by Joanna Blake
Never mind that he was starting to desperately wish that it was true. The girl had some sort of hold over him. That never happened. All his prior relationships had been ones of convenience. Hot sex, yes. But mostly he'd just gone with the flow when one gorgeous girl or another fell into his lap.
He’d never pursued a woman in his life. Even back in the day, before the fame and fortune, birds had flocked to him. He’d been the same with all of them. Affectionate and pleasant but not all that interested in anything. Nothing beyond a bit of a rollaround in the sheets.
This was something else entirely.
He'd walk through bloody hell to get this girl in the sack. Flames, pitchforks and all.
"So, have I satisfied your demands?”
Nick smiled at her, expecting a witty reprimand. He liked the way she made him feel like a naughty schoolboy when he misbehaved. He was even starting to enjoy her scolding. But he wasn't prepared for the look in her eyes.
She looked devastated.
Bloody hell.
She covered it well, glancing at her phone. It was buzzing and flashing. He felt guilty suddenly. As if he'd done something wrong.
The host chose that moment to walk by. When he saw Sabrina, he raised his eyebrows appreciatively.
Well done, Nick. You just objectified the girl. On National Television, no less. He always treated women with disinterested respect. But she seemed to bring out the worst in him.
He had no bloody idea why.
Crap. He hadn't just made a joke at her expense. He'd made her sound like his groupie, hadn't he? Or his girlfriend. No, that would have been way better.
He'd made her sound like a whore.
"Let me take you out for a drink. Make it up to you?"
"I don't drink. I'm sorry I- I have to take this call. You did well tonight, Nick."
He had to hand it to her. Even her compliment felt like a stab to his gut. She was perfectly professional even after what he'd just done to her.
Too professional.
He'd have preferred it if she yelled at him. Told him to go to hell. Really taken him to task. If he was honest with himself, that's why he'd done it to begin with. Just to see her reaction.
Nick watched her proudly walk away from him. Her little shoulders seemed so stiff, like she was holding back tears.
Christ, he'd made her cry again, hadn't he?
This wasn’t going to plan at all. How was he ever going to get his hands on her? At this rate, she’d be the ice queen forever. He had to think of a way to make it up to her. She deserved that much. Even if he didn’t get her into his bed.
Marley came running up with a cold beer. He knew Nick was going to need a celebratory drink after that. He took it, tossing back a big gulp.
“Did you see Sabrina leave?”
Marley nodded, giving him a sad look. The reprimand was soft, but still felt a lot worse coming from Marley. The man was a human marshmallow.
"She didn't look happy. You probably shouldn't have said that Nick."
"I bloody well know that!"
"I thought you liked her, anyway?"
"Yeah, I do."
"You didn't bag her though did you?"
"No, Marley! Not yet. Never at this rate.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Christ, what a bloody mess."
"She's not going to forgive you for this. You blew it, mate."
Nick grew thoughtful for a moment. Then a sly smile spread across his face. He wanted her badly. More than any woman he’d ever met, including both of his wives.
He frowned. There had been three, hadn’t there? Well, he wanted this one stodgy bird more than all three of them put together, and that was saying a lot.
There was no use pretending otherwise anymore. She was angry. He didn't bloody care. He would make her want him back, whether she liked it or not.
"What if she doesn't have a choice in the matter?"
"What's that?"
He slapped Marley's shoulder hard.
"Get me Jerry on the phone will you? I have an idea, mate."
Chapter 14
Sabrina
Sabrina walked out of the building, avoiding the stares of the staff. Everyone was looking at her. She knew what they were thinking.
She was the girl who slept with Nick Falcon to get him to do his first PR appearance.
It felt like hours had passed by the time she was outside in the dim light of the parking lot. Her cheeks were burning red with embarrassment.
She was humiliated, yes, but the phone call concerned her more. Her aunt was calling again. That meant her father was not doing well. Her aunt was her father’s younger sister. She had taken over his care, though Sabrina paid for most of it.
They both loved him more than anyone. They had been doing this for so long that they rarely spoke about anything else.
She fished out her car keys and calmly unlocked her car door. She wasn't going to cry. Not this time. This time she felt like screaming. She pulled out her phone and called Aunt Petra.
"Hello?"
"Sabrina. Your father was calling for you earlier. But he's resting now. Can you call back in a little while?"
"Yes, of course. How are you?"
The older woman sighed.
"He's getting worse. It's been a hard week."
"Alright, I'll call you later. In about an hour?
"Yes, that will be good."
"Thank you, Aunt Petra. Goodbye."
"Goodbye Sabrina."
Her aunt hadn't said a word about herself. That's what happens when you take care of someone you love. Someone who was dying.
That's something nobody understood who hadn't been through it. Both her parents had gotten cancer while she was growing up. Something to do with the factory job they’d worked on first arriving in this country.
