Barreled Over

by Jenna Sutton

  Barreled Over

  Jenna Sutton

  BARRELED OVER/published by Jenna Sutton

  Copyright © 2017 by Jenna Sutton

  eBook ISBN: 978-0-9974032-5-1

  Print ISBN: 978-0-9974032-6-8

  Publishing history: Jenna Sutton eBook edition/December 2017; Jenna Sutton print edition/December 2017

  Published in the United States of America

  Cover photos: Stacked barrels in warehouse ©Rob Stokes/Shutterstock; Couple image ©

  Vasyl/Adobe Stock; Bottle © Farr Studios/Shutterstock; Standing barrel © Kelly vanDellen/Shutterstock

  Cover design by Asha Hossain Design

  Formatting by Polgarus Studio

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Books by Jenna Sutton

  Full-Length Titles

  All the Right Places

  Coming Apart at the Seams

  Hanging by a Thread

  Novellas

  A Kick in the Pants

  The Perfect Fit

  Will Never Fade

  Novella Collection

  Forever in Blue Jeans

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  EPILOGUE

  About the Author

  CHAPTER ONE

  As Ava Grace Landy followed the maître d, the noisy buzz of conversation filling the upscale steakhouse gradually dwindled to murmurs before fading to complete silence. She could feel hundreds of curious eyes on her, wondering if she was the real deal or a look-alike.

  She was used to the attention … used to being watched and whispered about. Ever since she’d won the TV singing competition, American Star, more than six years ago, she’d been in the spotlight.

  Usually, she handled the glare just fine, but sometimes—like this moment—it made her uncomfortable. Strangely, she felt more at ease standing on a stage in front of thirty thousand fans than she did walking through a crowded restaurant in downtown Nashville.

  Conversation sparked again, and as she passed tables and booths swathed in snowy white linens, she caught snippets of the chatter. As she expected, the patrons were talking about her.

  “She lives here.”

  “… love her voice.”

  “She won a Grammy last year for Best Country Album.”

  “… even hotter than Carrie Underwood.”

  Tuning them out, she focused on the reason she was here: dinner with Lexington Ross, the new head of her record label. According to his bio, he’d worked for River Pearl’s parent company for nearly twenty years before being promoted to his current position. He’d joined the company right out of law school, working in the contracts group.

  She was excited to meet him. And just a tiny bit nervous, too. The music business was brutal. Every year, more record labels went under than started, and more and more artists fought to be signed.

  She wanted this dinner to go well. She’d always been happy at River Pearl, and she wanted to stay with the label. She wasn’t sure how quickly or easily she could sign with another one if something went wrong. It was a lot like finding a job—it was always easier to nab a position when you were gainfully employed.

  If River Pearl kicked her to the curb, she’d be branded like Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. Ava Grace would be tainted, and other labels would wonder why River Pearl had severed their relationship. They’d assume she was the problem, even if she wasn’t.

  Her manager, Wallace Whit, had assured her she had no reason to worry. After all, she was River Pearl Records’ number one selling artist.

  Wally had planned to eat dinner with her and Lexington Ross. Unfortunately, his return flight to Nashville from Los Angeles was delayed. A computer glitch grounded all the flights out of LAX, so she was on her own tonight.

  She breathed deeply, catching whiffs of freshly-baked bread and sizzling beef. Despite her nerves, her stomach growled, eager to sample the chef’s specialties.

  As she moved deeper into the restaurant, she let her gaze wander. Unlike many steakhouses, this one wasn’t dark and formal. It was a mix of modern and rustic with tall, leather-backed booths, walls made of reclaimed railroad ties, and clear pendant lights hanging from the lofty ceiling.

  Through the windows, she could see the twinkle of the city’s skyline. She easily spotted the AT&T building, colloquially known as the “Batman Building” because of its resemblance to the superhero’s mask.

  The maître d stopped in front of an L-shaped booth. She smiled at the man occupying it, recognizing him from the photo on River Pearl’s website.

  “Mr. Ross, I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

  He didn’t return her smile or respond to her comment. Instead, his dark blue eyes skimmed over her, from her loose blond bun to her raspberry-colored toenails revealed by strappy sandals.

  She was accustomed to men staring at her—leering, even. But Lexington Ross’s gaze wasn’t admiring; it was judging. And she sensed he found her lacking.

  She’d put a lot of thought into her outfit for this evening, finally deciding on a royal blue mini dress with a sheer poncho-like overlay. It was sexy without being revealing or unprofessional, stylish and edgy without being trashy. She’d paired the dress with silver metallic heels that showed off her bare legs, a hammered silver cuff bracelet, and chunky silver earrings.

  Lexington Ross stood, and she struggled to keep her surprise from showing. She towered over him. In her bare feet, she was five-ten, and her three-inch heels made the height difference even worse.

