“Feeling better?” I asked, tipping my chin at him.
“I will after a shower.” He dropped his gym bag on the ground and shrugged off his gray hoodie. “I really shouldn’t have drunk that much last night.”
“It was good party.”
He cast me a curious look. “Oh, yeah? You had a good time?”
“You know, I’m not totally incapable of enjoying myself.” I crossed my feet at the ankles. “It was cool meeting Red Robin. And Philo of course.”
“James and Taylor were cool dudes,” Mason said, leaning his shoulder against the doorjamb. “I think they’d be down to work with us on something.”
“We can run it by Trinity tomorrow.” We were meeting the photographer she found for our photoshoot at the office first thing in the morning. “Would be good for expanding our audience.”
“You did good yesterday.” Mason kicked off his shoes, his expression thoughtful.
I scoffed. “Yeah, okay.”
“Seriously. You made an effort.”
I mean, I had to, didn’t I? We were in a phase of our career where as long as we didn’t fuck up, we were almost guaranteed a record deal most other artists would kill for. My dislike for socializing had to take a back seat to my desire to succeed.
Instead of saying all that, what came out of my mouth was, “Molly said I needed to network.”
The mood shifted immediately. “Ah, right.” Mason pushed himself off the doorway, his expression darkening. “How are things going with you and her?” It was as if he had to force the words out.
This was my chance to fess up. To tell him I had her, and that Iwantedto have her, and that if he had any doubts about letting me have her, he had to speak up now or it would be too late.
My greed won out. I’d given him enough chances to change his mind about her, hadn’t I?
“Good,” I said curtly. “Seems like you and Charlotte are spending more time together?”
“We are.” He leaned down to pick up his gym bag. “I’m glad she came with us.”
Didn’t he see her giving every famous guy at the party fuck-me eyes? I kept my mouth shut. Mason wasn’t dumb, but he could be ignorant when he chose to be.
“I’m going to get cleaned up,” my best friend said, turning toward his bedroom. I followed him with my gaze and then sunk farther down into the couch when he’d disappeared behind the door. Guilt scratched at my chest, its sharp claws drawing drops of blood.
* * *
The next morning, we waltzed into Hyperion’s office ready with a new single for Trinity and eager to meet the man who would help us make it our biggest hit yet.
Molly greeted us in the lobby, her cheeks turning slightly pink when her gaze landed on me. I grinned like a Cheshire cat, enjoying making her blush. Was she thinking about us finally making it into bed with each other? I hoped so, because I hadn’t stopped thinking about it ever since I left her last night. The mere memory of the little sounds she’d made when I went down on her was enough to get me off.
“Theo is already here,” she said in lieu of a greeting. “C’mon, I’ll show you to the conference room.”
“What’s he like?” Mason asked as we followed her down the hall.
“He’s um…” She adjusted the cuff of her pink blouse. “Very knowledgeable. He’s been in the industry for over thirty years.”
“But is he good?”
She shot me a look over her shoulder. “I think that’s for you to decide.”
Inside the conference room, Trinity sat at the table with a man in his mid-fifties, his graying hair betraying his age. He wore a blue velvet blazer, a pair of sunglasses, and a silk scarf covered in logos for what must have been some expensive fashion brand. When we walked in, he cast us a judgmental look that immediately rubbed me the wrong way.
Trinity stood up. “Mason, Kaz, this is Theo Lane.”
We exchanged greetings and handshakes before taking our seats. Molly handed out bottles of water for everyone. When she got to me, I gave her a wink.
