by Kat Mizera
“You’re absolutely right, and I won’t let the band sign it this way. I have to present what’s given to me and then we discuss it. However, you bring up a good point about section D(4).” The two of us went back and forth with it for a few minutes before I noticed Lexi watching me with an impish smile on her face and felt Stu squeezing my thigh under the table.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I didn’t mean to butt in, but there are some things in this contract that make me uncomfortable. And I kind of feel like an honorary band member.”
“You are,” Lexi said, smiling, “and it’s nice having a bestie who’s a lawyer, in addition to our lawyer-lawyer.”
Everyone chuckled and Madeline went back to going through the contract paragraph by paragraph. She made a point of asking for my feedback on how to change certain things, which someone with her experience obviously didn’t need, so I got the feeling this was some sort of test. I was already mentally salivating at the thought of working on these kinds of contracts, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I enjoyed the content or because it impacted a group of people I cared about. Maybe that’s what Madeline wanted to find out too.
When the band finished and Madeline had the notes she wanted to take back to Onyx Knight’s attorney, the band scattered except for Stu and me. He leaned over and kissed my cheek.
“I’ll go get a cup of coffee until you’re done, yeah?”
“I’ll find you.” I smiled as he left the conference room and shut the door behind him.
“So.” Madeline gazed at me with a shrewd, but curious look. “What did you think of entertainment law at its most basic level?”
“It’s interesting. I never gave much thought to the kinds of details in the contract. Stuff like setting up the merchandising booth.”
“They’re doing everything they can to make sure that Nobody’s Fool gets as few perks as possible. People only have a limited amount of cash at those events, so if they have to choose between a Nobody’s Fool T-shirt or an Onyx Knight T-shirt, they want to make sure they’re in the most visible location that people will run into first. They also don’t want the competition for shows that don’t sell out. It makes business sense but it screws us, so we’re going to modify the numbers. I’ll ask for fifty-percent ticket sales, they’ll come back with seventy-five or eighty, which is a good number. As for placement, that’s probably not a fight we’ll win. They’re the headliners.”
I nodded. “Good to know.”
“Since our time is limited, tell me your plans, Lindsay.”
I met her gaze directly. “I’m supposed to go work for a mergers and acquisitions firm in Minneapolis, but it was a toxic environment. As a summer law clerk, I wasn’t on the receiving end, but I saw it happening, and honestly, as good as the money is, I’m not interested in being anyone’s full-time punching bag. I’m willing to work long hours and pay my dues, but not at the expense of my sanity. And I’m also a little nervous about being bored to death. That’s what I studied all summer, generally speaking, and there was no soul to it.”
“Well, there’s no soul to studying for the bar because there are no real people; you’re not actually taking on cases. The words of this contract—” She held up Nobody’s Fool’s contract, “—are boring as fuck. But because the band is made up of real people, whom I happen to like and hope to make a lot of money off of in the future, that changes the intensity of the work.”
“Do you think I’ll find that same passion with mergers and acquisitions?”
“Only you can answer that question, but my gut tells me no. From what I’ve seen, you’re incredibly bright but perhaps not entirely cut out for the cutthroat business world. Depending on your clients, those deals often include the exchange and management of hundreds of millions of dollars, so yeah, those guys can be intense and forget the manners their mamas taught them growing up.”
“Are you saying I’m not cut out to be a lawyer?” I asked, my chest tightening painfully.
She shook her head. “Not at all. I’m saying I think you need a mentor, someone who’s going to teach you the ins and outs of being a lawyer, beyond the book-learning. You got that part down, but you need someone to nurture you into the kind of attorney you’re going to be. You’re what, twenty-five?”
“Twenty-four. I finished my undergraduate studies in three years because of AP credit and such.”
She nodded. “You’re young and there’s nothing wrong with that, but you don’t have much life experience and trust me when I say you need it.”
“Then I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “I don’t know where to find a mentor, but I have to go back to Minneapolis soon and…” My voice trailed off and I blew out a breath. “I guess I have to pull up my big-girl pants and suck it up. I have a billion dollars in student loans but I can’t live with my parents forever.”
She smiled. “What do you think of Los Angeles?”
She surprised me with the unrelated question and I faltered. “Um, I mean, it’s great, I guess. I’ve only been here for shows a few times.”
“I’ve never mentored anyone,” she said after a moment. “And I’ve gotten to the stage in my life, and my career, where it might be time.”
“You want to mentor me?” I was shocked.
“I’m willing to do it if you’re interested.”
“But I just took the bar in Minnesota. I can’t practice law here.”
“No, but you can clerk here. And I can pay you to study for the February exam.”
I frowned. I wanted to gush and cry and be eternally grateful, but even someone with as little life experience as I had, knew when something seemed too good to be true. “Why?” I asked automatically. “What’s in it for you?”
She laughed. “Nobody’s Fool, silly girl. This band is going to be huge—I can feel it in my bones. Right now, Casey is my client, and I’m representing her record company’s interests, which in this instance is the band. But going forward, once they’re not anyone’s opening act, they’re going to need direct representation and I’m hedging my bets.”
