Laz’s face relaxed a little, but he continued to leave his arms folded.
So Avery continued, hoping to soften his stance. “You’re getting me to dream, Mr. Lazarus Maurice Kyson.”
Using his full name made him smile.
“If you leave, it’ll turn into a nightmare.”
His smile melted.
Avery looked behind herself. “And I believe you mentioned helping me with homework. I’m starting to get that Bayes’ Theorem, and that’s all because of you.”
Laz laughed, then became serious. “If I stay, it’s strictly business.” He scanned her place. “I’ve stayed a lot longer in your place than I should have. From now on, we’ll do proper meetings in public places. I’ll find studio space for you to cut some demos. We’ll meet with execs. Everything will be across the board right and fair. And”—he reached in his back pocket and pulled out his phone—“I make it a habit of recording most sessions. Keeps me honest. I respect you. I want you to know that upfront.”
Damn. There he went being honorable again. Avery really needed a shower, and not because she had a guest in her house.
“Thank you.” She pulled him back to the couch. “Will you please have a seat now so that we can talk?”
Laz glanced at his watch.
“Are you late for something?”
What did this man need to do at ten in the morning?
“No. Like I said, I hadn’t intended on staying this long.” He jutted his thumb over his shoulder. “I can go wait in the car.”
Avery snickered. “Now you’re acting crazy. We can be adult about this.”
She sat down first to make him more comfortable about staying.
Laz remained standing. “I do want to work with you. What I saw last night showed me that you’re someone special.”
“Ow. My neck is killing me having to look up at you to have this conversation.” She crossed her legs and patted the couch cushion next to her.
Laz exhaled. “Fine.” He sat down, but so far away that he practically sat on the arm of the couch.
“Better.” She smiled, hoping to relax him a little. “We can talk music and you can help me with statistics.”
“At a library or Starbuck’s. Not here.” He shook his head.
“You’re really serious about this, huh?”
The men Avery had encountered in the past would say anything to get in her pants. This man made sure to say everything he needed to stay out of hers.
“I saw a couple making out at the library. Might not be a great place for us to go.” She leaned forward. “Might give me ideas.”
“There’s no denying that you’re beautiful and sexy and talented. I definitely got carried away by your voice and that song.” He clasped his hands together, and it looked like he wanted to drop to his knees and pray. “Make no mistake, I have never done something like this before.”
“Wish I could say that.” Avery settled back into the couch. “My parents were super strict with me while I was growing up. I was determined to do the opposite of what they wanted. I saw it as being rebellious. Really, it was me being young and reckless.”
Then Laz started to relax into the couch. “We were all reckless as teenagers.” He laughed to himself like he had told himself a private joke. “I remember when I was sixteen, I had just gotten my license. A few friends and I had driven down to the beach.”
Avery blinked. “That doesn’t sound so bad. What? Was it on a school night or something?”
“No. I grew up in Maryland, close to D.C. We drove down to Florida. This was back in the days of flip phones, and our parents were calling us like crazy. None of us answered.” He shook his head. “I would kill my kid if they did that to me. But we thought we were grown back then.”
Avery laughed. “Wow. I bet you put a lot of gray hairs on your parents’ heads.”
“When I got back home, the car was taken away from me. As a matter of fact, I was homeschooled for the rest of the school year, and I could only go outside to mow the lawn and wash the family cars. I didn’t see my friends until the following school year. But, man, the experience made it worth it.” He tapped Avery on the back of her hand. “So what was your rebellious moment?”
She shook her head. “Nothing like yours. Forget it.”
“No. I want to hear about you. I want to know more about you and what you went through. So tell me.”
Avery took a deep breath. She hadn’t told this story to anyone, and hadn’t planned on sharing it for the rest of her life. Deep down, she knew this would explain her need to do the right thing, be the perfect daughter. Even after the kiss, though, Avery didn’t feel the need to reopen that wound.
“What I did was worse.” She shook her head. “Yeah. You think being stuck in your house was bad? I got that plus I had to work in the church every day with the preacher reporting my every action to my parents. I didn’t get a car until my freshman year of college.” She laughed and leaned her head back. “I was fine my first year of school. My second year, I was a little wild. I knew what to expect and I had made some friends. One night, I hung out with some friends and met this guy. He seemed really nice. We got to talking and right when we were about to kiss, cops rolled up on us and arrested him and took me in with him. He had warrants stemming from drug sales. I got dragged in because of him. I called my parents because I was in jail and scared. They both drove for hours from Virginia to Pennsylvania to help me. Eventually, I was released when they realized I didn’t know him. But I will never forget the look of disappointment on my parents’ faces, especially my mother. She looked at me like she didn’t know me anymore.” She looked at Laz. “As you can see, I don’t make the best decisions, especially when it comes to men.”
Laz sat up with his shoulders back. “I’m here for work. Nothing else. I won’t do anything to compromise you or betray your trust. Agreed?” He put his hand out to her.