  Hastily, she slid into the booth. In her experience, men hated being looked down on—literally. Fingers crossed Lexington Ross wasn’t one of those guys with a Napoleon complex. She didn’t want to deal with a boss who compensated for his lack of height by being overly aggressive.

  As the maître d draped a white napkin across her lap, she furtively studied Lexington Ross. Based on her research, he was in his mid-forties, about fifteen years older than she. He wasn’t aging gracefully; he reminded her of a middle-aged guy desperately clinging to his youth.

  Maybe it was his obviously fake tan, which was an unfortunate shade of orange. Darker than a carrot, more like a sweet potato. Maybe it was his sandy-brown hair, which hung limply over one eye and brushed his collar. Or maybe it was his colorfully printed long-sleeved shirt with a different design on the cuffs.

  The maître d took her drink order of sweet tea and then disappeared, leaving her and
Lexington Ross alone. As he returned to his seat adjacent to her, he said, “Thank you for joining me for dinner, Ava Grace.”

  “It’s my pleasure, Mr. Ross.”

  “Lex,” he replied before lifting a tumbler filled with amber liquid and taking a deep swallow. “Have you been here before?”

  She shook her head. She wasn’t dirt poor anymore, but she was still frugal to a fault. For a girl who had subsisted primarily on peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and mac-and-cheese for most of her life, spending five hundred bucks on one meal was lunacy.

  “It’s one of the top ten steakhouses in the United States,” Lex said.

  This wasn’t the first time she’d eaten dinner at an expensive restaurant, of course. But she was flattered Lex felt the need to impress her.

  “I conduct all my business dinners here,” he added. “It’s my favorite restaurant in Nashville. The food is spectacular.”

  Okay, then. So much for me being special.

  Picking up the menu, she perused the appetizers and entrées. Her gaze alighted on the housemade bacon with black peppercorn and maple cotton candy.

  What in the world?

  She liked bacon for breakfast and ate cotton candy at the fair. The thought of those two items mixed together made her feel slightly queasy.

  Lex launched into detailed descriptions of the menu items. He was so specific she wondered if he’d been a waiter in a previous life. In the middle of his spiel, a dark-haired pregnant woman stopped next to their booth. Her red lips matched her baby-bump-hugging dress.

  “Are you Ava Grace Landy?”

  With a friendly smile, Ava Grace answered, “I am.”

  “Oh, my God!” The woman let out a small squeal. “I can’t believe it’s really you! You’re my favorite singer!” She put her hand on her chest, over her ample cleavage. “I’m Reba Collins. My mama named me after her favorite singer, Reba McEntire, and I’m going to follow tradition and name my baby girl Ava Grace.” She moved her hand to her rounded belly and rubbed. “I’m in my third trimester. Little Ava Grace is due June seventeenth.”

  This wasn’t the first time a fan had honored Ava Grace in such a way, but she always was surprised to hear people admired her enough to name their children after her. She wondered how many Ava Graces were out there.

  Reba gestured toward a guy a couple of tables away. “That’s my husband, Kevin. We’re here for our anniversary.” She clasped both hands over her belly. “We picked ‘Empty Places’ for our first dance as husband and wife. Every time I hear it, I think of our wedding. It’s my favorite song.”

  “It’s one of my favorites too.” She beckoned the other woman closer. “I’ll tell you a little secret … I wrote that song for my best friend, and I sang it at her wedding.”

  Lex sighed. Hearing the unmistakable annoyance in the sound, Ava Grace said, “Thank you for naming your daughter after me, Reba. Good luck with everything.”

  Reba stood awkwardly for a moment before blurting out, “Can I have your autograph?”

  “Of course.”

  Realizing Reba had nothing for her to sign, Ava Grace found a pen in her matte silver clutch and wrote a short note to Reba on the restaurant’s menu. After scrawling her name, she handed the heavy cardstock to the woman.

  “I’m going to frame this and put it in the baby’s room,” Reba vowed, not even bothering to read what Ava Grace had written.

  Ava Grace stood and hugged her. “Congratulations on the anniversary and the baby.”

  As Reba hurried back to her husband, Ava Grace sat down and met Lex’s gaze. She’d felt his eyes on her during the whole exchange with the expectant mother.

  “I’m sorry our conversation was interrupted,” she told him, smiling apologetically. “I can’t really go anywhere without people asking for autographs or wanting to take a picture with me.”

  “Your fans are very devoted,” Lex noted.

  “Yes, they are.”

  Before she could say anything else, the server returned to take their order. Once they’d made their selections, Lex leaned back in the booth. He idly swirled his drink while he stared at her.

  “I’ve taken a look at the demographics of your fan base. It skews toward younger women. Did you know that?”

  “Yes. Most female singers have more female fans than male fans.”

  He nodded. “That’s true. But your fan base is overwhelmingly female compared to other female singers. Close to ninety percent.”

