“Hey buddy, you like it when I sing to you and your momma?”
Small flutters were noticeable even under my callused fingertips. I leaned closer until my lips touched her soft skin.
“I can’t wait to meet you, son. I’m going to play baseball with you, and we’re going camping in the woods. Oh, wait…there might be bears involved with camping, scratch that. We’ll get a motor home and see the countryside that way instead. Same as camping, but the bear has to eat the can if he wants the meat,” I smirked up at her.
“Are you frightening our child before she’s even here?”
“Stop that, babe. You’ll give him a complex. This little person in here is definitely of a boy.”
Val’s eyebrows knitted together in a frown, “What if it isn’t, Flynn? You have your heart set on a boy. I don’t want my baby to be loved less just because its—”
“A girl? Hell, I just know this is a boy. If it’s a girl, then she’ll be just as precious as you are to me.”
“You mean that?”
“Damn are those fucking hormones ganging up on me again?” I smiled trying to lighten the mood. I made a mental note not to mention the sex of the baby again. I honestly couldn’t have given a fuck what it was, as long as it and Valerie were healthy and happy after the birth. I just hated referring to my unborn child as ‘it’.
Somehow I smoothed us over that hurdle, and we settled down to sleep. My girl snuggled up close to me, and my hand went to protectively cover her belly like it did most nights. I had begun to doze off when my cell started to vibrate on the nightstand. I reached over I saw it was Jonah. He can wait.
Placing my cell back on the nightstand I tapped the bottom of the touch sensitive lamp, and the room fell into darkness. “Who was that?” she mumbled half asleep. “Jonah, we’ll speak to him tomorrow,” I muttered back as I felt my eyes grow heavy and I passed out.
Jonah was keen because my phone started vibrating at 7:45 am again. Valerie was still snuggled up on her side with her hand under her chin like she was thinking. I smiled slowly at her position and swiped the phone off the nightstand, answering on my way to take a leak.
“What’s up? It’s not even 8:00 am?” I asked.
“Any news on Bernie?”
“We go to court, Friday. Why?”
“Just asking. When are you coming back?”
“I thought Friday after the court case, but I have a commitment with Teague on Saturday,” I stated, “So, Sunday late afternoon I think.”
I’d gone to a father and son football day with him once before, and it seemed as if Teague had volunteered me for another one that weekend. Niamh had left me a note, which I read after she’d left. I’d forgotten all about it until Jonah asked.
“Hmm. Well, can I come and see you guys tomorrow?”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“It’s just something I’d rather you hear from me in person than learn about it elsewhere.”
“Fuck, Jonah what the hell is it? You can’t start pulling this shit on Valerie. We’re almost on the home straight. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I will…face to face. I’m not doing it over the phone.”
“Then get your ass the fuck over here today. Not tomorrow. Valerie is planning a public relations splash on Friday after the court hearing. I won’t have someone fuck us up before we’ve even gotten our asses into gear. Is it something I need to worry about?”
“Not on my end,” he said, still guarded.
I’d tried again to make him tell me, but he wouldn’t budge so I ended the call and texted Lee to arrange a flight out for Jonah. I suddenly needed a plan B for that day because if Jonah was the bearer of bad news I hadn’t wanted Valerie anywhere near the house.
Lee texted me back to tell me Jonah would be in around 4:00 pm.
Texting Niamh, I’d hastily arranged a spa date for her and Valerie late in the afternoon at a fancy spa about four blocks from the next exit off the highway from our house. We’d dropped Niamh and a girlfriend there once before.
My intention was to buffer Jonah’s visit and hear whatever he had to say. Only then would I figure out if Valerie needed to be informed, or exactly how bad the information was he wanted to deliver in person. It wasn’t that I wasn’t going to tell her. I’d learned my lesson the last time. It was more a case of how to tell her whatever the news was.
She was suspicious as soon as I told her what I’d planned, and I’d wished for a moment that she hadn’t been so perceptive. I felt sure she could see right through me. I hadn’t lied to her I just hadn’t disclosed Jonah’s visit.