Avery looked at his hand before returning her gaze to his. “Agreed.” She shook his large hand.
Tingles went through her body and down to her toes, her naked toes. She really needed to take that shower.
He laid his arm across the back of the couch, but didn’t touch her even though his fingers sat millimeters away from her shoulder.
“My past mistakes are the reasons I work so hard and am trying to get my degree. I have let down my parents so much. At one point, I lost their trust. I’ve slowly regained it by keeping to myself and not making waves. I haven’t dated anyone since that guy.”
Laz scratched his chin with his free hand. “So you’re saying my kiss was your first kiss that you’ve had in years?”
Avery hadn’t thought about it that way, but Laz had been right. “Yes. You broke my kissing slump.”
He laughed. “I’ll cherish that honor.” He slapped his hands together and rubbed them back and forth. “Now, let’s get to work. Did you look at that video I sent you last night?” He clipped something to his phone and looked around the room before he settled on a semi-blank wall with only a few pictures.
“I’ve watched it so many times I think I’ve burned the image into my brain permanently.” She brought her attention to the wall and suddenly saw an image of her at the coffeehouse. “Oh.”
“If you did sports when you were younger, I’m sure your coach took video of you playing so that you can get a critique of your performance. Same here.” He started the video. “I have absolutely nothing to say about your voice. Flawless.”
A tingle went through Avery’s body, but she didn’t turn around to acknowledge him. She feared she would have the same impulsive reaction to him again. “Thank you.”
“With one exception.”
Avery blinked. In her entire life, no one had critiqued her singing. She understood getting feedback on her performance since, besides the karaoke bar, she hadn’t really performed in front of a dif
ferent crowd.
“What’s that?” She balled her toes into the rug under her feet while she awaited his answer.
“You need to control your breathing.” He pointed to the image on the wall. “I noticed you losing your breath on the longer notes.”
“I was nervous and excited.” She felt that way now as she talked to him.
“I know. I can help you with that, too, with a few exercises.” He put his hand to his stomach. “It’s all about control.”
“And what about my performance?”
“You keep your eyes closed when you perform.” When Laz pointed to the image on the wall, Avery saw his hand in her peripheral vision. “You can’t do that. You connect to people with the song and your voice, but it’s not enough. When you look out into the audience, you have to make a connection with your eyes.”
“It’s difficult. Singing sometimes makes me feel like I’m exposing a part of myself. I can’t look at someone and share my pain.” She crossed her legs again and wrapped her arms around her knees.
“Don’t you see? That’s what audiences want. They want to feel like you know exactly what they’re going through. Yeah.” He moaned. “They want you to speak for them.”
Avery stared at her image until it became uncomfortable at first to watch herself, then it became unsettling. “I have tried holding down the desire to want to do this, to want this life.”
“Why is that? Fear?” Laz stopped the video.
Avery had to regard him this time. She turned to him while nodding. “I’ve been doing everything I can to not fail my parents again. They would hate knowing that I still want to make singing my career.”
“How can they be upset with you after hearing you?” Laz sat his phone on the coffee table.
“Doesn’t matter. They think I have a great voice. They just don’t see a future in music. Not stable.” Thinking about their opposition had her boiling mad. She felt stifled. Avery had no one to blame but herself. She had made crucial mistakes in her past that fractured the trust bond she’d had with her parents. “I’ve decided, though, that I need to take more control of my life.” She beamed. “For that reason, I’ve uploaded my video on YouTube.” She pulled her phone out. By the time she started to show Laz, she noticed his very serious expression.
“What video?” He looked at the wall. “That one? The one I sent you?”
She nodded. “Of course.”
Laz’s tanned face transformed to a deep shade of crimson. “Why would you do that?”
“Feedback. I wanted to see if other people liked my singing. Like you said, lots of popular singers now got their start this way.” Avery would have thought Laz would have been proud of her.
Laz shook his head. “I wish you wouldn’t have done that.” He shoved his phone back in his pocket.
Avery snickered. “I so can’t read you. First you’re on me to work with you. Then you try to drop me before we really get started. And then when I get on board and I’m trying to be proactive with this new career, you don’t like that. Why aren’t you happy about me loading this video?”
He exhaled like he needed to collect himself before speaking. “Usually people who resort to gimmicks like this, and this is a gimmick, it’s because they lack talent and need to do something sensational to get attention. You’re good, damn good. You don’t need to do this. I don’t know what I need to do to make you trust me. You have to let me lead.”
“Easier said than done.” Avery stood. “I guess we’re both a little stubborn and bullheaded.” She peered behind herself. “I’m going to take a shower and change. Will you please wait in here? No need for you to sit out in your car.”
Laz stood with her. “Sure. When you come back, you can delete the video.”
“We can talk about that. I’m just wondering if you’ll even listen to me.” She smirked before disappearing into her bedroom to get an outfit to wear after her shower.
Avery decided to go simple. She would wear a great maxi dress that wouldn’t show off her body but with skinny straps to keep her cool while talking to the very delectable Laz Kyson. She had to be thankful that the man had enough willpower to keep their arrangement professional.
