“And how would you know? Is that why you won’t buy me a drink?” She leaned in, and I got a whiff of her perfume. “Because you don’t want anything?”
The bartender came by, pushing a fresh shot in my direction. I stared down at it, trying to avoid her question. I didn’t want to lead her on, but I also didn’t want to completely shut myself off. I’d blame that decision on the liquor tomorrow. If I thought too hard on it tonight, I was sure I’d lose the last bit of my sanity.
Her laugh captured my attention. “I’m totally messing with you.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Olivia.”
I returned the gesture hesitantly. “Grady.”
“Oh man, that sounds like a good boy name,” she said, scrunching up her nose. “It doesn’t match you at all.”
“What matches me, then?” I asked, raising a brow.
Olivia plopped her elbow down on the bar. A manicured finger tapped her chin as she studied me. “I don’t know. You have this bad boy country vibe going on. Like, you’re in boots and jeans—which is common as hell in Texas, don’t get me wrong—but the tight black t-shirt and leather jacket give more of a rocker feel.”
“Bad boy country vibe,” I echoed, shaking my head and taking a sip. The liquor burned going down, and I liked it. Enjoyed it even. I wanted the pain. “I guess that fits.”
“Exactly! But the name doesn’t match. We should find you a new one.”
“I’m not gonna change my name.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m talking about a stage name. You know, one you only use for your public persona.”
“I don’t need one of those,” I replied, slightly annoyed. I mean, I’d toyed with the idea before as a way to separate the two aspects of my life. It’d come in handy when I become somebody.
Well,ifI became somebody.
Maybe that was why I’d never done it before. It felt like I was pretending to be someone I wasn’t. For some reason, it felt like counting my chickens before they hatched. Sure, it could be great in the long run, but what if nothing happened? How silly would I feel? Would it even matter?
A hand waved in front of my face, snapping me out of my spiral. “What’d you say?” I asked, clearing my head.
“I asked what your last name was. We need to see if it’s got enough grit,” Olivia said, sliding into the seat next to mine.
“Wilde.”
“Wait, really?” I nodded. “Okay, well, for starters… There are so many things we could do with that. Can you imagine the merch possibilities?” She splayed her hands in front of her, squinting slightly. “Lawson Wilde—the ride of your life.”
I coughed, the beer I’d just taken a sip of going down the wrong way. “That’s so corny.”
Olivia smiled widely. “That’s kind of the point. People love that kind of thing. It can become a key component of what makes you marketable. We’ve already established you have the bad boy thing going for you,” she said, gently smacking my arm. “Capitalize on that. Build your brand from the ground up and make yourself stand out.”
I narrowed my gaze, pointing her way with the beer bottle. “How do you know all this shit?”
She shrugged. “My family runs a little business up in Nashville, and I’m a business major with a minor in marketing. This is kind of what I do.”
“Then what’re you doing here?”
“What do you mean?”
I gestured around the hole-in-the-wall bar. “A girl like you doesn’t fit in here.” She opened her mouth for a rebuttal, but I held up a hand. “Not like that. I mean, I don’t think this is your normal kind of joint, but you live in Tennessee.” I held up one finger. “I’m assuming you go to school there, too?” She nodded, and I added another tally. “And your family business is there.” Another finger.
“I’m glad to see you can count to three,” she said, nodding toward my hand. “But what’s your point, Mr. Wilde?”
“I’m just trying to figure you out.”
She hummed, reaching out to push each finger down. “I’m actually here on my first business trip. My uncle wanted to check out a few places in Austin, but he had a few last-minute meetings he couldn’t reschedule, so he sent me.”
“Ah, so it’s a test.”
She nodded. “Something like that. As for why I’m here,”—she tapped the bar—” I just happened to wander into this little gem when I saw the open mic night. So far, it hasn’t been great.”