All morning Valerie had Skyped with a laundry list of people, some I’d seen on TV, some I’d bumped into along the way, and a couple of promoters I knew well. All of them had signed confidentiality agreements about the details of my come back until after the court hearing, and luckily, my girl had such a way with her that she was able to wrap the most hardened of music critics around her little finger. Listening to her negotiate with some of the most cutthroat people in the business left me in awe. She was a nineteen-year-old with the mind of a marketing mogul.
Being around her I’d learned that it wasn’t all intuition and confidence. Valerie studied a lot. Books like “The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert, B. Cialdini, and “The Persuasion Slide” by Roger Dooley were like her personal bibles, as well as marketing strategy books. Her tablet was full of social media ebooks. If anything, her brain was a sponge for knowledge, and it showed as she faced some of the biggest, toughest people in the music industry. Every time she walked away with what she wanted and left her adversary in stunned.
Security rang with Jonah’s arrival, and I told them to send him on up to the house. When I saw his face, he looked pretty shocked like he had some bad news, and I led him into the den. I’d made a pot of coffee, and placed a couple of mugs and some sandwiches on a huge oval tray.
“So what is it that you’re so desperate to tell me?”
Jonah nervously ran his hands up and down his thighs after sitting on the edge of the sofa. He glanced at me, but he couldn’t hold my gaze.
“Jonah, you’ve come all this way so whatever the fuck it is just spit it out. I’m tired, and I’ve a ton of better things to do than sit here trying to extract information. Just shoot straight and tell me what it is.”
“I’m Tommy’s cousin.”
At first, I thought I’d heard him wrong, “Tommy? Tommy Azaci? Major ScAlz, Tommy? What the fuck…”
Jonah looked terrified but continued, “When I auditioned, I did it because I’d wanted to sabotage any new band that you had. Tommy had overheard a conversation. It was a rumor that your PR guy had placed an ad for band members. He was very pissed that he was out in the cold after the way Bernie and Tyler had treated you, so we plotted for me to come and audition. If I got into the band, I was supposed to become disruptive before you got the off the ground and dig some dirt for the court case.”
“So, this is where you do that, right? Two days before the band goes global?”
I swear my temper went from the mild irritation I’d felt when he’d walked in the door, to one where nothing but committing murder would have smoothed it over.
“Please hear me out. I’ve wanted to level with you since I found out about Valerie being pregnant. Also being around you and the others has taught me what a great opportunity it is that you’ve handed me.”
“Yeah, I fucking believed in you. Now, I’m not so sure. You wanted to hurt me? How, can I ever trust you now that I know this?”
Jonah’s eyes ticked over my face then he drew a deep breath, “In the beginning, I did want to hurt you. The way Tommy told the story was way different to what I’ve found out since I’ve been part of the band. Obviously, there’s been nothing much in the press because of the court case, so I only had his word. You don’t understand, Flynn, I owe him a lot. Tommy taught me everything I know about percussion and music.”
“You owe him, so he used you to get ba
ck at me?”
“Yeah, he did, but that’s why I came to talk to you…to the both of you. I love Valerie, she’s an amazing girl; smart, articulate, and way more capable than any female I’ve ever known. I wanted to come and clear my conscience and to tell you that I’m sorry. We’ve done some awesome work these past few months. Believe me, there’s no way I’d interfere with what we have going now.”
He looked full of remorse as he continued, and I’d wanted to believe him. “For the first time in my life, I’m part of this awesome group of people who really aren’t interested in anything except being the best. I told Tommy that I wouldn’t mess that up for you guys.”
Inside I was seething, and I wanted to boot his ass. My heart was beating faster than I’d have liked because I knew it was anger that was fueling it. All Valerie’s work, and that of the band, could have been jeopardized by my decision to hire Jonah as our drummer.
