Page 70 of Between Never and Forever

Power.

Fear.

Dominance.

How was I going to handle all that?

“Or you can call me Freddie,” my creative director corrected himself.

“Yes, Fred. Do you know my fiancée told me just days ago that she wanted a new sound for the new person she’s become, and I told her she could have it. You know why?”

“Why?” Frankie asked.

“Because she can haveanythingshe wants.”

“Of course.” The man didn’t even bother arguing. “It’s just… I wanted you to understand that I provide Keelani with a scope of—”

“Youdon’t provide my fiancée with anything.She’sthe talent. She provided you with a job. So, she gets what she wants. You understand? For this Vegas residency, and honestly”—he looked at me pointedly—“it should be for the rest of the time you’re employed by her, you do as she says. No arguments. No pushback. If my fiancée wants to sing on stilts while elephants weave through her legs, you make it happen. You say yes and find a way. You don’t question her vision. I don’t give afuckwhat your title is. Got it?”

Frankie nodded but didn’t open his mouth.

Dex smiled and rubbed a hand over his jaw like Frankie had annoyed him further. I watched how his hand slid across his face. I listened to how the scruff scraped against his skin. Everything he did for me here right now pulled me toward him as he stood up for me.

Then he said, “How clear have I made myself?”

“I… But… You—” Frankie floundered while I sat on the edge of that stage to watch them both. I was the only one to move as everyone else stood stock-still, their eyes glued on the interaction. Frankie was used to getting his way, and I think we all knew that he wouldn't be here.

Dex had put him in his place. For me.

Dex, who seemed to not want to care but who’d arrived at the rehearsal and stood up for me. Dex, who wanted me out of his system forever but came to my aid.

He leaned in and murmured, “The answer you’re looking for iscrystal, Fred. I’m making myself crystal clear.”

Frankie’s whole face was blotchy now as his mouth snapped shut and he glanced around.

“Say it, Fred,” Dex prompted, making an even bigger fool of my creative director.

“Yes, Mr. Hardy. It’s crystal clear.”

Dex nodded once and then glanced around the theater. “Good. We’re all on the same page. Now, I’d like to enjoy my fiancée’s voice for the rest of her rehearsal. In private.”

“Dex—” I started, trying to stop the inevitable.

“You can all leave.”

There it was. If everyone left, I’d be alone with him, my body already in overdrive, I wasn’t sure I could resist. The Ben Wa ball felt so heavy now, and my pull to him was almost like gravity. I couldn’t avoid it forever.

Still, I tried to make people stay and turned to tell them, but everyone was filing out. They didn’t hesitate to beeline toward the exit, not even Frankie, who punched numbers into his phone rapidly as he walked.

As the doors at the front of the theater closed, I murmured, “You’re going to hear about that later from Mitchell.”

Dex sat down in the front row, parallel to where I sat on the stage. My feet dangled, and I swung them back and forth as he said, “No I won’t. Your boss would be stupid to call me about something so trivial.”

“Trivial?” I side-eyed him. “It’s my whole life.”

“What? Fred bossing you around?”

I smirked at his name calling. “You’re being childish, Dex.”