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“And I don’t know, maybe? I am from a small town, and I do work as a publicist slash marketer.”

“Ahh, a Jill of all trades. Fascinating.”

“I guess. I’m Jeannie.” She reached out her hand, but instead of the handshake she expected, he placed a soft kiss on her knuckles.

Jeannie’s eyes widened. Not that she was opposed to dating an older man, but there were age gaps and then there wereage gaps.This would be like the Grand Canyon of age gaps.

She tugged her hand from his grasp and checked her smart watch. Thirty minutes to go. Her eyes glanced around the room at the dozens of partygoers. There wasn’t anyone else on her list of people she needed to connect with, so maybe she could finish her time with flirtygrandpa. “What brings you to the party tonight? Do you work on a television show?”

The man laughed. “No, darling. I work in music. You may have heard of my company? Vizier Records?”

Jeannie’s eyebrows raised as she straightened her posture. “Uh, yeah, I’ve heard of Vizier Records.” Who hadn’t? Several artists on the top 100 charts were with Vizier. Just goes to show, you can never let your guard down at these parties. Luckily, she hadn’t said anything embarrassing.

“Although some of my artists wish to crossover into television,” he continued, “so I try to keep these relationships strong. Do you work with any musicians?” He leaned into her, and his gaze intense.

“Just one, Marina Morris.”

“Hmm, I think I’ve heard of her. Didn’t she have a couple of viral videos? Have you signed her to a label?”

“No, she’s—”

“Well, that’s great news for me. I’m always looking for the next social media sensation. People love that backstory. Why don’t you come with me to my suite upstairs? You can pull up some of her videos and I can let you know what kind of support we can offer.”

Jeannie’s head jerked back. Was this guy for real? It almost seemed too good to be true. Not that it mattered.Marina was adamant that she didn’t want to be part of a big label, or even a small label.

“My client isn’t interested in making any changes at the moment. She’s a newlywed, and she’s trying to focus on that for now.”

Victor’s face hardened and turned a dark shade of red. “Marina is married?” he asked through clenched teeth.

Ahh.Well, that made more sense. He’d been playing dumb so he could lowball them. He knew exactly how talented Marina was and how popular she could be.

“She married the county sheriff a few months ago.” Jeannie grinned as his eyes almost popped out of his head. “He’s a great guy, but a little on the possessive side. I can’t imagine he’d want her to come up here to record an album, let alone tour, without him. Although it might be a cute angle to pursue. The pop star and her devoted law enforcement husband.”

The man slammed his whiskey on the table, sloshing the liquid onto his hand. “Damn it.”

Jeannie’s eyes widened. This guy really was interested in Marina. Even though the timing wasn’t great now, that didn’t mean that Marina wouldn’t be ready for something more later. Jeannie pulled out a card and handed it over. “Why don’t you check back in about six months, and I’ll let you knowwhere her head is at.”

He took the card, his fingers lingering on hers longer than was necessary. “Well, since Marina is off the table, why don’t you tell me more about you? I’ve got an entire PR department, and we’re always looking for more talent.”

Jeannie sighed. She enjoyed working for herself, setting her own hours. She had no interest in going to work for some big company. But it never hurt to listen. To fill up the time, she talked about her work with Snow, Al, and the businesses in and around Grimm County.

“I’m impressed. You’ve been able to make all your clients’ wishes come true. If you can do all that in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, imagine what you could do here.” He waved his hand toward the giant windows overlooking the city.

Jeannie smiled. “I used to think that’s what I wanted, but now, I’m not so sure. I enjoy working with Al. We’ve come up together, and now that he’s about to have his own show, well, I can’t leave him.”

“You can manage his career from here.”

Jeannie snorted. “You don’t know Al. He needs a lot of attention. Like, a lot of attention. Although, I guess if this show works out, he’ll have a fiancée for that.”Fuck.She’d tried to avoid thinking about that part. The part where Al might propose to someone and then marry her.

The man nodded. “I’ll keep in touch. If you find that your star client doesn’t need you to hold his hand anymore, I’d love to have you on my team.”

“Okay, well, thanks. I appreciate that.” That might actually work. If the mere thought of Al being engaged was enough to give her hives, how was she going to share a duplex with the happy couple? “I’ll keep you posted, Mr.—oh sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Victor. Victor Crawford.”

Chapter 12

Aloud banging startled Jeannie out of bed. The sun barely peeked through the curtains, letting her know it was too early to be awake. Her heart caught in her throat. There was only one person who would bother her at this hour.