“So with me working for you, and ostensibly sleeping with someone in the band…”
“You and Stu could break up today and it wouldn’t matter. You’re Lexi’s oldest and closest friend—that relationship isn’t going anywhere. You’re also close to Ariel, who’s a current client. The tighter I make my circle, the more loyalty I get, and the more likely it is the band will come to me for their needs. Your presence here is an added bonus, and frankly, I’d rather pay you to learn the ropes than bring in someone I can’t truly trust. I don’t know you that well yet, of course, but your relationships with Lexi and Stu give you a leg up on any strangers who come in. So what do you say?”
“Madeline, this is an amazing opportunity and I want to say yes, but I have to be honest with you—I don’t have a pot to piss in. My Honda is twelve years old. I have about two hundred dollars in the bank. I don’t even think I can afford to move to L.A., much less come up with money for an apartment and all of that.”
She waved a hand. “You can live in the guest house on my property. That’s usually where I stick my mom when she comes to visit, but that won’t be until Christmas and she can stay in the main house.”
“And how much are you going to pay me?”
“A full-time wage, of which you’ll earn every penny. But there are benefits like health insurance, paid vacation, and, in your case, trips out to visit a certain touring rock band that may need supervision now and again.”
“This feels very much like Casey or Lexi or someone put you up to this.”
She shook her head. “Lesson number one—never let anyone put you up to anything. You’re going to work your ass off for me. You’re going to eat, breathe, and sleep entertainment law and your days off will all be reviewing every aspect of the bar. I’m going to get my money’s worth in exchange for someone who’ll be ready to make partner in five years. Maybe six.”
At this point, I gaped at her.
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“Assuming you do what I tell you and work harder than you’ve ever worked at anything.”
“I have to have a little time for Stu,” I said, clearing my throat. “The job sounds wonderful, and the experience immeasurable, but if I’m never going to see him and never going to have time to live my life, what am I working for?”
She nodded and smiled, obviously pleased. “There you go. You just learned an important lesson. Good for you. And yes, there will be time off. As I said, I’ll need someone to hit the tour now and then to make sure everything is going well. A happy band is usually a profitable band and a profitable band needs legal representation. Now, I have another meeting. I know you’re not ready to make a final decision yet. Go enjoy a few more days of vacation and we’ll talk again before you leave L.A. See you at the show tonight.”
“See you tonight. And thank you.” I got up but paused to meet her gaze. “I mean it, Madeline. I’m really excited about this opportunity.”
“You’d better be.”
18
Stu
The L.A. show was incredible. We packed the club to the point the fire marshal arrived and closed off the entrance, not allowing anyone else inside. The people that had gotten in were already pushing up against the stage, packed in like sardines, and there was a hum in the air that went beyond the rock music being blasted through the speakers. People were already dancing and singing, the faint aroma of marijuana wafting through the air.
I watched the crowd from a hidden perch on the second floor of the club, taking it all in as I mentally geared up for the show. Lindsay had promised she wouldn’t go anywhere near the front of the stage and planned to watch from the wings. Initially, the band had decided no one could watch from the wings because it would be a distraction for us, but between Zaan, Sasha, Ariel, and now Lindsay, we had too many people that were important to us involved in the show.
Obviously, when we went on tour in September, Zaan probably wouldn’t be there for more than a few shows, and Sasha wasn’t going at all because she was heading back to school. She would be managing the band from home, doing many of the things Casey had been doing this summer. I didn’t know where Lindsay would be, and after we’d talked about the amazing opportunity Madeline had offered her, she’d been torn because the idea of taking another bar exam was overwhelming. She could do it, though, and I told her so.
In the meantime, we were naked every minute of the day when we didn’t have to be somewhere, and I was trying to come up with a plan for somewhere I could take her after the tour ended. Technically, tonight was the last show. We were supposed to head back to Vegas to rest and regroup, but we hadn’t talked about any of that yet. We needed time alone together, though. Time to bond on a level that we couldn’t on tour. It was fun, and I liked her a lot, but there was a lot more to me than Stu the rock star, and she had to know all of me.
“Are you ready for the show?” she asked, her arms sliding around me from behind.
“Aye, lass. Just getting my head on straight.”
“What do you think about right before you get on stage?” she asked, her head pressed against my back.
I covered her hands with mine. “Right now, I’m thinking about getting home to Vegas and relaxing for a bit. In the two or three minutes before we actually get on stage, I’m only thinking about the first song, the opening notes, what I’m playing. Those final minutes are all music.”
“What do you think about when you’re on stage?”
I chuckled. “It varies. Usually I’m not actively thinking, just losing myself in the music, my guitar, the like. Sometimes I come out of the music coma and see a familiar face in the crowd, or in the wings, and I might smile or give a nod of acknowledgement. I’m always aware of the band, though, like where they are and what they’re doing in relation to me. And once in a while,” I turned my head to catch a glimpse of her, though she was mostly well-hidden behind me. “I look for a familiar face, because it makes me smile.”
