my brother…” she went on, “he is not crazy. I know that’s what people say about him.”
“Okay.”
“I just have a good feeling about this, Taylor. Let me and Xander pay you for a six month contract. We can negotiate longer than that if it’s needed. But the band is supposed to hand the album over to the record company in six months. That means the release party will probably come shortly after. We’ll pay you a fair, full-time rate. And you can work with my brother part-time, or whenever he needs you. He won’t want you there all the time anyway. Just help him get everything he needs in line so that he can finish the album on time, as stress free as possible, and try to go to that party. That can be our goal. It’s a great goal.”
She gazed at me, pleading with her hazel eyes. They weren’t the same shape as her brother’s; they were rounder, but the color was pretty much the same. That warm, liquid honey color. She was so hopeful, she was practically trembling with it. I could feel her hope and her desperation, and I felt for her.
She obviously loved her brother. A lot.
I took another sip of my chai, stalling. A song by Ash’s old band, the Penny Pushers, was playing in the café now. Vancouver had such a cool music scene over the years, and sitting here right now, it struck me how very possibly stupid it was that I—a total music lover—never thought about trying to work inside it. And here I was getting offered an in, and I was asking for an out.
“Okay, I’ll think about it,” I said. “Can I have a day or two to think it over?”
“Of course. Take whatever time you need. There’s no rush.” Courteney sighed. “It’s not like my brother’s begging me to hire him an assistant, like right this second.”
I smiled a little. “You’re a really good sister, Courteney, you know that?”
She groaned. “Honestly, I wish I knew how to help him better. I wish he’d talk to me.” Her voice broke a little. “But, if he’s willing to talk to you… I’ll take it.”
“Okay. Let me think about it.” I started to get up, and Courteney hopped to her feet. She gave me a big hug.
“Thank you. No pressure, okay? Whatever you decide. But I’d be so grateful if you’d give it a try.”
Right. No pressure at all.
I gave her a squeeze, then let her go. I looked her in the eye. “I’ll let you know, I promise. I should grab a takeout cup for the rest of this and get going.”
“Me, too. I’ll grab some for us. And if there’s anything you need, just let me know.” She turned and probably would’ve skipped all the way to the counter, she seemed so happy. But I stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“Hey, Courteney? Do you have a favorite Rolling Stones song?”
“The Stones?” She frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t know… I don’t really listen to them.”
“Oh. Okay.”
She started toward the counter, but then stopped again. “Wait. What’s that old song they do? ‘Fade To Black’ or whatever?”
“You mean ‘Paint It Black’?”
“Yeah. That’s it. I pick that one.”
“Cool.”
Damn.
When I walked into my apartment that evening, I yanked out my earbuds, dumped my purse, kicked off my sandals and immediately helped myself to a beer. I had a bunch of fruity ales from the brew pub up the street stocked in my fridge. I chose a raspberry bitter, grabbed my phone and plunked my ass down on my favorite window sill.
Like everything else in this place, the windows were old. They were wood frame and while they were always getting stuck, the sills were nice and deep. I had a corner apartment, which was pretty much the only perk of this place since Danica moved out of the apartment next door. I got a street view from the bedroom window and a sort of industrial waterfront-ish view from here in the kitchen. I could even see the mountains a little.
I’d met up with Danica for dinner tonight, and I told her about Courteney’s offer. She already knew Courteney had asked me to meet with her brother. But when I told her that Courteney basically begged me to consider taking the assistant job myself, Danica definitely wasn’t as uncomfortable with the idea as I was.
Bottom line, she knew I could use the contract. She liked and trusted Courteney. And as kindhearted as my best