AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrug even as my head bobs. “I mean, I won’t turn you down. I do have a new song I’ve been working on, but I wouldn’t want to share it yet. If nothing else, I could stand beside you to show some solidarity.”
While it sounds ridiculous to think a man of his stature would need backup for this, I feel it necessary to offer. Especially after he basically put my fears to rest about being rushed through this next album.
It’s a relief I didn’t know I needed. A freedom that has my muse stretching out in my mind like a cat that just found a sunbeam through the window. I’m ready to soak up whatever greatness comes as a result.
“Let’s plan on it. I’ll have Aiden reach out to you. He seemed to like Austen, your —”
“Boyfriend.”
His expression softens. “Your boyfriend. The two of you make quite the pair. Best to keep him close. That one is going to go far.”
“How do you know so much about him? And about me?”
Miguel stands, his hands moving over the front of his suit to smooth out the invisible wrinkles.
“I know more than you think I do. I’ve got a flight to catch. Why don’t you track down your boyfriend and head on home? I’ll tell Evan he’s done for the day on my way out. Maybe see if he can inspire even more new music.”
The way he says boyfriend tells me all I need to know. Miguel Stryker holds a level of power I won’t ever understand. Hopefully, he continues to like me well enough to never use said power against me.
Chapter 8
Austen
Something happens in the meeting Corrin has with Mr. Stryker. I’m not sure what it is exactly. I only know that I’m told to wrap up for the day and go home. Corrin is waiting for me near the elevators, and he too doesn’t seem surprised in the slightest that I’m only leaving less than an hour after my arrival.
“Did you get me fired?” I ask when we’re alone in the elevator.
Corrin slams a hand on the emergency stop button. “What the hell, Austen? Why do you think you’re fired? Did Evan say something?”
I shake my head. “Of course not. It’s just strange for me to be going home already. Mr. Stryker speaks to you for a few minutes and then suddenly I’m done for the day. It’s suspicious.”
He laughs as he crowds closer to me. “It is, isn’t it? But no, you’re not fired. And Miguel is — well, he’s trying to solve some problems. Stuff I can’t really talk about. He encouraged me to take you home and play you the new song I wrote.”
“You wrote a new song?” My heart beats rapidly at the idea of hearing him play for me. Just for me.
I’ve listened to him play before, sure. Every album is loaded on my phone, and I even have vinyls tucked away in my closet, so Tennyson doesn’t mock me.
But to hear it live, and before anyone else, is an honor.
Corrin presses the button to get us moving again. “I did write something new. You up for giving me feedback?”
“Yes,” I say a bit too quickly. He doesn’t call me out on it as we make our way to the car, though his grin tells me he definitely noticed.
When he climbs behind the wheel and starts driving, I think nothing of it. He was the one who dropped me off, so it makes sense that he would drive us back home. Except that’s not what he does.
I recognize the restaurant we pull up to. It’s one that I’ve heard my classmates talk about, though I’ve never ventured to it myself. Mainly because it costs a pretty penny to eat there.
Uncle Kelvin might be willing to help financially, but I do my best to make sure he doesn’t have to spend an inordinate amount of money on me. Tenn has already graduated and is working for Corrin, so he doesn’t have as much in the way of bills. I’m still somewhat of a dependent.
It’s why the internship is so important to me. I want to pay my own way. Especially now that my uncle is in a relationship and building his own family. He took me and my brother in when no one else could. Now he gets to have his own happily ever after. And I really want to be able to say that he’s not supporting me financially as he does so.
“Your brother mentioned that this was somewhere you wanted to eat when I texted him.”
“When did you have the chance to text him?”
“While Evan was telling you to wrap up your day. I know you had cereal for breakfast, but that can’t possibly be enough food for you. This place has brunch.”
The way he says brunch makes me think he's trying to relay something important like nuclear launch codes or an obvious piece of information. All I hear is that it’s a meal that’s not quite as large as it should be, but it has a devoted set of followers.
