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Nick and I turned in the direction she had pointed to. I took a deep breath and followed as Nick led the potential employee to the conference room.
My shoulders stiffened and I cracked my knuckles.
Next to me Nick spoke under his breath. “Behave yourself.”
13
EVERLY
Monday mornings were usually hectic for me. I didn’t have a regular gig on a Sunday night, which meant I was usually the one who took Sky to school. I shared the duty with another parent who owned a restaurant and also usually worked till the early hours. But Mondays both of us took care of things ourselves.
With all the excitement of the weekend, I was glad to have Noah take Skylar to school. It meant I could sleep in a little and then take my time getting ready for my morning appointment.
Excitement raced through me as I went through my morning routine. My manager had secured a meeting with Five Hearts, and we were going to start preliminary talks for the Flashback Tour. Later in the week, I would also be talking to the record label about an album, but that was a different beast and I would cross that bridge after I spoke to Skylar and her dad.
That was a big deal for me. I never needed to consult anyone before, but I guessed that if I wanted to co-parent, I would need to speak to Noah about these sorts of things. I imagined Sky would spend the bulk of her time with him while I was away. I only hoped he didn’t judge me too harshly for my decision to revive my music career.
Two hours after Sky and Noah had left, I finally dropped Fontaine at the main house, before sliding into the back seat of the RideShare I had ordered. We had decided to leave Fontaine at the main house when we weren’t home. We didn’t want him getting hurt in the event the stalker broke in and he got in the way.
Taking a RideShare was a touchy subject among my circle of friends. A while back one of them had been kidnapped in one. That was before I met most of them, but apparently the story still haunted all of us. Thankfully, Noah hadn’t heard about what had happened to Lilly or he might have had something to say when I told him I was catching one to meet my manager.
The drive to San Diego was just under an hour. The driver knew all the back roads and avoided most of what was left of the morning traffic. As I got out, I straightened my black leather skirt. It wasn’t overly tight at all and paired with the pink shirt, looked a lot less racy than when I was on stage. I had to wear the white go-go boots though. It reminded me that I still had an edge.
The elevator up to the seventh floor was an eventful one. I stopped at each floor with people getting on and off at each stop.
When I finally stepped off the elevator, I gave my hair a bit of a pat. The French plait that had taken me forever to get right and about half a can of hairspray to keep that way, was rock hard but still where it should be. I hiked my purse further over my shoulder and made my way to Phil’s office at the end of the hall.
Before I had a chance to knock Phil opened and gave me a warm smile. “Everly, you’re here. The band has just arrived. I was about to wait for them at the elevator. Why don’t you step into my office in the meantime. Grab yourself a drink from the mini fridge.”
I was grateful to have Phil in my life. Even after I decided to leave the limelight and only do smaller gigs, he stuck with me.He knew all the reasons I wanted a life away from the glitz and the glamor and respected it. It was only in the last few months that he suggested that I get back into the business. I had a feeling if he knew Noah was on the scene he would insist even more.
The guys were not nearly as loud as I remembered them, but they still made a fair amount of noise as Phil ushered them into his office. He directed us to sit around the round table in the corner. The glass top was substantially bigger than a kitchen table but not quite the size of a banquet table.
Phil started everything off. “I’m assuming since you guys asked for her, that you all know Eve Halle. Eve, that’s Jordan Bruce, Tyler Sloan, Geoff Kings and of course, Ricky Gains.”
“Of course.” I nodded. I remembered all of them. But I was sure Phil was just being polite by introducing me to Ricardo. We’d dated for a little just before I found out I was pregnant. Obviously, it never led anywhere, and I never slept with him. Still, it was the talk of town for a good few weeks before I broke it off and then disappeared after I fulfilled my appearance obligations.
Ricky offered me a smile. “Eve, Phil mentioned that you might be receptive to the idea of a comeback.”
I couldn’t help myself, I burst out laughing. “I think a comeback is overstating it a little bit. I would like to give my career another shot though.”
“She’s being modest.” Phil had all the optimism of a kitten climbing a tree. “Why don’t you lay out your plan, and she can see where she fits in.”
Jordan Bruce, who always struck me as the business mind in the band, spoke up then. “We’re releasing our comeback album later this year and in the middle of next year we want to release our Number Ones Album.” As Jordan spoke about their plans, I could feel my excitement rising. They’d tour before the second album was released and I would perform a few of mine includingthe two singles I performed for the two TV show intros. They were asking a few more artists from the same era and we would perform the Flashback tour for our fans of that time as well as fans of our later stuff. Jordan even mentioned how doing the tour would help if I intended to release my own album.
Ricky grabbed my hand. “I do have one favor to ask.”
“Ask away.” I extracted my hand from his, but he didn’t seem to notice as he prepared to pitch whatever it was he had in mind.
The man even took a deep breath. “Remember your single, Lost, on that album?” I nodded, not knowing where he was going with that. It was one I wrote myself, but it wasn’t much of a hit. “I want us to perform it as a duet. We still have time to include it on our album and definitely we could perform it on tour.”
I paused and looked at him trying to remember if I had told him my intention when I wrote that song. That song was always meant to be sung as a duet. It was how it was written but I adapted it for my first album.
Of course, I was not going to let my excitement get the better of me. Inside, I squealed but instead I offered Ricky a small smile. “I’m sure we can work that out?”
He raised a brow and the corner of his mouth lifted. “We can set it up with Phil, or you can arrange the studio time yourself if you feel more comfortable.”
That gave me pause. “Of course, Phil will set it up. He always arranges my studio time.” I took a moment to take in each of the men in the room. Maybe it was because I had a stalker, but I didn’t think I wanted to do anything without Phil around at all times. “We’ll use one of the studios in this building. I would feel more comfortable, and Phil knows the staff here so things should be easier.”