It had taken her mother a long time ago, when Sabrina was just a girl. But her father… she'd had to watch him suffer for years. Thank God for her Aunt Petra. Otherwise, Sabrina would never have even left home for a day, let alone gone to college. Or business school.
Never mind moving all the way to Los Angeles on her own.
Her father had encouraged her, telling her to go. He'd been so proud of her accomplishments. But she still felt guilty for doing those things, even though she went home as often as possible.
She felt guilty all the time.
Even though her salary was paying for her father's expensive in-home hospice care. The paltry insurance he'd had from his factory job had long since run out. But he hadn't died as quickly as they'd expected to. He'd just hung in there. For years.
If he could survive and keep his chin up, then she could too. She had to. She had to make them proud.
It was the main reason she didn't date or socialize. Who could understand where she was coming from? The minute she opened her mouth to talk about any of it- it just sounded like a sob story. So she just didn't say anything at all.
Besides, if he needed something, she had to make sure he had it. And there were new treatments all the time. Expensive new drugs and clinical trials. He’d already done several and she needed to be able to pay for more.
She had to be a success. She’d given up so much to make her parents proud. She missed out on so much to get here.
And now it was all for nothing.
She’d never be taken seriously again.
Her phone rang again. It was Nick. She pressed a button, sending him straight to voicemail.
She glanced around, realizing she was still sitting in the parking lot like an idiot. Damn it, if she didn't get out of here he would find her. She couldn't face him right now. His smug self-assurance. His sense of his place in the world.
His bedroom eyes.
Right about now she couldn't decide if she hated him or wanted him to comfort her. How crazy was that? The person who had hurt her was the one she wanted to make it all better?
Good luck with that, Brina.
He'd looked a little guilty when he'd come off stage. Not
right away but all the same… she knew he wasn't a complete monster. Then again, that could just be his charisma and the mixed signals he'd been sending her since they met. It could be a simple matter of pheromones.
She sighed and started the car.
What's done was done. Nothing she could do about it now. She'd run some damage control tomorrow. Maybe talk to the in-house PR department about placing some tidbits to debunk his story. Soften the impact.
It might help. A little bit anyway.
Either way, she'd forever be the girl who slept with Nick Falcon.
Chapter 15
Nick
"Hello Jerry!"
Nick winked at Marley who was sitting across the back of the limo looking nervous. Marley looked nervous a lot lately. Nick considered it part of his job to keep his cousin on his toes.
Maybe he'd take him on vacation after the tour. Someplace hedonistic. Get him a massage. He'd earned it.
"Nick! Saw you tonight- great job!"
"Thanks Jerry. It was all due to my new A&R girl. She's brilliant, if you didn't know."
"Sabrina's great. But I got to ask, man- was that true what you said?"
"Now come on Jerry, you know I don't kiss and tell."
"Like hell I do!"
Jerry Dermott owned the whole label. And a telecom company. And a small island. He and Nick went way back. Nick had made him his first million.
Never mind the boat loads of cash he'd made for the bastard since then.
That's how Nick knew he was going to get what he wanted from him today.
"Strictly off the record, it was a bit of a fib. I've got to keep my reputation up, don't I?"
Jerry laughed.
"I bet you'll get an earful from her tomorrow."
"No, she was there with me. She's strictly professional- too bad for me!"
Jerry laughed even louder at that. He was quite the skirt chaser himself back in the day. Nothing even close to Nick's epic list of conquests, but nobody really stood a chance against him in that department.
"What can I do for you, Nick?"
"That's the thing. I'm really concerned about this upcoming tour, the appearances, everything. Since Sabrina has done such a good job so far, I would feel much more comfortable if she were there with me. In person."
He grinned at Marley who was gaping at him. He looked like a fish.
"For the entire tour."
"Hmmm… I'm not sure she's going to like that, Nick. You're not her only client you know."
"Ah, but Jerry, I should be, shouldn't I? Plus, she can do some scouting. I have an opening act or two in every major city in Europe, and that's just the first leg of the trip."
"That's not a bad idea… but it's a long way to go to find new talent."
Nick could sense that the wily old bastard was wavering.
"I would really feel so much more comfortable with her as my handler. Otherwise, who knows if I can keep track of all the promotional appearances she so carefully lined up for me? I might just- not show- or even worse- I might show up tanked up. You know she would never let that happen."
He held his breath while Jerry did the mental calculations. In just a second he'd come to the exact conclusion that Nick wanted him to.
Sabrina had to accompany him on tour.
Three bloody months to get her in bed. Once she was underneath him it shouldn't take much longer than that to get her out of his system.
And he had to get her out.
Because wanting her was driving him mad.
"I agree completely, Nick. I'll have the head of A&R inform her in the morning."
"Thanks Jerry. Here's to being filthy stinking rich."
Jerry laughed again, the sound echoing around the limo's speaker system.
"Yes, here's to that. Have a good night, Nick."
"Later."
Marley was looking at him as if he were extremely disappointed in him. He hadn't made that face since the time Nick pissed off his hotel balcony in Paris onto the the Rue de la Paix.