“When I was up there singing with you guys that one time, I couldn’t think about anything but the music,” she said, chuckling. “I was terrified. Are you ever terrified?”
“Not anymore. In the beginning I’d get a big case of stage fright in the seconds before walking on stage, but not now.”
“Sorry if I’m being nosy.”
“Nothing to be sorry for. I don’t mind answering.” I turned and pulled her against me. “What do you think about during shows?”
“Nothing,” she said, grinning. “Except maybe how hot Stu Killorn is and how I’d like to get him naked.”
“Would you now?” I palmed her ass and squeezed a little. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a preshow blowie. Think my girl might be interested in that?”
“Your girl is very interested in that.”
“Feeling a bit adventurous tonight, lass?”
She arched a brow. “Adventurous how?”
“Risking getting caught.”
Her eyes briefly flickered with nervousness but then they glinted with intensity. “I’m in.”
“You sure?” I lifted her chin with two fingers. “I’m all about pushing the envelope but you don’t have to be. No pressure here.”
“Shut up. You want me to do it right here?”
I chuckled. “Sure.”
We were in a public place but a bit hidden from sight, which was why I’d chosen it to stare down into the crowd.
Now I was staring down at the top of Lindsay’s head as she squatted in front of me, unzipping my leather pants. She got on her knees and my cock immediately jumped to attention. He knew what was about to happen and I took a quick look around, more for her sake than mine. I’d let the whole fucking world watch her suck me off, but that would probably make her uncomfortable, despite how brave she was pretending to be.
My gaze snapped back down to her as she practically swallowed me, taking as much of me into her mouth as she could. I’d never thought much about my size in relation to women’s mouths, coming to terms with the fact that no one would ever be able to deep throat me, but goddamn if Lindsay wasn’t trying. Her full lips were stretched tight around my cock, her tongue hot against the sensitive skin. One of her hands was wrapped around the base, squeezing firmly as her head bobbed in time to her strokes.
Fuck, I was a lucky man. Luckier than I deserved, and I closed my eyes to enjoy every second of this. She knew exactly what I liked and her mouth was working me up, taking me right to the edge and then holding back.
“Fuck, you two, get a room!”
I opened my eyes just in time to see Ariel’s retreating figure and chuckled to myself. Lindsay didn’t let up though, taking me a little deeper and squeezing my balls as she sucked. I felt a familiar tingling, everything drawing up tight, and I grabbed her head, holding on as I shot off into her mouth.
She swallowed twice before I slowly pulled out, and she lifted sex-glazed eyes up to mine.
“Fucking amazing,” I murmured, running my fingers through her hair. I was still hard as stone, so there was no way I was getting my dick back in my pants yet, and Lindsay just sat there, a faint smile on her lips.
I reached out a hand to help her up and pulled her against my chest. How had I gotten lucky enough to find a woman like Lindsay? I’d asked myself that almost daily since she’d come into my life, as if I’d known she would be more to me than a casual fuck. I’d done my best to avoid the growing emotion between us, but she had me under a spell that was both exhilarating and terrifying. I couldn’t afford to get close to someone, but I already had.
I finally stuffed myself back into my pants and kissed the tip of her nose. “I do believe I’m a bad influence on you.”
“Maybe.” She grinned at me. “And now Ariel saw us.”
“I’m fairly certain Ariel already knew we were having sex.”
“Well, yeah, but she wasn’t supposed to see.”
“Getting caught is half the fun,” I said, chuckling.
“If you s
ay so.” She gave me a little push. “You should go get ready. You go on soon.”
“See you in a bit, love.” I kissed her sweet lips and then jogged off to find the rest of the band.
After the show, we partied a little harder than usual to celebrate the end of our first official tour and all the exciting things to come. There had been press around tonight, writing, reviewing, doing whatever they did, and Tyler and Lexi took the lead with interviews. I shied away from them completely for obvious reasons, and Bash and Ford were already balls-deep in some groupie by that time, so it seemed like good timing. The Banger Brothers had taken on the roles of band man-whores. I’d had more than my fair share of sex with groupies, but those two took it to a new level, especially now that they were doing women together.
Luckily, the press didn’t care about that and were completely focused on Tyler and Lexi, so I sat back with Lindsay, enjoying a cocktail and my gorgeous girlfriend.
“I was thinking,” I told her as we sat in the backstage area. “I’d like to take you away for a few days. Just the two of us.”
“Where would we go?” she asked.
“Depends on you. I’m not much of a beach guy, but if you like the beach, we could do a few days in the US Virgin Islands.”
“Honestly, I’ve never been anywhere like that. I’m a Midwestern girl, so beaches are kind of like unicorns for me.”
“So that’s a yes?”
She frowned. “Can we, um, you… Can you afford it? Because I’m flat broke.”
I smiled, nodding and pressing a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I can. I mean, we won’t be flying first class or anything, but we can do four days at a resort.”
“You don’t have to take me anywhere,” she said. “I’m good with going back to Vegas and hanging out.”
“Yeah, but we won’t be alone. And I’d like it to be just us for a bit.”
“Then I’d like to go away with you very much.”