Darius squinted in my direction the instant I approached him. I didn’t miss the way he smirked at me and gripped the microphone tighter. “Uh oh. I think I’m in trouble, folks. Does everyone here know my new manager, Mia Brooks?”
I ignored the cheers, whistles, and clapping coming from the crowd. I had one mission and I refused to let him distract me.
When I reached for the microphone, he swatted my hand away and chuckled. “Before I get booted off the stage, I just wanted to share one more big thing with you guys.”
When he handed me the microphone, I felt a sense of relief. It was premature of me. I knew that, but at least I had part of my plan completed. Now all I had to do was–
It was the gasps and chuckles from the crowd that shoved my thoughts from my mind. When I realized what caused the reaction, my heart pounded in my chest. Sweet Jesus, the idiot was standing there, pants around his ankles, showing the room the package he had to offer.
A part of me died inside. Anger and embarrassment fought to control me, but I kept my shit together. I hadn’t trained under my grandfather for most of my life to let some drunk, cocky, son of a bitch take my dignity from me.
Clenching the microphone in one hand, I used the other to dig through my purse and remove one of my scarves. I covered Darius’s dick as I glanced into the crowd.
“Sorry about that, folks,” I spoke into the mic. “This is why people should know their limits. Otherwise, they get caught with their pants down, holding a Vienna sausage where a foot-long should be.”
My ears rang as laughter burst from the crowd, filling the once silent room. Clapping commenced, as did a few shrill whistles.
Darius stared at me, mouth gaping.
I shook my head at him as I handed the microphone back to the DJ and grabbed Darius’s arm. The crowd went nuts as I ushered him off stage, pants still at his ankles.
Once we made it down the stairs, I released him. “Pull your damn pants up or I’m doing it for you.”
“Oh yeah?” Darius chuckled. “I’d love to see you try.”
“Believe me, I will succeed, and please don’t whine like a baby when I snag your balls in the zipper.”
He had his pants pulled up, buttoned, and zipped within seconds. I pressed my lips together, doing my best not to smirk at him. If I wasn’t Darius’s manager, I would have laughed at his performance this evening. He was clever, I gave him that much. He was also reckless. I feared if he didn’t straighten up, he’d drag down his band and my reputation right along with it.
If word got out about what happened, my grandfather would be furious. I’d have to do damage control before the night was over. For now, I had to get Darius out of this party.
How the hell could he do this to me in front of my friends? He’d just fucked up. The gloves were coming off, and I sure as hell wasn’t losing this battle.
5
~Darius~
The hotel bed was void of the warmth provided by another body. I hadn’t even opened my eyes yet, and I already knew I hadn’t hooked up with anyone last night. No, I’d been too busy getting wasted and arguing with Mia.
My head pounded as if a marching band had stormed through it. I clenched my sheets and grunted in pain. Stupid decisions were what got me a hangover from hell. I loved whiskey, but it didn’t love me. The headache splitting my skull was proof.
Aged liquor wasn’t the only thing that hated me. Mia did too. After what happened last night, I was certain of it.
I attempted to open my eyes, but the blinding light from the window forced me to shut them. The tension in my forehead increased as I frowned. Mia. Damn her. She must have opened the curtains before she’d left my room last night.
The thought lingered in my mind… Yeah. Mia had undoubtedly been in my hotel room. I just wished it was because she’d given in to me and allowed me to pound her sweet little pussy. Nope. That wasn’t the case. I would have remembered as much.
All that I could recall was the silent treatment she’d given me during the drive to our hotel. As soon as she shoved me into the elevator, I stumbled into the wall. My arm still throbbed from colliding with it. I complained about it while we rode to the fifth floor, where our rooms were located. Mia never said anything.
Once we left the elevator, I’d thought she would leave me alone and go into her room like she had the night in Nashville, after I’d gotten in that fight. If only I’d been so lucky. Maybe I wouldn’t have made a complete ass of myself.
Mia had escorted me into my room, straight to the bed. I hadn’t made it easy. I dragged my feet, forcing her to tug me across the floor. It didn’t stop there. Once she turned down the sheets on my bed and faced me, I tried to kiss her.
That fact alone was enough reason to stay away from whiskey. Fucking moron. What the hell had I been thinking?
Instead of pressing my lips to hers, I face-planted into the mattress. Cursing ensued, mostly from Mia as she ripped me up one side and down the other. God, was she pissed. I didn’t remember much of our conversation now, but I distinctly remembered her telling me how I was dragging down my band.
Her words cut deep. I’d taken a moment to recover from them but had apparently passed out instead. I didn’t remember getting under the blanket, which left me wondering if Mia had covered me before she left.
As much as I wanted to lie in bed all day, there wasn’t time. Mia would be ready to load up the tour bus and begin the trip to our next destination. It was shocking to know she hadn’t burst into my room, demanding I get my ass up. After my idiocy last night, I was certain she was livid today. I’d find out soon enough.
My muscles ached as I stretched against the mattress and cracked open my eyelids. The daylight was harsh on my eyes, but I kept blinking them until I could see. Damn, I needed some aspirin and a cup of coffee.
