screen.
“Hi,” I said, suddenly feeling guilty that I was day drinking. I was by no means drunk, but the tequila made me feel loose and smiley.
“Hey,” he responded. “We’re working up an idea, and I need you to hit the ground running with it.”
“Yeah?” I sat up and pressed my lips together. Don’t sound buzzed, Erika.
“For Stella’s final show of the tour, she wants to do something special. She got her start here in Nashville, so she wants to pay it forward. She’s hoping to audition some locals and pick one to be her opening act that night. Johnny from her promo team was thinking we could shoot the talent scouting as a web series and have her fans help her choose the winner.”
Not that Ardy could see me, but I nodded along with the idea. But, abruptly, I stopped. “Wait, she’s already on tour. She’s got—what? Fourteen shows left?”
“Eighteen, yeah.” Ardy sighed. “Which is why I need you and everyone else at Warbler to run with this. We’ve got less than two months to pull it off.”
My brain churned with prospects. “What are the requirements?”
“Obviously, we’re looking for talent who’s going to appeal to her audience, but no other constraints. Male or female, band or solo artist, it doesn’t matter to her. You got someone in mind?”
“I have a few ideas, yeah.”
“Great.” I could hear the relief in his voice. “Get me a bunch more by Friday, and we’ll pitch Stella before she leaves for Atlanta.”
When our discussion was over, I immediately went to the Dropbox folder with all my clients’ work and took a listen with an ear toward Stella’s sound.
The sun was hot, and I wondered what kind of tan lines this swimsuit was going to give me if I wasn’t careful. It was a halter top, and that wouldn’t be flattering.
You can’t get tan lines if you’re not wearing anything.
It had to be the liquor that caused the thought. But . . . Dr. Lowe wasn’t in his backyard, and I was obscured from his view anyway by the pool house. I grinned shyly to myself. There was something so freeing about the idea of topless sunbathing. Empowering. Like my desire to go skinny dipping last year, the thought excited me.
Maybe someday I’d even be comfortable enough to go to a nude beach.
Baby steps, the practical side of my mind scolded.
I glanced around, even as I knew no one could see me, and undid the hook behind my neck. The straps tumbled free, exposing my breasts, then I undid the second hook behind my back, before dropping my bikini top over the side of my chair.
I was so happy with the results of my surgery. My breasts were fuller, but still looked natural. My incisions had healed, the scars had already faded to a soft pink, and by this time next year, they’d likely be invisible. Even if I was the only person to ever see my new chest, it was worth it.
But hopefully, that wasn’t true.
I had a considerable collection of vibrators that got the job done, but no amount of silicone and mechanics could truly replace the real thing. God, I was so fucking horny.
I reclined back on the lounger, streamed some music I wanted to listen to, and closed my eyes behind my sunglasses to think.
The best fit in my deck of artists was Lauren Kinsell. She was young, had a great look, and we could probably tone down her heavy country sound to broaden her appeal for a single show. Stella’s target audience skewed heavily female, playing best to the 14 to 30-year-old age range.
I hadn’t seen Lauren’s set in several months. She had a regular gig on Thursday nights at a honky-tonk on Broadway Street, and I’d need to go this week to refresh my memory. While I loved her sound, last time I’d watched her perform, her stage presence hadn’t been overly energetic or charismatic. She’d need a lot more for a Stella concert.
Hopefully, it’d just been an off night for her. Plus, she’d likely improved since then. Either way, I was confident I could get her to where she needed to be for the audition. This was such a huge opportunity to come her way.
I believed in my artists with all my heart, and it was my job to get as many doors open for them as possible. Helping them walk through them and into their dreams was immensely satisfying.
Plan of attack plotted out, I raised my arms up