“Dude, I seriously want to punch your fucking face to a pulp right now. Months of stress and hard work, sacrifice and sweat have gone into Valerie’s vision for us as a band. Merchandise has been bought at great expense, and distributed in one hundred plus countries, and you’re pulling this shit on us. Tommy must really hate me to have pulled this stunt?”
“Flynn, I want to be in RedA more than anything. I went to Tommy that first week and told him I wanted out. I wanted no part of his fucked up plan to ruin you again. I thought he’d backed off, but he threatened to tell you himself if I didn’t when he called me yesterday.”
My mind was a cluster-fuck. It was too late to do much about the band’s PR—the wheel was already in motion—and even though Jonah seemed genuine, the fact that he’d even thought of sabotaging any new band I was in made me suspicious of him. I knew we might have to keep him. I considered that we’d be traveling this next year and would be in close quarters, so keeping an eye on him wouldn’t be a problem, but I wondered if I’d ever be able to trust him again.
“Shit, I don’t know what to do with you. I’ll speak to Valerie when she comes back. How do I know you haven’t pulled this on me now because you know it’s too late to do anything about it? I’ve changed my mind. You’re not staying here tonight. I’ll call you a cab to take you wherever you want to go, but don’t go far. Valerie may want a face-to-face with you when she comes home.”
I stood and strode out the room before he fucked with my head any further and I battered him. I couldn’t stand to be near him. I called the car service we used and told him it would be at the gate in ten minutes. Leaving him to find his own way out, I turned and headed up the stairs without a backward glance before I changed my mind and beat the daylights out of him.
My first call was to Clayton, and I spilled my guts about my feelings. After a couple of hours of discussion about Bernie, the band, Tommy Alzaci and Valerie, the best we could come up with between us was for Jonah to start out with the band, and if I still felt the same in six months, we’d replace him. When I put the phone down, I heard Valerie calling up from the stairway. I hadn’t been expecting her for a few more hours.
I smiled briefly when I heard her heels on the wooden floor coming closer and opened the door to see her a few feet from me. “Hey, you’re back early? Couldn’t you relax?”
“Sure I could, but they were being fussy about me using the Jacuzzi bath, and I couldn’t have the aromatherapy massage, something to do with essential oils, and pregnancy. I hate anyone playing with my feet apart from you, and my nails were only done five days ago. There’s only so much pampering a girl can take before she dies of boredom,” she giggled.
“Let’s go downstairs and have a warm drink, I need to talk to you about something,” I’d said, and dreaded her reaction once she knew about Jonah.
Chapter 31 ~ Flynn
The truth will out
“He’s what?” Valerie barked loudly as she rose quickly from her seat. Her hands balled into fists and landed on her hips, and I’d have hated to have been on the receiving end of what was no doubt brewing in her mind.
“Where is he now?” she asked in an angry tone.
“Please, Valerie, calm down it’s not good for the baby.
“Don’t tell me to calm the fuck down. Months of hard work went into this, millions of dollars in preparation, and he’s dropped a bombshell right in the middle of everything. Where the fuck is he? Wait until I get my hands on him. I want him here now,” she demanded in an angry tone, while stamping her foot, and pointed at the floor in front of her.
Pushing off the sofa I made an effort to wrap my arms around her with the intention of calming her down, but she shoved me back hard and spun on her heel, digging in her bag until she pulled out her cell. She was so hot when she was pissed off and even with my whole career on the line I couldn’t but leak out a small smile.
I’d only seen her that furious about a few things. She swiped her phone screen, scrolling for his number, and tucked her hair behind her ear as she made the call.
“I suppose you thought this was a smart move, huh? No, I’m not taking explanations on the phone. Get your butt over here now, Jonah. I’m extremely angry. Let’s hope for your sake I’ve calmed down a bit by the time you get here,” she said, and ended the call. The way she poked the red call end button I was surprised the cell phone screen survived. She threw her phone on the sofa in frustration and kicked off her heels. At nineteen weeks pregnant I had wanted to keep her stress levels at a minimum, but I’d known that the situation with Jonah was beyond my control.