Yes, this relationship with Laz, a working relationship, would be good for her. She just had to keep this from her parents. They wouldn’t understand.
After her shower, she dressed, pulled her hair up into a curly bun, and even sprayed on a small amount of perfume on her neck and wrists. The man had sat with her before she had showered. He deserved a reward for that.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Avery emerged from the bathroom and froze in her spot.
“Ready for what?” Clinton asked with his fists on his hips.
Oh, shit.
Chapter 9
Laz thought he had done a good thing answering Avery’s door for her while she showered. When he saw the same man he had seen with Avery in the men’s bathroom at Charisma, he knew he had allowed her father entry into Avery’s home. The woman with him had to be Avery’s mother.
He definitely saw where Avery got her beauty. Her mother carried the same walnut-color skin tone as Avery. Their almond-shaped eyes drew him in but in different ways. With Avery, he wanted to keep staring at her because whether she knew it or not, she seduced him with her stare. With her mother, he felt the disdain she had for him simply because he shared the same oxygen as Avery.
The scowls they carried made it obvious they didn’t like him and they really didn’t want him in Avery’s home. Her father stood next to Avery near the bathroom. Her mother stood behind Laz. They had him surrounded.
Considering Laz had dealt with a music executive who used to place his 9mm gun on the table whenever he made a deal, this standoff shouldn’t have made him nervous. With what Avery shared with him, he felt more anxious for her.
When she stood stock still, he knew he had her reaction pegged right. All the scene needed would be a tumbleweed to roll through and a bad spaghetti-western type theme song to play.
“Who is this?” Avery’s mother pointed to Laz.
If Laz had a chance of making a good impression, he had to take control of this situation. “My name is Laz Kyson.” He held his hand out to her, but she didn’t accept it until Avery’s father cleared his throat.
The older woman pursed her lips before only offering the tips of her fingers to Laz as her way of shaking his hand. Although she didn’t stand as tall as her daughter, the woman still carried an imposing presence.
Laz would accept the standoffish greeting considering what he learned from Avery. By the time he turned back around to Avery and her father, he found Avery guiding her father back into the main living room.
“Mom, Dad, how are you?” Avery tried smiling but her lips twitched. She pointed to her mother while looking at Laz. “Laz, this is my mother, Hazel Shields.” Then she turned to her father. “And you’ve met my father, Clinton, before.”
“Oh, so you’ve met him?” Hazel glared at her husband. Before Clinton could respond, Hazel barreled through with her questions. “You didn’t answer me. Who is this, and I don’t mean his name. He gave me that already.”
“Laz is, um, just a friend.” Avery peered up like she wanted him to go along with her story.
Laz prided himself on being a straight shooter. “I work in music.” He moved in closer to her parents. “I think your daughter has—”
“Um, I’m not going to church today.” Avery tried hard to get her parents to leave short of pushing the duo down the stairs.
“What do you think my child has?” Hazel shrugged out of Avery’s hands to get around her and confront Laz again.
“Nothing.” Avery tried laughing.
“Is he going on about the music thing again?” Clinton turned to Laz. “Avery is going to school right now. That’s her future. Like I’ve told her before, if she wants to sing, she sho
uld come to church.” He stared at her.
Before Laz’s eyes, he watched Avery shrinking before him. She kept her gaze aimed down to the floor, and had her shoulders slumped and rounded.
He couldn’t watch her crumble. “She could sing in church, and should. I could never do that.” Laz put his hand to his chest when he heard a collective gasp from her parents. “It’s not that I don’t go or anything.” He glanced at Avery. “I have a problem singing in front of people.”
Avery brought her face up to connect with him. He felt warmth and softness from her eyes, although the rest of her face showed that she didn’t fully believe him.
“What’s the old saying? Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” He drew his shoulders back. “Avery has a real gift, something you don’t run across often. She could be our generation’s next Whitney Houston or Adele. She’s special.”
“We know she’s special. She doesn’t need the world to acknowledge that for her life to have value.” Clinton took a step that placed him in between Laz and Avery. “Now if you’ll excuse us—”
“No.” Avery spoke up, and it surprised Laz. “Dad, you’re not dismissing anyone in my home.” She held Laz’s hand.
That gesture resulted in a second audible gasp from Hazel.
“So you would rather let this stranger stay in your home than your parents after everything we’ve done for you?” Clinton directed his attention to Laz. “What are you preparing to offer Avery? Have you presented her a contract at least, or is this some sort of under-the-table kind of thing? You see this young woman and maybe saw an easy target.”
Laz started to answer when Avery stepped in.
“Laz, will you wait for me in the living room while I escort my parents out?” She stood at the top of the stairs that led down to the front door. “I hate for you two to be late for church.”
“Avery, do you understand what you’re doing?” Hazel tried talking low but Laz could still hear her clearly. “You’ve made mistakes in the past and we can’t keep bailing you—”
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