Page 29 of Forever Country (Forever Bluegrass #24)

A nnaleigh’s nerves were shot by the time they reached Nashville.

The closer they got to Nashville, the more the fear of her stalker caused her chest to tighten.

Cassidy had done a full background check on Benton.

There had been several accusations of sexual assault during college that had been swept under the rug by the school and his parents.

Holt had promised never to leave her side, but he couldn’t promise that when he had a festival to sing at, and if he’d won an award, he’d have to go onto the stage then to the press.

The Society of Country Music Professionals puts on a festival every year the night before the SCMP Awards.

They blocked off Broadway and put two stages, one at each end of the street.

During the day songwriters sang, showing off their talents.

Various professionals talked about the non-singing side of the industry.

There were musicians who showed off their talents, record labels announcing new deals or bragging about their musicians, and then there were sound engineers, producers, and even agents who came out to talk to the public about what they did.

However, at night it all changed. The big-name singers came out and performed one after another on dueling stages.

“Wow,” Holt said, pulling up to an office building with a sign out front that said SA Entertainment.

The office building was designed to look like a federal style historical house.

The brick was painted white, red roses were out front, and the black shutters and door were gleaming black.

A driveway led to a steel gate with a guard who looked very bored since the property was currently vacant.

“Can I help you?” the guard asked, suddenly attentive with the new visitors.

Sebastian had told them he’d just finished renovations and was considering if he wanted to rent the space out or if he wanted to break into the music and entertainment industry himself.

If Annaleigh signed this deal with him today, the decision would be made.

“Holt Everett, Annaleigh Astore, and our team,” Holt said, gesturing to the cars behind them.

“You’re the first on my list. Welcome to SA Entertainment. Mr. Abel already gave you a temporary code. I’ll send it to you.” A second later their phones buzzed. “That code is good for all doors for the next two hours. Then it’ll be invalid. Enjoy your tour.”

The guard pressed a button and the steel privacy gate silently slid open.

The entire back part of the property was surrounded by the ten-foot privacy fence.

There was parking, a door right off the parking lot that said “Lobby” and a sign pointing to the back of the house that said “Studio.” Holt parked and Annaleigh looked around.

There was plenty of lighting so late-night hours wouldn’t deter any woman working there from feeling safe walking to her car.

Same with the impressive number of cameras she saw around the entire property.

Annaleigh poked her head around back while Aiden and Henry parked and joined them.

The backyard had a gazebo off to one side deep in the backyard, as well as a firepit, and a wide, covered patio filled with chairs, lounges, and tables.

It would be the perfect place for artists to relax during sessions and also a more casual place for her to meet with clients.

Annaleigh walked back around the building and entered the code given to her.

The door led into the lobby where a receptionist’s desk was off to one side.

The center of the lobby was decorated like a high-end southern living room.

A fireplace was on the wall opposite the reception area.

Overstuffed couches, loveseats, and chairs were positioned on warm brightly colored rugs over the old hardwood floors.

A sweeping staircase led to the second floor.

Instead of going upstairs, she checked out the rest of the first floor.

She entered the code again and pushed through French doors that had been built just slightly behind the staircase, which divided the reception area from the offices.

Behind the French doors, another small waiting room sat like a courtyard with offices around it.

“Are these your offices?” Holt asked speaking for the first time while she’d been silently checking out every inch of the first floor.

“Sebastian thought they’d fit us the best. Upstairs has more room, but with just Maddie and me, he thought this would be the right fit.

This could be a conference room,” Annaleigh explained as they all followed her to one of the offices on the far right.

“This could be an office, a storage room, or a smaller conference room,” Annaleigh said of the room next to the conference room.

“I might have it divided so I can have a file room and a smaller office in case we expand and hire another agent.”

Everyone voiced their agreement and Aiden pointed out that the conference room could also be divided pretty easily for yet another office if need be.

Then it was time to see the corner office that would be hers.

Annaleigh opened the door and sighed with satisfaction.

Natural light streamed into the room and all she could think about was how right this felt.

They looked at Maddie’s office and Annaleigh took pictures and videos for her.

She sent them off before exploring the walk-out basement, whose keypad-controlled door was located very close to reception.

Downstairs was a state-of-the-art recording studio, comfortable rooms for musicians, and writers.

Clean lines, comfortable colors, and the most advanced technology Annaleigh had ever seen filled the space.

And her clients would have access to this.

She was trying hard to maintain a calm demeanor while inside she was buzzing with excitement.

The second floor was spacious with enough offices for two companies or one very large one.

Sebastian was right. The first floor was perfect for her.

Maddie had already told her that Sebastian was ready to start a music production company in the basement rooms using his new technology and their artists would be the first to have access to it.

The music production company was scheduled to move into the space next month.

The upstairs offices were in negotiations too.

There was both a sports agency and an entertainment agency interested in the space.

Sebastian was mulling it over. He’d thought about opening his own, like he was doing with the music production, but Finn Williams, a sports agent from Atlanta, wanted to open a second office in Nashville and was currently lobbying hard for the space.

It looked like Sebastian was leaning toward doing that instead of starting his own company.

“What do you all think?” Annaleigh asked once they were back in the lobby.

“Sweetheart, it doesn’t matter what we think,” Holt told her as he smiled. “What matters is what you think. You’re going to be working here and you’re the one going into business with Sebastian.”

“I told you before,” Henry said, stepping forward. “You got a fair deal with Sebastian. But if you don’t want him to have any kind of say since he’ll own ten percent of your company, you can get backing from Willa and Tilly. They’re all about being silent investors for women-owned businesses.”

Annaleigh nodded. She knew she had options but to go into business with Sebastian Abel was about more than money.

He gave her permission to not only use his name as a part owner, but also his contacts.

That alone was worth way more than the ten percent he was going to get.

Plus, access to his business expertise would be priceless.

There was what you learned in school, and then what you learned in the real world.

Maddie was learning that right now. She said the past week taught her more than all of her schooling and she was loving every minute.

“No, I feel good about the contract we negotiated with Sebastian, and I love the space. It just feels... right. It’s like all of a sudden my dream is coming true and I can’t believe it,” Annaleigh told them.

“I felt like that too when I opened my own protection service company,” Aiden said. “Once I took the leap, I never looked back.”

“Me too,” Henry said. He’d dropped the pickup lines with her now and only used them to break the tension of tough negotiations with Olivia Townsend-Fox.

“I got my experience at a big firm and I hated it.

But I stuck it out anyway because the experience was worth it.

Then I opened my own practice. Any mistakes I made, were my own and I could fix them any way I needed.

There was no going through three different levels of management.

There was no pressure to hit all these billable hours or to get bigger and bigger clients.

Not to mention the office politics of a huge firm.

“However, it was scary to take that first step on my own, but worth every moment, even the painful learning lessons, to be my own boss and have my own company. Then, when I met my beautiful bride, we combined forces and I got to work with the love of my life. There’s nothing better than that.”

“So,” Holt asked her after a moment. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to leap. Henry, hand me a pen. I have a contract to sign.”