  She’d seen research documenting an equal split between male and female fans for the country music segment. But that percentage shifted depending on the singer or band. She was disappointed she had so few male fans.

  “Do you know why the board fired Jim Healy and asked me to take over River Pearl Records?” Lex asked.

  She blinked at his unexpected question. “I assume it was because the board was unhappy with him.”

  “No,” Lex replied flatly. “It was unhappy with the artists on his label.”

  “Which ones?”

  “All of them.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Lex’s emphasis on the word “all” made Ava Grace’s throat tighten. Wally had been wrong. This wasn’t just a casual “get-to-know-you” dinner meeting. It was a performance review.

  “I don’t…” Her voice was even huskier than usual, and she paused to clear her throat. “I don’t understand why the board is unhappy with me. My last album debuted at number one. It sold three million copies in a single calendar year, and every stop on my recent tour sold out in less than an hour.”

  Lex arched his eyebrows. “All six of Carrie Underwood’s albums debuted at number one. Adele’s last album sold five million copies. And Beyoncé’s concerts sold out in one minute.”

  Unable to dispute his facts, she just sat there. She wanted to point out that Adele and Beyoncé weren’t her direct competition, but she didn’t bother. Obviously, that didn’t matter to Lex.

  The server’s arrival interrupted their conversation. He delivered Lex’s wedge salad with bacon and blue cheese and her kale salad topped with currants, almonds, and parmesan.

  The conversation had wrecked her appetite, but Lex didn’t seem to suffer the same problem. While she pushed her greens around on the plate, he shoveled salad into his mouth as if he were dining in a prison cafeteria.

  When Lex finished, he set down his fork and pushed the plate away. “I’m not dropping you from the River Pearl label.”

  That assurance should have made her feel better. It should have unraveled the tension knotting her neck and shoulders. It should have loosened the invisible bands squeezing her chest.

  But it didn’t. All she could think about was the one word he hadn’t said: yet.

  “You need to diversity your fan base, Ava Grace. That’s the bottom line. If you gain male fans, you’ll also expand your total fan base.”

  She nodded slowly. “Right.”

  Just then, the server reappeared with their entrées. She’d ordered the bone-in ribeye with truffle butter, while Lex had picked the wagyu strip. At sixty-five dollars, his steak was the most expensive item on the menu.

  It hadn’t been that long ago when Ava Grace worked a ten-hour shift at a mom-and-pop dry cleaners and earned less than sixty dollars after taxes. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she’d be eating in a restaurant like this.

  As Lex spooned potato gratin onto her plate, he said, “You need to think about the kind of music men listen to, and for your next album, you need to record songs that appeal to both sexes. Right now, your songs appeal to women only.”

  Lex made a lot of sense. She didn’t disagree about the need to appeal to a broader audience, and he wasn’t asking her to do anything unreasonable. She wanted new people to discover her music, and if she had to make a few changes for that to happen, she was willing to do so.

  The tension gripping her body slowly diminished, and her appetite made a reappearance. Retrieving her fork and knife, she sliced a piece of steak and at
e it. The meat was so tender it almost melted on her tongue.

  “I talked with Wally,” Lex said, “and I suggested he get in touch with the NFL and pitch you to cover the theme song for the upcoming season of Sunday Night Football.”

  “That would be awesome! I’d love that!”

  Ava Grace had been born and raised in Texas, where people glorified our God in Heaven on Sunday mornings and glorified the Gods of the Gridiron later in the day. As a result, she loved football.

  She spooned a dollop of potato gratin into her mouth. Made with gruyère cheese, the side dish was so creamy and rich, she expected butter to seep out of her pores later on.

  “Are you seeing anyone?”

  Taken aback by Lex’s question, she just stared at him. Why did he want to know if she was seeing anyone? Was he hitting on her? She’d heard stories from other singers who’d experienced sexual harassment, but she’d been fortunate enough to work with people who respected her.

  After swallowing her bite of potatoes, she asked, “Is that relevant to our conversation?”

  “Is that relevant to our conversation?” Lex mimicked. “Yes, it’s relevant, or I wouldn’t have asked.”

  “Why does it matter?”

  “If you’re single and unattached, we can use it to our advantage. What would you think about a contest? Something along the lines of ‘Win a Date with Ava Grace Landy’.”

  She couldn’t prevent the grimace that twisted her face. Wasn’t there a movie with a similar premise?

  “Going on dates with strangers doesn’t sound like much fun,” she noted, ignoring the sad fact that going out with men she knew hadn’t been much fun, either. “Nor does it sound very safe.”

  Lex continued, as if she hadn’t spoken. “Or maybe we could do a reality TV show.”

  Although she’d gotten her big break because of a TV singing competition, she didn’t watch reality TV shows. She definitely didn’t want to star in one. Leave that to the Kardashians. They seemed to be good at it.