Page 19

“True. I’ll get onto it.”
Rhett picked up his phone. “Farris. It’s Rhett. Bring the team to Gray’s office. Stat.” Farris said something in reply. Rhett laughed, then hung up the phone.
I raised a brow. “What’s with the smirk on your face?”
“What smirk?”
I had no interest in dealing with my brother’s bullshit, so I grabbed my phone, idly clicking into my emails. Of course, the first email in my inbox was an enquiry from the manager of my label. He wanted to know if I had any suggestions for talent, he should check out. Well, fuck.
I stared at the message. Offering Stef a recording contract was a risky move, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the right thing to do. She had talent, and she deserved a chance. Added to that, I had already decided to sign her, before…
But what about the optics? Accusing her of sleeping with me to get the contract, then following through with offering it, could be seen as pretty offensive. Not to mention the position that would put Stefania in. If she accepted the contract, would she feel like she was confirming my accusation? Fuck. Fuck.Fuck!
On top of all of that, I was very hands on with my label, since it was my passion project. If Boudica signed with us, that would mean she would have to see me. The thought made my stomach twist.
Before I could make sense of my scattered thoughts, or decide on the matter, my EA, Sarah, knocked on the office door.
“Enter.”
“Farris and the team, sir.”
“Let them in.”
Farris led the team in and the moment she took a seat across from Rhett, his earlier smirk was explained. Did they have to eye fuck in my office? Wolfe had caught the action too, rolling his eyes at me, as if to say, “Will he never take anything seriously?
With a slight shrug, I slipped my phone back in my pocket. “Rhett, how about you bring the team up to speed on our thoughts on the situation, and we can go from there?”
“Ahem, yes, alright.” Rhett straightened in his chair and put his game face on. It seemed he could take some things seriously, at least. Unfortunately for me, that started the meeting that seemed like it was never going to fucking end.
On and on it went until I just couldn’t focus on it anymore. My fingers itched to reach for my keyboard, to shoot back a reply to my manager, that yes, I did have some talent in mind. Stef deserved it, and that’s all there was to it. For the rest, I’d find a way to work around it.
A knock at my office door brought my attention back to the meeting. One look at Wolfe’s face let me know who it was standing behind me. His fiancée, Esme. Who also happened to be Stef’s best friend.
My first thought, when I turned to look at her, was to ask how Stef was doing. As soon as the words formed in my mind, I realized how stupid that would be. What was this, high school?
“I’m so sorry to interrupt. I went to your office and Melissa told me you were here. I didn’t realize you were in a meeting.”
Wolfe got up from his chair, smiling reassuringly at her. “Meeting’s over for me, guys, sorry.”
“We may as well call it a day,” I agreed, ignoring the looks of surprise that came my way. We were far from getting to the bottom of this situation, but I was fucking over it.
The team left and Esme settled into the chair next to Wolfe. “So, uh,” she said tentatively, “how did the meeting go?”
I forced a smile onto my face and leaned back in my chair. “It was fine. Just some cyber security stuff we need to deal with.”
Esme nodded understandingly, but I could tell she was still a little uneasy about being there. I had no idea why, but she was always so nervous around me. At first, I hadn’t been able to figure out what my youngest brother saw in her, and I’d brought that up to him as delicately as I could. He’d laughed in my face and said that I was the only one that got that side of her, because I scared the fuck out of her. I had to admit that had shocked me and I’d tried to be kinder, but I guess I was just a cold-hearted bastard and that was that. They’d been together for months, were engaged to be married, and Esme was no more comfortable with me than she was the day we met.
It hadn’t really bothered me before, since I’d figured we had years to get to know each other and for her to settle in. But right now, Jesus fuck, imagine if I could talk to her about Stef. If I had someone, anyone, who I could talk this through with. And if that didn’t make me feel more like a pimply high schooler, what would?
“So, uh, Wolfe mentioned that you’d said you might check out Boudica for your new label.”
Fuck, had Stef already told her? Was I about to be reamed? Not that I didn’t deserve it, but still. “That’s right.” My tone was cautious, giving nothing away.
“When she’s not playing away, she’ll often play at Lacey’s on Friday nights.”
“Yes, apparently so.”
“We could let her know you plan on dropping by some time,” Wolfe put in.