Page 34

Lan and the boys were always stuck in a studio or at some event or unnecessary party that the label insisted they go to. While I liked to shadow them, I also had other responsibilities as their band manager.

I’m going to give this job probably a few more months before I quit for good.

Because I was slowly losing juice now that we weren’t just another band chasing a record deal. Now we were a representative of a big-name label, and the burden of duties was on a scale that I couldn’t handle.

I had no clue when Lan was going to ask me to marry him, but I was ready to leave this job to someone well-equipped to handle it.

“Katy, so nice to see you.” Mark shook hands with me. “Let’s get on with the meeting. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“Thanks, Mark.” I forced my confident Katy smile as I followed him.

Mark was the assistant to Philip Rogers and I was meeting with them to negotiate a merch deal for the guys’ tour.

What did I know about negotiation? Nothing.

The only knowledge I had was from the countless YouTube videos, where “industry experts” explained the dos and don’ts.

Hopefully, that was enough to ace this.

It was late afternoon by the time the meeting ended, and I couldn’t even catch my breath because I had another meeting in twenty minutes. I had to race across the city to make it in time.

Thankfully, I hopped into a taxi in minutes and was already opening my tablet to send our lawyers the contract details for the merch deal. I think the meeting went well. I spoke as practiced, but they were really interested in signing with Four Foxes, so it was a breeze.

My knees hurt from keeping the position of holding open my tablet, my phone, and my notebook on my lap as the car thrashed me around.

I should really hire a permanent car for myself or buy myself a car because this has added to the list of difficulties that came with this job.

Just then, my phone rang with a familiar ringtone, and I scrambled to find it among the mess I had created in the back seat. I exhaled when I finally found it in the depths of my bag.

I couldn’t fight my smile as some semblance of calm spread through my chest; simple moments with him were the best part of my day.

“Lan?”

“Angel,” Lan replied, and I could feel him smiling even though I couldn’t see him. “Where are you? I haven’t seen you all day, and I miss you so fucking much. The studio is a buzzkill without you.”

I chuckled. “I’ll be there to see you guys at the party this evening.”

“That late?” he groaned. “Just quit this job, and I’ll hire you to be my full-time girlfriend.”

My heart boomed. “I think I like that,” I answered honestly. I was at the point in my life where I really didn’t care about being a perfectionist and trying to prove myself to Lan. We have been together for almost five years now, and we wereitfor each other. And in my heart, I knew he loved all parts of me, even the ugly ones.

“Fuck yes, quit now baby and we’ll get someone else on it.”

Maybe I should do it and throw it all away in this very instance, but my improper exit would only make it hard on the boys.

“I can’t do that, Lan,” I said. “But I’ll start the process.”

“Fine,” he huffed. “But I gotta go now. That bitch Cece has commanded our presence.”

“Cece is a friend, Lan,” I reminded.

I heard him let out an exhale. For some reason, Mikey despised Cece, our creative producer, and Matty and Lan barely toleratedher, and I pretended she was my best friend. She was fine to me, but she wasn’t really my best friend. I just hung out with her to make myself a part of the high society circle, whom I cared for even less.

Just then, my taxi slowed down at the entrance of a familiar club where we’ll have a show next weekend. “I’m here at the venue too, Lan. I’ll see you later.”

“Can’t wait. I love you, angel.”

“Love you, Lan.”