"You shouldn't have done that, Nick."
"Shut up Marley. Let me enjoy my moment of victory."
Nick leaned back in his seat and put his hands behind his head. He let his mind wander, imagining all the things he would do with her… and all the different ways he would do it. Fast, slow, sitting down, standing up, on the floor, a chair, the shower… There were so many delicious options to chose from, he knew he’d have his hands full.
He couldn’t bloody wait.
He'd be gentle with her at first. But then he'd unleash the beast. No woman had ever turned down a night in his bed. Hell, he usually had to kick them out.
Nicely, of course.
He didn't think he'd be tossing Sabrina out of his bed any time soon. He had a feeling he wouldn't get bored of tangling in the sheets with her for a long time.
Maybe ever.
Little Miss Sabrina Newton was in for the ride of her life. Whether she liked it or not.
Chapter 16
Sabrina
It was happening again.
Sabrina was staring in horror. Her mother was shrinking in front of her eyes. It was horrible to watch. She reached out to touch her, to stop it, to help.
To do anything.
She woke up just before her mother disappeared completely. It was always the same dream. Except sometimes, her father was there too. Both of them disappearing until they were little more than wisps of smoke with sad eyes.
Snap out of it!
She squashed down the tears that were making her eyes well up. She didn’t cry. Well, not until recently.
She knew she had to be practical. People passed on. Children lost their parents, and vice versa. It was a part of life. She was an adult now and there was no excuse for wallowing in this stuff.
Besides, she had work to do. Lots of work.
Damage control from that interview last night for starters.
She sighed and pushed herself out of bed. Nick was leaving on tour tomorrow. A twisted part of her knew she was going to miss him. When he wasn’t being a bastard, she’d never been so entertained in her life.
She had a lot of work to do to make sure everything was ready. She had a terrific tour manager who handled the accommodations and travel arrangements. But she still needed to make sure he was booked on the best TV shows and radio stations. And she had to make sure the PR team got his concert into the right newspapers and blogs.
It was important to her. She had to make sure her artists were well cared for, so they could focus on the music. That’s all that mattered.
Not that Nick deserved her help after what he had done.
But could she really say she was surprised? He was like a caged tiger and she'd poked him repeatedly with a stick. She’d dared to tell him his concerts sales were lagging. His ego was bruised. She should have expected some sort of retaliation, though she couldn’t have imagined it would get so personal.
It still hurt though. She'd thought he was beginning to respect her at least. Maybe even treat her as a friend.
Apparently not.
Last night she'd come home and just wanted to forget everything. Instead, she'd had a brief conversation with her father. His voice was barely above a whisper but it was the best ten minutes of her day.
He'd wanted to hear all about her job and what she was working on. She'd done her best to talk fast, before the pain got too bad and he had to get off the phone. He'd told her how proud he was of her success. He'd reminded her that her mother would have said 'Good. Now work harder.'
It was never enough for them. Not all the straight A’s, or the nights home studying instead of going on dates or to parties. Not the chores around the house.
They expected her to succeed.
They demanded it.
Her Aunt had taken the phone away from him and given Sabrina a curt goodnight before hanging up abruptly. She'd stared at the phone, wondering if this was the last time she'd speak to her father.
She always
wondered that.
That’s why she saved all his voice messages, even backing them up to the cloud. She never knew if she’d be able to talk to him, one last time. At least she knew if she played the messages, she would be able to hear his voice.
Eventually, she'd just gorged herself on rocky road ice cream and crawled into bed wearing her mother's old nightgown. It still smelled like her, just the tiniest bit. But she hadn’t slept. She'd tossed and turned half the night, imagining the fall out from last night.
She stretched and went into the kitchen. It was 6 am. Time for coffee and then she could do some emailing before heading into the office.
Her phone was flashing. She had missed a call. Already.
It was from her boss.
Oh crap.
She ran to her laptop and refreshed her inbox.
She had one new email. Just one.
The subject read: Nick Falcon Upcoming Tour
It was from her boss. The BIG boss. The head of the entire A&R department. She took a deep breath and read it. It was beyond her wildest imaginings.
Dear God.
It was so much worse than she could have imagined.
Sabrina,
You've done so well with the Falcon account that we've decided you should be more hands on. You will be accompanying Nick Falcon for the next two months on the first leg of his tour. Then you'll have a short break before the second half in Asia. We expect you to be on the lookout for fresh talent, as well as keeping Nick on track. You must be available to him 24/7.
Your salary will receive a 20% bump, as well as a generous food and entertainment per diem.
Your other clients will be looked after when you are gone as a temporary measure. This is a really big step in your career, Sabrina. Keep up the good work.
-Adam
Sabrina stared at her computer screen. Was this a joke? Did they really expect her to be 'hands on?' What did that even mean? 24/7??? It sounded like they wanted her to be at her clients beck and call for God's sake.