A soft knock on the door shattered my thoughts. I left the bed and made my way through the room. I hoped like hell it wasn’t Mia. With my luck, thinking about her had jinxed me. I wasn’t ready to hear any bitching yet.
Cracking the door, I peered through the small space to the other side. Relief filled me when I realized it was just Boone. He stood there, a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Good, you’re not her,” I said.
He had a newspaper tucked under his arm, but I paid it little attention once he shoved the paper cup in his hand in my direction. Thank God he’d brought me the coffee I so desperately needed.
The door swung wider as I motioned him inside and accepted the coffee from him. Boone passed by me and sat on the chair in the corner. His eyes scanned over me and he snickered.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Nothing. You just look like shit this morning. Rough night, bro?”
I shut the door and shook my head. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see my big performance last night.”
“Oh, I did,” he answered, “but I wouldn’t call it big.”
“Cute, man.” I flipped him the middle finger then took a sip of the steaming goodness in my cup.
“Ah hell, man. Lighten up.” Boone chuckled. He untucked the paper from his arm and waved it at me. “At least you didn’t make the paper with your little performance.”
“So if there are no lewd photos, what’s with the paper?”
“Just take it and open the entertainment section to the second page.”
Reluctant as I was, I walked over to the chair and snatched the paper from his hand. Once I found the page he mentioned, I recognized the billboard charts. Was it possible we’d finally made it onto the top one hundred? I scanned each name listed, hoping like hell to see Rebel Stone spelled out. When I reached the end, disappointment consumed me.
“Why do you want me to look at this?”
“Two reasons,” Boone answered. “First, do you see the band, Riot Down?”
“Yeah,” I glanced at the paper again. “So what?”
Boone stretched out his legs and crossed them at the ankles. “I did a little research last
night, while you were getting shitfaced. It seems Riot Down got its start at Music Haven, the music resort the Brooks family owns. Guess who managed them.”
My face burned as I tried swallowing the lump in my throat. I knew where he was going with this. “Who, Mia?”
“Yup,” Boone replied. “She ended up getting them another manager who could travel with them. She’s learned everything about the business from her grandfather, and she’s been training to manage bands since she was sixteen. Do you see what position Riot Down is holding on the chart?”
I scanned over the words again, finding the band’s name and their slot on the chart. Number eight. That didn’t happen overnight. I assumed they were on the chart before Mia had quit managing them.
Wanting to avoid the impending conversation, I glanced at him again. “You said there were two reasons why you showed me the paper. What’s the second part?”
Boone pointed downward. “Go to the bottom of the charts to the highlighted section.”
The boxed-in area was easy to spot. “Okay, what about it?”
“This section is for notable albums that are climbing the charts. It’s their way of predicting the next five groups who’ll hit the top one-hundred next week. Look closely at number three.”
As I scanned over the names inside the box, the third one caused me to clench the paper tighter. I read it once more before looking at Boone. “It’s Rebel Stone. Holy shit, man.”
“I’m telling you, next week, we will be on that chart. It’s finally happening, man.” He leaned up from the chair long enough to high-five me, then returned to his seat. “Can you imagine being in the top twenty?”
No. I couldn’t. Even after landing a record deal, our songs had never breached the bestselling charts. We’d come close a few times, but not like this.
“Listen, D,” Boone went on, “I know you don’t want Mia managing our band, but I think you need to reconsider. She’s not some dumb tart who’s slept her way through the industry to land a job.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Mia managing our band was the only thing that had changed. She was doing more for our band than I gave her credit for. Perhaps it was time for me to stop giving her hell and go along with what she wanted.
But, no. This wasn’t just about her managing our band. It was the way she consumed my every waking thought. Even when she pissed me off, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. She drove me insane, and she definitely rubbed me the wrong way, yet deep down, I liked it.
The thin line between love and hate was clearer than ever, and those emotions were the fuel that fed the fire of a toxic relationship.
Despite wanting her, it was in my best interest to keep this professional.
Besides, I’d already promised myself that I’d never let anyone get to me. Loving made people vulnerable. There was no guarantee that the object of your affection would always be around. Some people grew apart. Some gave up. Others lost the ones they loved unexpectedly, and that’s what I feared the most. I couldn’t set myself up to experience that type of heartache again.
Losing my mom had screwed me up. Losing a significant other would destroy me.
~Mia~
My phone vibrated against the nightstand as I stared at the caller ID and zipped my suitcase. As curious as I was to know why my grandfather was calling, part of me feared that I already knew. I hoped he hadn’t caught wind of the scene Darius had made last night at the party for Dark Skies.
After making sure Darius had passed out, I’d tried to do as much damage control as possible. While I hadn’t noticed anyone taking pictures, it wouldn’t stop the rumor mill from churning out the latest gossip. What was more worthy of idle talk than a drunk musician up on stage, flashing his dick and balls to a room full of people?
By the fifth ring, I snatched the phone off the nightstand, inhaled a deep breath, then answered the call. “Hi, Grandpa.”
“Hello, Mia. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Yes and no. I just finished packing and was about to head down to the tour bus. Is there something you need?”
