Noah had the eyes of all three ladies at the table locked onto him.
“Come on, Dad,” said Sophia. “It’d be fun.”
“And the money,” said Mary.
Instead of replying, Noah sank his teeth into his burger and chewed thoughtfully.
“Give me some time,” he said. “Gotta think this over.”
I smiled as I took a bite of my own burger, the seed planted.
The idea of getting the book and the boy was almost too much to take. It was everything I wanted.
But I knew a little patience was in order.
17
PEPPER
Monday I was back at work, but all I could think about was that damn kiss.
More like those damn kisses.
Every second I wasn’t focused on whatever job I had at any given moment, usually involving going over spreadsheets with numbers from the last few projects I’d overseen at Penrose, I found myself thinking about Noah.
His taste, his touch, the way his mouth would curl into a gorgeous little smile… It was almost too much. And the worst part, just the worst, was the fact that he and I hadn’t been able to, well, seal the deal.
I’d wanted to so freaking badly. Sure, there was some hesitation at the idea of getting into something like that, but I knew I needed it. Just a little fling with a rock star sounded exactly like what I needed. I could scratch the itch—maybe a few times—and get back to my life with a clear head.
And it wasn’t like he and I were going to be a thing or anything like that. Nah, our lives were way, way too different. Not like I wanted to get into a relationship after the whole wedding thing anyway.
What was it they said about recovering from a relationship? That you needed half as much time as it lasted to get over it? So…George and I had been together for three years, which meant that I needed a year and a half to recover, which meant I’d be ready to date again well into the next decade.
Um, so not exactly soon. But it’d be fine! I had my work and my friends and that was all I needed.
Now, there was just the matter of getting Noah to sign on the dotted line.
My office phone rang, snapping me out of my work. I answered, and Mr. Penrose’s secretary informed me that the big boss wanted to see me. I let her know that I’d be on my way, a tight feeling forming in my gut. Mr. Penrose was the type of boss who liked to get things squared away as quickly as possible, and I knew that he likely wouldn’t be too thrilled about me dragging my feet on the project.
“Pepper,” he said as I stepped in. “Tell me good things.”
“Well,” I said. “I met with Noah…”
“Something about the way you trailed off just then isn’t exactly filling me with confidence.”
“He’s hesitant,” I said, getting it out there. “But I think I made some progress.”
“What kind of progress?” he asked.
“At the beginning of the night he was totally against it, then at the end of the night he was, well, still against it. But not totally.”
“So,” said Penrose. “From ‘totally against it’ to just ‘against it.’”
He sighed, shaking his bald head.
“I’ve got a lot of hopes pinned on this project,” he said. “And I was certain you’d be the one for the job.”
“And I am,” I said, my voice betraying my total eagerness. “I’m going to prove to you that I can get a project like this landed.”
“I hope so,” he said. “Because, like I said, you want to move up in the company, this is the kind of work I’m going to expect from you. Acquisitions means acquiring things, Barnes. Big gets. No more hiding away in that office of yours.”
Before he had a chance to go on, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. Normally, I would’ve let it go—I was meeting with the boss, after all. But I had a feeling it was important.
Sure enough, a check of the face revealed that it was none other than Noah Mack himself.
“It’s him,” I said, gesturing to the buzzing phone in my hand.
“Then answer it!”
I cleared my throat and held the phone up to my ear. “Pepper Barnes.”
“Noah Mack,” he said right back in that butter-smooth voice of his.
“I thought you were against saying your full name,” I said with a smile, secretly giddy to be talking to him.
“I can make exceptions,” he said. “And speaking of which…”
“Yeah?” I asked.
“I want to talk about the book. Are you at your office now?”
“I am,” I said, turning to Penrose and giving a thumbs-up. “You want to stop by?”
“Nah,” he said. “Let’s grab something to eat. You know the Graystone?”
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s right nearby.”
“I’ll get us a table there. You down to meet in an hour?”
“Perfect.”
I hung up, a big smile on my face as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. After letting Penrose know of the plans, I headed back to my office to finish up what I’d been working on before heading over.
An hour after the call I stepped into the interior of the Graystone, the place bright and cheery with midday light, the décor a very trendy rustic look with reclaimed wood tables and muted earth tones.
And there was Noah. He was dressed in a sharp, dark gray button-up shirt and deep blue jeans, his hair tied into a small ponytail. His eyes lit up as I arrived, and though I couldn’t see them, I was sure mine had done the same.
The guy had an effect on me—no sense denying it. Not to mention the tension of getting interrupted over and over. But it only made the tension between us even hotter, hot enough that I could almost feel it in the air.
“There you are,” he said, standing up all gentleman-like as I approached.
“And there you are,” I said.
He leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek, one that felt just a touch more than polite. I was all business, but my pussy clenching at the feeling of his lips on my cheek was anything but.
Once seated, the waiter having filled our glasses with still water, we got started.
