Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
“Songs aside,” Dylan says, clearly over his horror. “I meant what I said this afternoon. You’re his backbone, but more than that, you’re the glue that’s going to keep us together. It’s not just Ezra who needs you. We need you too. Before Ax . . . you know, we felt like a family. Every time we stepped out on that stage, we were united, and now without him, we don’t feel like a family unit anymore. We’re scrambling to keep our heads above water, and I think you’re the missing puzzle piece that can bring us back together.”
“I’m not the missing puzzle piece,” I murmur, a heaviness weighing me down. “Ax is. And having me there isn’t going to magically save you from missing him. I’m not a replacement for Axel.”
“No, we’ve got one of them already, and he’s a fucking idiot,” Rock mutters under his breath.
“Look, I just . . . I’m happy to try, and clearly we all know that I’m trying to play it cool at the moment, but it’s literally my dream job. I just think you’re all hoping that I can press a button and fix him, but I don’t think I can anymore. We’re both different people now. We’ve been through shit and have our own trauma to deal with.”
Madds reaches across the table and takes my hand, gently squeezing. “Don’t you think it’s worth a try, though?” she asks. “Bottom line is you get to go on tour with an amazing band and be with your family again while doing a job you love. If there’s progress between you and Ezra, and you’re able to see just a sliver of the guy you remember, then consider it a bonus. Besides, you know Lenny’s going to hit you with that big baller money.”
I roll my eyes, but there’s no denying the wide grin that stretches across my face. “Okay, fine,” I finally say. “I’ll do it.”
“Yeah?” Dylan asks, his eyes widening for the millionth time tonight as his phone starts exploding with notifications as his ass goes viral.
“Yeah.”
“FUCK YES! I’ll drink to that.”
After countless drinks between the four of us, we are blind drunk and having the time of our lives. “Here,” Dylan says a moment later, holding his phone out to me. “It’s Lenny. Do you want to tell him the good news, or should I?”
A beaming grin rips across my face as I pluck his phone out of his hand and hold it to my ear. “Hello?”
“Raleigh,” Lenny says. “I trust you’re enjoying your birthday.”
“Sure am,” I tell him. “But you know what would make it even better?”
“What’s that?”
“If you take that contract that’s sitting on your desk with my name on it, and add an extra zero to the end, because if I’m expected to deal with Ezra Knight and keep a smile on my face, then Sir, you better make it worth my while.”
Lenny laughs. “Okay, Raleigh. Consider it done. Are there any other negotiations you’d like to make?”
“My hotel room while on tour. I want the good rooms with the pretty city views and food packages. Like, I wanna eat well on your dime. Actually, I wanna eat well on Ezra’s dime,” I amend, feeling all too proud of myself. Take that Ezra! “Oh, and those skanky dancers, they have to wear more clothes around the boys. This is a professional setting, after all.”
Rock groans beside me, clearly enjoying the way the dancers like to keep their tits hanging out. Hell, I know Ezra did. “Anything else, Miss Stone?”
“Uhhhhh . . . drugs.”
“You want drugs?” he questions, clearly confused.
“No. The opposite. I want no drugs. But if you want me to somehow snap your lead singer into gear, then he needs to have no drugs. The occasional drink is fine, and maybe something to help him relax every now and then. But he’s not falling down the addict rabbit hole on my watch.”
“Understood,” he says. “Does this mean you’re in?”
“I’m in,” I say. “Consider me your new favorite marketing exec.”
“Sure thing,” he laughs. “Be ready to leave for Europe in two days.”
“Wait. What?”
My eyes widen, not having realized just how soon the start of the tour is, but before I can ask anything else, Lenny ends the call, and I’m left with a chorus of deafening cheers around me. As I hand the phone back to Dylan, I grin at the boys. “You want the good news or the bad news?”
“Hit me with the good news first,” Rock says.
“I’m basically going to be like . . . one of your bosses,” I tell them.
Dylan laughs and shakes his head. “That’s really not how it works, but it’s your birthday, so I’m gonna let you have it,” he says. “But go on, give us the bad news.”
I stand from the booth with a laugh and scoop up one last shot of tequila, throw it back, and slam it down on the table, grinning at the boys. “You two assholes are officially in charge of breaking the news to Ezra.”