Page 6 of Before the Encore

“Right!” Bailey clapped his hands together. “Who’s ready to sign some paperwork?”

A whirlwind ensued as piece after piece of paper was pushed at them. Roberto and Frank had already looked over the documents before their meeting, and she trusted them, so she signed until her hand ached. Contracts. NDAs. Copyrights.

Scarlett reappeared, fussing over the group, bringing more drinks, lingering a little too long by Madison’s side. She flirted a little—Scarlett was attractive with her neat purple blouse and blushing cheeks—but it was more for Bonnie’s annoyance than anything else.

Fuelling the fire burning in those large, brown anime eyes amused her. How her jaw would tighten and she’d mutter under her breath, the glare heating something underneath Madison’s skin.

She had to bite the inside of her cheek to stifle her laughter. Whatever happened over the next few days, she knew one thing.

This was gonna be so much fun.

* * *

Roberto chaperoned the three of them to a cocktail bar downtown under strict rules—nobody out past twelve, no more than three drinks, and no funny business. That last one was only directed at Madison.

But despite their manager’s best intentions, he was the worst of them.

He slapped a hand on Madison’s shoulder and another on Frank’s, his whisky breath making her wince. “I can’t believe it. It actually worked.” He lifted his glass, liquid sloshing over the rim. “I am so proud of you. My demonic children finally saw the light.”

“Hallelujah,” Frank commented.

Glasses clinked, then emptied and refilled.

Again. And again.

The night drew on, the room narrowing. Warm amber light cast a cosy glow around the brick walls. At some point, Roberto completely unbuttoned his shirt. Kam cried with laughter until her mascara smudged, and that niggling feeling pulsing under Madison’s ribs eased.

She rolled her eyes as Frank droned on about the bass being the backbone of all music, meeting Kam’s glassy glaze over the polished table. They’d come a long way since sitting across from each other in Mr Tonti’s English class, firing spitballs at his bald head. Madison hated school. Sitting still bored her. The only class she enjoyed was music—the freedom to play, to create.

But even then, her teacher said she’d amount to nothing.

Bad attitude…or something. It didn’t matter now.

She was in LA, scheduled to record professionally tomorrow with a successful, albeit annoying, pop star.

She’d agreed to the Bonnie Bloom deal because it was what her band wanted. Of course, they didn’t agree on everything—Kam wanted a six-minute drum solo, and Frank thought his ponytail was cool—but they were her bandmates. Her friends.

“Promise me one thing.” Roberto laughed, slapping his hand against the table. “No matter how successful or rich we get, never, ever, let me get a combover.”

Kam drew her brows together. “You don’t have any hair to start with.”

“I know. It is a very unlikely situation.” He rubbed a hand over his bald head. “But please, promise me.”

“I think a combover would suit you,” Madison teased. “You and Bailey would look like brothers. Two peas in a pod.”

He scrunched his face. “He wishes he had my jawline.”

The group erupted into laughter, drawing the eyes of a group of women seated at the bar. Pendant lamps hung overhead like halos, blurring the edges of her vision. She locked eyes with a curvaceous blonde with thick thighs. For a dazed moment, she thought it was Bonnie.

She blinked and pulled her attention back to her manager. “I think we should cut you off now. I stopped counting…and this is defo more than three drinks.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Frank slurred, “but Mads is right.”

“Woah, Frank must be pissed.”

He shot Madison an annoyed glance, but even he couldn’t hide the smile playing on his lips.

They finished the dregs in the bottom of their glasses, and Frank helped Roberto towards the exit. Madison gathered their empties and took them to the bar; she’d always appreciated when people did that on her shift.