“So,” I said. “You want to talk about the book.”
“I sure do,” he said. “The book.”
“Listen,” I said. “I don’t want to pressure you into it. I get that you’ve got this life going on now that’s as far away from Lover Boys as it gets, and getting back into all that’s probably the last thing you want to do. And—”
I had no idea what I was doing. The guy hadn’t said a damn word, and I was already trying to talk him out of it.
“I want to do it.”
Good thing he had the good sense to get me to shut up.
“You…you want to do it?”
“You sound surprised,” he said with a smile.
“I mean, I am. A little bit. When we talked about it, you seemed pretty adamant about not going through with it. Not even your mom seemed like she’d be able to change your mind.”
“I did some thinking,” he said. “About the charity and all that. Decided it was too good an opportunity to pass up. If the royalties are half as good as what you’re thinking they might be, and I can put them all into helping out some of the less-fortunate kids around town, it’d almost be selfish of me to say no, right?”
God, there was something so…hot about this altruistic side of him. I’d known he was a good guy just from his reputation as a do-gooder lawyer. But seeing it in the flesh...
“I guess when you put it that way there’s no way to turn it down,” he said.
I grinned, and he matched it with one of his own.
“But,” he said, his tone taking a sternness to it. “There are some conditions.”
“Lay on me,” I said.
His eyebrows raised and he cocked his head to the side. “Sorry?” he asked.
“Them,” I said. “Lay them on me.”
Wow. Moving on.
“Sure,” he said, thankfully dropping my very
Freudian slip. “First is that, like I said, I get my cut of the royalties. I don’t know what your standard is, but I’m a lawyer, and I’m going to be negotiating.”
“Of course,” I said.
“Second is that I want it to be reasonably tasteful.”
“How tasteful are we talking here?”
“PG-13,” he said. “My mom’s going to read this, after all.”
“Gotta think about Mom,” I said. “But sure—we can keep a handle on the lurid-ness.”
“Great,” he said. “And third, I get final say on the finished work.”
“That’s…a little tougher,” I said.
“Is that right?” he asked. “Why?”
“Because what clients want and what will actually move product tend to be two different things,” I said.
“Then there’s no deal,” he said. “I don’t want anything with my name out there without knowing what’s in it.” He opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped as if considering something. “I’ve heard about the kinds of rock-star lives other dudes have lived. Hell, I’ve seen them up close and personal. My shit’s a little tamer compared to them, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t gotten up to some wilder things in the past.” I said nothing, letting him go on. “And I’ve put that all behind me—and that’s where I’d like it to stay.”
“Because of your mom?” I asked.
“My mom’s a grown-up,” he said. “She knows about the ‘sowing-my-wild-oats’ phase—she’d get over it. But I’m a dad now. And not just Sophia. The kids I work with look up to me. The last thing I need is them hearing about my party days when I was an eighteen-year-old idiot.”
He had a point. I thought the matter over for a moment.
“I can talk to my boss and let him know,” I said. “But I get it.”
“I’m thinking more ‘teen comedy’ vibe than Showgirls, if you get what I’m saying.”
“Back to Verhoeven,” I said with a smile.
“You got it,” he said right back.
“OK, Mr. Mack,” I said. “Like I said, it depends on my boss. But I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to work with you.”
“Perfect,” he said, sticking out his hand.
I took it and shook.
“Here’s to the beginning of a beautiful partnership,” he said.
I smiled.
And maybe something more.
18
NOAH
All I could think about was just what the hell I’d gotten myself into. And not to mention whether or not the chance of getting closer to Pepper was factoring into my decision more than I’d like. I mean, no way a girl like her wouldn’t factor in—she was about all I could think about. But I still needed to do my best to keep a clear head about the whole thing.
Nothing to do but do it. After throwing on one of my suits, I made my way to the offices of Penrose, ready to get this deal worked out—hopefully without any snags.
I arrived at Pepper’s office and checked in at the front desk, doing my best to ignore the wide eyes of the girls working reception. Call me conceited, call me cocky, but I was used to the attention.
I took the elevator up, and when the doors opened I was greeted with a team of men and women in sharp suits, a trim, bald guy with a colorful pocket square among them. Pepper was with them, her mouth curling into a smile as she laid eyes on me.
I was just as happy to see her as she was me. And so was my friend. It took all the focus I had not to pop a hard-on right in front of the entire welcoming committee.
“Mr. Mack!” spoke the older man, all smiles as he approached and took my hand. “Welcome to Penrose Publishing. I’m Anthony Penrose.”
“Pleased to me you,” I said, my eyes flicking to Pepper’s again.
This time she blushed and got me looking around for the nearest supply closet.
There were introductions all around. Once all that pleasantry stuff was taken care of, it was just me and Pepper and Penrose making our way through the office, Penrose pointing out the various departments and giving me a little history of the company. All interesting stuff, sure, but it was the current staff on duty that had my attention.
