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“Will we be singing with whoever else you hire?” Bea asked.

“Maybe. It depends on what the other band wants to do. Would you be open to singing with other people?”

“Yes!” Jo bounced in her chair.

Bea nodded her agreement on that because what else could she do? She’d rather stick with just Jo because she knew Jo’s voice so well. It would be much harder to blend with people she didn’t know.

“This sounds like fun,” Jo said.

“You’d have to be available for the entire week of Christmas.”

“The whole week?” Bea and Jo asked together.

Siena nodded. “This is a Christmas charity event, so yes. The concert is on the twenty-fourth.”

“Indoor or outdoor?” Bea found her voice as her mind ticked over the most pertinent information they would need.

“Indoor.”

“Full setup?”

“Yes.” Siena’s lips twitched upward in a smile. “This sounds like you’re interested.”

“We are!” Jo squeaked. “We’re very interested.”

Siena nodded slowly. “Good. I’ll have Marina write up contracts if you’re amenable, and we can do some negotiations from there.”

“I’m assuming this is an unpaid event.” Bea held her breath. They really could use the money. Especially since it was going to take a week of their time, not that they’d booked anything for that week, but there was still time to do that. “Since it’s for charity.”

“It is unpaid.”

That might be a dealbreaker. Bea sent Jo a look, telling her as much. But this would give them the chance to work with Siena, which could potentially make them more money in the long run. But could they handle the lack of pay for a bigger pay off in the end?

Yes.

“All right. We’ll do it.”

“Do you agree as well?” Siena looked directly at Jo. “When I make agreements with bands, I expect every person to sign on. One person doesn’t, then I won’t sign the contract.”

“Absolutely!” Jo was beyond excited. “I want to work with you, Ms. Frazee.”

“Good. Then it’s settled. We can work on the contract over the next week.” Siena stood up, and Bea and Jo followed suit. “Welcome to the family.”

EIGHT

bunny

“Why does Siena want to see us today?” Piper asked for the third time since they got out of the car and made their way toward the restaurant.

Bunny closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could do this. All her annoyances and frustrations had been heightened since karaoke, since being stuck in that small booth with Bea pressed up against her, all over her. At least they’d been civil.

“If I knew, I’d tell you. I’m not holding anything back from you.” Which was a lie, because there was absolutely no way Bunny was going to tell Piper about what happened in the dressing room at Julianna’s. Piper would have her head for it.

“Sorry. You know how I hate meetings without a purpose.” Piper scrunched up her nose in apology.

“It’s okay.” Bunny grabbed Piper’s hand for a moment as they stepped into the restaurant’s lobby. She gave it a squeeze before quickly dropping it and scanning the area. The restaurant screamed high-end clientele, and Bunny felt the tension in her chest tighten further. It had been bad enough that Siena wanted to meet out, but this place told Bunny more than the phone call from Siena had.

Siena wanted them to do something she knew they would push back on. And by them, Bunny of course knew it meant her. So she’d brought them here to seduce them into whatever she was going to throw their direction.