and what she managed to pull off this afternoon was huge. I’m not sure how many strings she pulled behind the scenes, but it seemed so effortless from where I sat. If I weren’t so desperate, I’d be suspicious, but I couldn’t afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Did I ever mention I was the one who discovered them?” she asked after several minutes had passed in silence.
I felt my brows dip as I turned away from the five-piece on stage. “Who?” Surely, she couldn’t mean—
“Bound.”
My eyebrows kissed my hairline. I swore I could feel the strands touching. “Really?”
“Try not to look so surprised,” she tossed back.
“Sorry, it’s just…I had no idea.” I would never have guessed, considering the words they exchanged at the meeting. “They don’t seem very grateful.”
Oni snorted before rolling her eyes. “They’re not. They hate me, themselves, and each other. In my case, the feeling is mutual.”
“But why? Without you—”
“Savant would have never found them,” she finished for me. “They were a lot like you. They weren’t looking for fame. Fame found them. Although they weren’t as hard to convince.”
Oni gave me a pointed look, a reminder of the months she spent wooing me with the promise of a record deal until one day, I simply gave in. I was fine letting her believe that since I preferred my cards close to my chest.
Clearing her throat, Oni looked away, and I had a feeling we’d finally arrived at the real reason we were meeting in secret. “There’s something I’d like you to do for me.”
I should have been ready to do anything for her. I should have been grateful, but the graveness in her tone kept me wary. “Okay…” I drew out instead.
Reaching over the round table, she grabbed my hand and squeezed. My spine was ramrod straight from the unexpected touch and the warmth that, until now, Oni hadn’t shown toward me…or anyone. Oni Sridhar was all business, all the time. “Find a way to keep them together.”
“Keep who together?” Her nostrils flared with impatience, and I realized I was starting to sound like a parrot who’d been crossbred with an owl.
“Bound.” Seeing the question in my eyes, she went on. “When I met them, they were finishing each other’s sentences, and now they can barely stand to be in the same room together.”
“They seemed fine to me,” I mumbled. I couldn’t forget how they had circled and preyed on me the moment I stepped into that room.
“Because you saw what they wanted you to see. The only time they’re united is when they’ve set their sights on the same game.”
“Meaning me.” She gave an apologetic nod in confirmation. Splendid. “So what am I supposed to do? Put an apple on my head so they hate each other a little less?”
“Nothing quite so dramatic,” she replied with a tip of her red-painted lips.
“Then what?”
“In short? Find what’s broken and fix it. If you can’t,