VIP Access (The Road To Rocktoberfest #7) - Morticia Knight Page 0,24

into his room, all he was focused on was getting a chance to speak with Braylin before soundcheck. Now, he’d probably have to push that to the afternoon.

Fucking Sal, man.

“Let’s prepare for soundcheck. I’m not going to bring this up to Sal or acknowledge it in any way. I’ll call my manager and tell him the band has no comment and speak with the guys privately. Have you made sure that Sal’s room is at the opposite end of the floor from the rest of the band?”

Gordy snorted. “The opposite end on another floor. Different elevator too. And I’ll go through the rest of the itinerary and see what I can do about the future lodgings.”

“Thanks, man. I know this is a lot of extra shit for you to have to deal with. I promise it’ll be resolved before we tour again.”

Gordy nodded. “I gotcha. Crazy though, huh? I can’t figure out how the hotel knew ahead of the story coming out.”

“Probably got a heads up from someone on the inside. Who knows? Internet these days.”

Gordy chuckled. “For real. All right, let me get to work. As always, ping me if you need anything.”

After Gordy left, Zen took a moment to process the unexpected news. Sure, Sal’s behavior was shitty on a good day, but this was a new level of craptacular. Zen’s first obligation was to his bandmates and he needed to give them each a call. Then, he had to deal with his boy.

Zen rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. He’d been looking forward to resolving things between him and Braylin, spending a few minutes with him before soundcheck and reassuring his sensitive boy that everything was okay. Zen knew that taking on someone as young and inexperienced in the lifestyle as Braylin was would be a huge challenge. One that might not work out in the long run.

But Braylin was worth it.

“Hey, Marlon.” Zen had decided to save Derek for last. He wanted to get a sense of where Derek’s head was at now that he’d had a minute to stew. “How you doing, bro?”

Of all the guys, Marlon was his oldest friend. They’d known each other since they were twelve, had gone to the same schools in Altadena and Marlon had played in the shitty first band Zen put together when they were fourteen.

“Hey.” The mournful sigh at the other end of the phone did nothing to reassure Zen. “It’s been a bitch. But why should I be surprised, you know? The guy’s done nothing but be a dick for the past five years. It’s time, man. He’s gotta go before he destroys everything we’ve built.”

“I know. The second the tour is over. I’ll alert our attorneys so we can have everything in place once we’re off the road.”

“Too bad we can’t dump his ass now.”

Zen grunted. “For real. But the last thing we need is a huge lawsuit in the middle of everything. Things are stressful enough as it is.”

“Yeah, I get it. We just gotta make sure Derek doesn’t kill the dude in the meantime.”

Marlon laughed, but Zen wasn’t so sure it was a joke.

After hanging up with his bassist and touching base with Trevor and the surly Derek, Zen noted he had about thirty minutes to make a protein shake and head down to soundcheck. He hated the way Sal was disrupting everyone’s lives. Even when it came to Braylin’s insecurities, it was due to Sal’s poisonous tongue.

Zen switched to texting and typed out what he hoped Braylin wouldn’t view as an unwelcome message.

Hey, baby. Had some business to handle with the band, but I want to spend some time with you this afternoon. I’m in room 1124 if we miss each other after soundcheck.

Zen went about making his shake, irritated that he didn’t have enough time to rinse off after having to run interference with everyone. He also pretended he wasn’t anxiously awaiting Braylin’s response. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so gone over a dude.

His text notification sounded, and he drained the last of his shake before snatching up the phone from the table.

Sure. I’m sorry I got so upset yesterday. I should’ve waited to hear what you have to say first. So, I’ll see you later?

Poor baby. Zen smiled. Both the glimpse of maturity and insecurity was touching. All he wanted to do was take care of this talented, beautiful boy who had such a caring heart.

I’m looking forward to it.

Smiling, Zen pocketed his phone, the tension leaving