Page 61 of Chasin’s Surrender

He knew it was audacious but he still asked, “May I read it?”

“Not now. Maybe one day.”

Chasin nodded, taking no offense at her rebuff. “Wanna explain why you’re all dressed up?”

“Something my dad taught me before he became a raging deadbeat alcoholic—never allow people around you to forget who’s in charge. It’s a shit way to think. It was him being a pretentious prick. He always thought his family’s money made him better than everyone else. Family connections are what landed him the job he had. But when his family disowned him, gone was the money and the connections. The fall was steep and painful for him and he was left with nothing.”

Chasin waited for the rest of the explanation because he sure as hell wasn’t understanding what any of that had to do with the way she was dressed.

“This is gonna make me sound like a bitch, and just a warning, when we get to your office, there will be no sign of Genevieve. Melissa forced my hand and Len’s gonna pay the price. They both need the reminder that Vivi Rush is in charge, not them. I pay them, not the other way around. And further, I make Melissa more money than any of her other clients. She fucked up and she’s gonna feel it.”

Ah, now he got it.

This was a power play on Genevieve’s part.

“Good for you. Before we head out, I want you aware that however this meeting ends, Jameson will be keeping tabs on Len until he leaves town.”

Genevieve shrugged her shoulders. “If you would’ve told me that two days ago, I would’ve had some sort of feelings about that. But now, I’m done. Len came here and invaded my personal life, which is a line Melissa knows not to cross. However, you should know, Len has no interest in me.”

“Genevieve—”

“Seriously, Chasin, when you meet him, you’ll understand. I have the wrong body parts. He is not interested in me.”

“He’s gay?”

“I’ve never asked. Mainly because it’s none of my business but also I don’t care. I don’t mean that ugly, I mean I don’t care in the sense that love is love, no matter gender. I’ve never seen him with a woman or a man. But he’s also never looked twice at me or Bobby or any other woman that I’ve ever seen him around. And Melissa represents models as well. There’s no shortage of beauty around her office. I get the vibe he’s into men, but also he keeps his private life out of the office.”

Her explanation did nothing to loosen the knot in his stomach. He didn’t point out the obvious—a hand-delivered envelope of pictures were left at her uncle’s house and Len was in town.

That was more than enough to move Lenard Summers to the list of suspects.

18

The drive over to Chasin’s office did nothing to calm my anger. As a matter of fact, once I found out what a pain in the ass it was for me to leave the house, which included a police entourage, I was angrier. Not only did Jameson have to waste his time driving out to the farm, but Jonny personally escorted me over.

What a pain in the ass.

“Viv,” Bobby muttered when we entered the reception area. “I can—”

“I know you can handle it,” I interrupted. “You can handle everything. And you always do. But this is something I need to do.”

“I get that. But maybe you should think about what you’re about to do.”

I turned to face my best friend, dropped the Vivi Rush persona, and waited. I felt it the moment she saw me. I heard the swift intake of breath and watched as her features softened. Gone was my assistant and go-to person for business decisions, and in her place was my friend. Roberta and Genevieve, BFFs since forever.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I get it, honey. I’ll be by your side no matter what.”

And she would. She didn’t care about touring, fame, after-parties, celebrities, or red carpets. She cared about me. How I’d forgotten that was beyond me.

“We’ll figure it out. I promise, I won’t—”

“I’m gonna bitch slap you if you even think about saying the word paycheck. Besides, I already quit, remember?” She smiled.

“Yeah, I forgot to tell you, I didn’t accept your resignation. But we’ll talk about that when we get home. I think you’ve been promoted to something else, I just don’t know what exactly your job duties will be. But I think they’ll include finding people to buy my songs.”

I couldn’t stop my smile when she jerked back in surprise.

“Seriously?” she breathed.