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I tried to think of a reason to stay, some way of making her feel better. Instead, I just felt clumsy and in the way.
On the way down the street, I saw a homeless woman sitting on the street. I handed her the flowers and a few screwed up notes from my pocket. Poor old love, she looked like she was having a hard time. At least someone would appreciate them.
Chapter 12 ALEX
I STARTED WITH FLOWERS then I moved onto candy. Not just any candy but exquisite chocolates, imported from Switzerland in the most beautiful presentation box. Handmade.
You can't go wrong with chocolates. I knew Violet had a sweet tooth because she always had candy in her pocket. I'd had the flowers delivered but I wanted to give her the chocolate in person. I couldn't just give her any chocolate, though. I'd gone to a fancy chocolatier and spent ages trying to pick the absolutely most fitting gift for her, that way I could try to convince her to take part in the competition at the same time.
I didn’t know why she was being so stubborn about this competition. She said she didn't want to be a "prize" but, whether she agreed or not, she'd still be the glittering prize in this contest. We were both competing for her, whether it was onstage or off.
I made my way to her office and peered in the door.
"Hey, Violet," I said, leaning against the door frame.
"What's with this? Since when has this gone from being a private office to a public place? You can't just barge in here."
But she smiled so I knew she wasn't totally angry. Well, it was more a half-smile, half-grimace.
I hadn't been in her office before and had no idea what to expect. It had a certain rustic charm. The kind of charm that made you wonder if the rats had moved on to better things. Her desk overflowed with papers and CDs – do bands actually send in demo CDs nowadays? That seemed a little dated.
I squeezed my way in, trying not to take in too much of that smell – stale beer mixed with something dank. How did she stand working in that environment all day?
She didn't look like she’d offer me a seat so I made my way to the sofa. When I sat down, I sank into a big hole. It was hard to be charming when you were falling through a sofa hole but I crossed my legs and smiled at her.
"I just thought I'd stop by. See how things were going with the club."
She screwed her face up into an angry frown.
"Things are going absolute shit if I'm being honest. Chucklehead has absolutely no idea. He wants to make money but he keeps coming up with ideas that are going to do damage in the long run."
She didn't look at me but kept on with some paperwork. That was my opening. No point being subtle, I had to dive right in.
"You know what would help things? A competition. Something like that would create a buzz, get interest up." I flashed my most dazzling grin at her but she still didn't look up.
She snorted. "You guys can have your competition. I'm just not getting involved."
She moved a pile of folders to block me from view, as if to stress her determination, but I was sure I could sway her. People are easy to persuade. Everyone had a button you need to push, you just have to find it.
I glanced around, trying to spot something personal in the room that I could use to make a connection with her, but everything in her office was work-related. Except my flowers, which had been shoved into a corner to wilt and go brown. Didn’t she know to put them in a vase of water? I wanted to rescue them but thought that might just draw attention to their abandonment. Instead, I'd go with my best shot.
What did Violet care about? The club was the only thing but, even then, it wasn't enough to get her to agree to the competition.
"Oh, I have something for you," I said, trying to keep it casual. I leaned forward, handing her the chocolates.
I turned on the dazzle again and waited for her to thank me. I thought she'd at least smile but, in
stead, she wrinkled her nose.
"Chocolates, aww, no thanks. I'm allergic to chocolate. Candy is fine, like this bumper bucket of butterscotches Razer gave me, but if I go anywhere near chocolate, I break out in hives. Maybe give them to Carlie and the other bar staff, they might like them."
So much of that made me wince. Razer and his common butterscotches. Giving my exquisite chocolates to the bar staff. I mean, I liked them well enough but they weren't exactly the ones I wanted to win over.
Then she ignored me while she turned her attention back to her work. I got myself out of the sofa hole with some of my dignity intact. This wasn't a defeat, it was just a setback. I just had to try harder. The challenge was on and I'd find the way to Violet's heart. Her heart wasn't made of stone and there had to be something I could do to win her over.
As I left the bar, I threw the box of rejected chocolates in the trash. Then I thought better of it and went to retrieve them.
I was too late, though. Some toothless old crone had fished them out.