By the time I caught up with her, she was in the kitchen pulling a cooked chicken apart with her bare hands and stuffing some in her mouth.
“Need something to eat, I’m lightheaded,” she mumbled through a full mouth of food.
Walking over to her, I guided her to a seat at the countertop and pulled out some bread to make her a sandwich. “Where’s Niamh? We came back together.”
“She mentioned something about a parent/teacher conference for Teague this morning,” I offered. She nodded and sat quietly while I finished making her food, and I filled her in about the conversation I had with Clayton.
“You know I want to tear him a new one, right? The fucking…”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling at that because she was starting to calm down, the food taking some of the focus off her fury.
“Come on, babe. This isn’t worth you getting all worked up, I told you what Clayton said, we’ll watch him closely. In fact, his security detail is being hired and specially instructed to report back to us. After six months, if we’re not happy we’ll kick his ass into the next state,” I told her.
“If he’s staying now, I want Clayton to draw up a new contract for him with bailout clauses for RedA and my management, it needs to be watertight. I’m not having any shit going on with anything I put my name on, you hear?”
Once again, new contract, bailout clauses, my girl’s brain was always working.
*****
Forty minutes later, Lee brought Jonah into the den. It may as well have been the lion’s den from the scared look on his face. Once again, he explained what he’d told me, and it sounded as bad as it had the first time I heard it. Valerie was harsh—very harsh. They may have formed a friendship, but it hadn’t seemed that way by the time she’d finished with him.
Jonah agreed to everything she asked for and appeared genuinely grateful for having unloaded his predicament. From my perspective, I just wanted a no drama band with a great attitude towards their fans, and most importantly, to their music.
I chuckled to myself when Val wouldn’t let Jonah leave until Clayton had faxed the new contract over and Jonah had signed. She even asked him if he’d wanted an independent lawyer to oversee it before he signed. My thoughts on that were from the look on Jonah’s face he was lucky not to have left with his ass on fire by the time she was done with him.
After he left, I snuggled up to her and kissed her nose, “Remind me never to do anything that warrants what that guy just experienced
with you.”
Turning to face me her lips curled at the sides and she slanted her head, “You don’t like assertive women, Flynn? I thought you liked me domineering.”
“Oh, babe, I love watching it. Turns me the fuck on, but from a distance. I don’t ever want to do anything that would make you feel that irate about me.”
“As long as you haven’t got an ex-rock star cousin tucked away that wants to shaft my business mojo, I think we’re all good,” she laughed.
*****
My expectations of spending a quiet day with my girl on the Thursday before the court hearing turned out to be wishful thinking. She had tons of calls to make, loads of calls to take, and I quickly got the message she needed my office more than I did.
Nothing like feeling you’re in the way, so Lee and I headed down to the gym to workout. I hadn’t recognized the tension that I had built up inside me until I took it out on the punching bag hanging in the corner behind the door when we got there. Three hours later the air was full of testosterone, and I had much less pent up feelings. It was either that or I was too exhausted to care much about anything.
I’d decided to spend some down time with Lee, and called Niamh, asking her to bring some food to the small sitting area outside the main gym. I could talk openly with him, and I knew he was the one person apart from Valerie and Clayton I could trust to have my back.
During our discussion, I was open about my feelings for Valerie, worried about her impending dual role as mom to our baby, and being the manager for RedA. We talked security, which was Lee’s main focus, but he sat quietly while I spilled my thoughts and feelings about being with her.
“Maybe I’m speaking out of turn here, boss, but don’t you think you should try to contain the lust you have for each other for your private moments. I’d hate the press to get shots like what I witnessed outside Clayton’s law firm a couple of days ago.”
“Huh?” I said exhaling and mentally wondered if he meant the elevator. I’d thought we were too high for anyone to notice.
“Sorry, I was standing by the car and just happened to glance up at the building. The glass inside that elevator isn’t tinted, you know? Got the video you asked for by the way, and no I haven’t watched it.”
Ready For Flynn, Part 2 : A Rockstar Romance (The Ready For Flynn) Page 27