Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 125135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Listening for a moment to the sounds of traffic coming from Mulholland Drive, I took a long, slow breath to calm myself. “No, sweetheart.” I rubbed my tired eyes. “I’m the sorry one. It was bad enough that I was incapable of being there for you this weekend, but him being there in my place is a bitter pill to swallow. You can’t help it if he stopped by unannounced, though.”
“I didn’t have the heart to tell him to leave. This is probably the last time I’ll see him—possibly forever, for all I know.”
I doubt that. “Don’t think he’s not hoping you’ll try to change his mind about leaving. That’s why he’s there, Lala.”
I stopped myself from saying anything else about that. I was making this about Warren, when deep down, he wasn’t the problem. The problem was me. It would’ve been impossible to feel insecure about Warren, if I were secure in my ability to be the right man for Lala. He was with her and her family right now, and I was sitting outside a recording studio in L.A. while one of my bandmates got blown by some random girl in a car parked diagonally across from me.
The sooner we knew whether this could work between Lala and me, the better.
“I think you should take them up on the offer to work from Philly,” I blurted.
“You’re just saying that right now because you’re pissed Warren is here. I get it. But don’t give me advice when you’re angry.”
“While I’m not happy he’s there, that’s not why I said it. If things are meant to work out between us, the distance between Philly and New York shouldn’t matter.”
I could hear her mother’s voice in the background. “Why are you in here, Laney? Is everything okay? I just put out dessert.”
“Yeah. I’ll be right there, Mom. Everything’s fine.”
Just dandy.
“I have to go,” she said.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Alright.”
“Will you call me later?” she asked.
“I’ll try.”
Lala hung up without saying anything else. I couldn’t blame her. I’ll try? I’d acted like a prick again—and I immediately hated myself for it.
After at least five minutes of staring into space, I finally stood up.
“Hey, Holden,” I heard someone call.
I turned around to find a curvy blonde in six-inch heels walking toward me. She was one of a few women who’d hung around for much of our session. I didn’t exactly know who was who, since several random people kept popping up behind the glass while we were recording. She could’ve been with the label, or just someone connected to the studio we were renting.
“Hi,” I said.
She gave me a once-over. “Man, do you know how to work a pair of sticks. You were amazing in there.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“You guys play off of each other so damn well. Great work ethic, too. No one complained when you had to do several takes. Even when it was the tech’s fault. That’s a rarity.”
“Well, we don’t have a lot of time out here. So we want to make sure the demo is as good as it can be.”
“Hopefully it’s only the beginning. Something tells me this won’t be your last visit.”
I wanted to ask her who the hell she was, but didn’t want to insult her in case she was someone important.
“I’d love to get to know you guys better while you’re in L.A. Does the band have plans tonight?”
I was just about to tell her I wasn’t sure when Dylan appeared out of nowhere.
He practically flew over and skidded into place in front of me. “We don’t, actually. We’re all yours.”
“Awesome.” She chuckled. “Carrie and I will send a car to your hotel to pick you guys up.” She raised a brow. “Say eight?”
“Perfect.” Dylan beamed.
She turned to me and smiled. “Catch you later, Holden.”
I waited for her to disappear from sight before turning to Dylan. “What the fuck was that all about? Who is she?”
His eyes gaped. “You don’t know?”
“I know she was hanging out watching us for a while, but no, I have no clue who she is.” I shrugged.
“She didn’t introduce herself to you by name because you’re supposed to already know who she is, fuckface.” He smacked me lightly on the head. “That’s Alana Styles. She’s the head of A and R at Seal Records. She could single-handedly decide if we get this deal.”
My jaw dropped. “Oh shit. Okay. I had no idea.”
“You’d better do whatever the fuck she wants tonight, and I mean it.”
My body went rigid. “Are you suggesting that I’m supposed to fuck her?”
“Whatever you need to do to seal the deal—no pun intended.”
I pushed him. “Get the fuck out of here.”
He stumbled a little, and his expression turned dead serious. “Holden, listen. I overheard her gushing about you to the other woman, Carrie, who works in PR. Alana kept saying how talented you are. We need you to do whatever she wants.”