“No.” He cleared the thickness from his throat, a sure sign that he hadn’t gotten over the respiratory infection he’d developed before I left. “I was just checking in, darling. I haven’t heard from you this week.”
Guilt spiraled through me. I should have called him, but I’d worried where the conversation would lead. It didn’t excuse my behavior. Besides, the call wasn’t just so I could report back on how Rebel Stone was doing. It was to check on my grandfather. Whenever he got the slightest sniffle, it concerned me. He wasn’t getting any younger, and the thought of losing him frightened me.
“Grandpa, I’ve been swamped and haven’t kept in touch. I’m sorry, but please don’t worry. Everything is great.”
It made me sick to lie to him and I only did so because I didn’t want him stressing. No, everything wasn’t okay, and part of me wanted to ask his advice, but I had to do this on my own. If he had taught me anything, it was to not accept defeat, to dig my heels into the ground, and to fight harder. Telling him the truth would be my way of accepting failure. I refused to let Darius Stone get in the way of my dreams.
“Mia, I can tell something is off from the tone of your voice. If something is wrong, I need to know.”
Damn it. This was the reason I didn’t lie to him. He always knew when I was—how did he put it—stretching the truth. Neither he nor my father liked the idea of me coming on tour with Rebel Stone, but they wanted to see if I was as good as they’d trained me to be. Rebel Stone would either confirm that I was ready to take over Music Haven, or it meant more training ahead.
Maybe some bands weren’t worth the trouble…
“Grandpa, we both know this band isn’t easy to handle, but I can take care of myself. You helped raise me, and you trained me for this moment. I’m not going to let you down.”
“You never have, Mia.”
His words caused a lump to form in my throat. It meant everything to me to hear him confess I had never let him down. I hoped I never would.
He’d been my saving grace for most of my life. When my mother had died, he and my grandmother cared for me while my father fell apart. Years later, after my grandmother passed, it was just me and my grandfather. Dad had returned to work, but he spent most of his time on the road. I knew it was painful for him to stay at Music Haven. He and my mother’s life together began and ended there. It was too much for him to handle.
And of course, my half-sister, Izzy, came into our lives in the middle of this nightmare. I thought she and I would share a bond and be close like some of my friends who had sisters. I had been such a delusional idiot. She’d let me know right away how much she hated me. Then she proceeded to cause havoc on the rest of my family.
Things still hadn’t changed with that.
“Mia, are you still there?”
I’d taken too long of a trip down memory lane. “Yes, I’m still here, but I really need to get going. Don’t worry, Grandpa. If it gets to the point where I don’t feel I can handle Rebel Stone, you will be the first to know.”
“Okay, Mia. I trust your judgment, but do check in more frequently. When you have children someday, you’ll understand my concern. Talk to you soon, my darling girl.”
“Bye, Grandpa.”
After I ended the call, I tossed my phone into my purse and dropped my suitcase on its wheels. I walked toward the door, regretting the conversation. Grandpa knew more than what he'd said. I could sense it, and it made me wonder if he had someone keeping tabs on me.
The more I was around Rebel Stone, the more I questioned whether I was doing the right thing by managing them. I knew what I was capable of accomplishing if they’d just work with me. The sales reports I received were proof that I knew how to market them. Would it take me getting them on the charts to earn their respect, or would their ridiculous behavior continue?
I checked my watch and huffed when I noticed it was eight-fifteen. We were supp
osed to be on the bus, ready to go to Jacksonville, Florida. Darius and the rest of his bandmates better be ready.
Collecting the rest of my belongings, I rushed out the door, shutting it behind me. I turned toward the elevator when I collided with someone.
“Oh shit. Excuse me,” the masculine voice said.
I looked at the face of the man I ran into. He was one of the roadies that helped Rebel Stone set up before their concerts. I didn’t know his name but I’d seen him backstage.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m fine. I apologize for running into you.”
He waved off my comment. “It’s no problem. I was sent to see if you need help with your luggage. Usually, I’m getting Darius’s stuff loaded up, about this time, but he’s already on the bus.”
I jerked my head back. “Say what?”
The roadie laughed. “Yeah, I know. I was just as shocked as you. No disrespect toward Darius, but he’s rarely on time for anything. You’re a brave woman to manage this band.”
My cheeks heated. “I was trained by one of the wisest men in the industry for this mission, but thank you for noticing. I uh, I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch your name.”
“It’s Wesley.” He reached his hand to shake mine, then pulled it to his lips. “Nice to meet you, Miss Brooks.”
Before I could object to his display of affection, he released my hand, so I responded, “It’s nice to meet you, Wesley.”
He pointed to my suitcase. “Can I grab that for you?”
I nodded and released the handle. His lips stretched into a warm smile as he picked it up and motioned me to walk with him.
Worried I would have to keep up a conversation with him, I was relieved to see a few other guests in the elevator. Wesley waited until I entered.
Once he did the same, he kept his back to me. I stared at his broad shoulders and toned arms. His rugged looks and calm demeanor hinted at the fact that he was older than me, but his physique said he took good care of himself.
Love Defined Page 5