Before too long, we arrived at a set of double doors. Penrose opened them up, revealing a small conference room with a view that looked out onto West Hollywood. And seated at the table was a petite woman who looked to be about Pepper’s age. She was pretty enough, dressed in a black pencil-skirt outfit, her hair in a short pixie cut.
And her eyes went right onto me in about the most obvious way I could imagine as I entered.
“Mr. Mack,” said Penrose. “This is Moira Walsh. She’s the writer we’ve assigned to work with you. One of our best.”
“A pleasure,” she said, rising and letting her eyes move over me. “I’m a big fan of your work.”
“Thank you,” I said.
She took my hand and gave it a soft shake. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Pepper, her mouth in a hard, flat line and her eyes narrowed.
Oh boy.
“Please,” said Penrose. “Let’s all have a seat. I’m more than eager to get this project going.”
We did, the four of us gathered around the small conference table. Penrose called for one of the interns to bring us all some coffee, and after a little light small talk we were ready to go.
“So,” said Penrose. “I want to make it clear from the start that this project, it’s all about telling your story.”
“That’s what I’m a little worried about,” I said. “I take it Ms. Barnes let you all know about my terms for the book.”
“The matter of the royalties is no problem,” said Penrose. “We’re certain that we’re going to have a hit on our hands.”
“The buzz from the reunion show is still in full swing,” said Moira. “You guys are trending like crazy. All it took was one more Lover Boys show for all your adoring fans to want even more. Myself included.”
I didn’t miss the double meaning of what she’d said. Damn, this chick wasn’t being subtle.
“But there’s the other matter,” I said.
“Right,” said Pepper. “Mr. Mack wants total creative control.”
Something about the way she said “Mr. Mack” caused my cock to stand up in attention under the table. I was pretty damn glad we were sitting down. But I started to wonder how many damn boners I was going to pop in this office.
“Not total creative control,” I said. “Believe me—I’ve worked with producers and execs and I know that getting too gunked up in the creative process is an easy way to ruin the whole thing. I just want final say in the product so I can make sure I know exactly what’s going out there.”
“Of course, of course,” said Penrose. “And that’s why I’m putting one of our best writers on the job. Moira has worked with musicians and athletes and businessmen and all the rest.”
“I’m the best in the business,” she said. “If I do say so myself.”
“And the humblest,” said Pepper.
“Hey,” said Moira with a blasé little shrug. “If you’ve got talent, why pretend you don’t? Someone like you has to know what I mean, Mr. Mack.”
Pepper’s sexy spin on “Mr. Mack” hadn’t been on purpose. But Moira’s most certainly was. She said the words like they were a lollipop she was trying to suck the last bit of flavor out of. And the flashing of her eyes in my direction made it clear what was going on under the pixie cut of hers.
But I wanted to get things back on topic.
“Not doubting the talent,” I said as I absentmindedly scratched one of my forearm tattoos. “Just focused on making sure the book’s not a surprise.”
“Won’t be in the slightest,” said Moira. “You and I are going to hash things out over the course of a few interviews, and these conversations are what I’m going to base the book on. You don’t want it in the book, don’t tell me—simple as that.”
“I like that,” I said.
“But,” she said, putting another sult
ry spin on her words, “you feel the urge to be a little more…open with what you choose to disclose, I’ll be all ears. And Mr. Mack—” she leaned forward slightly “—no detail is off-limits.”
Another flash of a smile, one that played on her lips for the briefest of moments before Penrose could notice what was going on. But Pepper did.
“Great,” I said, taking my tone from business-casual to business-formal. “Just making sure we’re on the same page.”
“Then that’s that?” asked Penrose. “You’re on board?”
Fuck—moment of truth. Sure, there was still the matter of signing the contracts and all that jazz. But if I wanted to back out and not look like a total putz, now was the time. I weighed the pros and cons again as fast as my brain would allow, all three sets of eyes on me and waiting to see what I had to say next.
So, I said the words I’d said back when the Lover Boys were on the verge of dropping out of Berklee and going full-time on the band, the words that I said when I knew my life was going to, somehow, change forever.
“Fuck it. Let’s do it.”
Relief and happiness flicked on the faces of the three like someone had turned on a light.
“Excellent, excellent,” said Penrose, his soft and well-manicured hand shooting over in my direction. “You’re going to be very happy you decided to work with us.”
“That’s right,” said Moira. “Happy all around.”
Geez. Did this chick lay off for a minute?
Penrose clasped his hands together. “Well then!” he said. “Let’s not waste another moment. I get so giddy when a project is this close to getting started.”
He wasn’t lying—the guy looked like a kid on Christmas. Or in a candy store. Or in some kind of weird, Christmas-themed candy store.
He turned his attention to Pepper. “Why don’t you take Mr. Mack to your office and get him started on the process,” he said.
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