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Her chin rose slightly. Again, that fucking attitude that made his fingers curl just like they would around her throat. “We’d want a stage fee plus a percentage.”
She wanted a what? “A percentage of what?”
“Of the cover charge if you have one. If not, then a percentage of the bar take.”
She practically begged him to let them play for tips the other night. Now she was making demands?
Get the fuck outta here.
“Gonna tell you this again. You’re good but I ain’t sure your band’s that good for you to be actin’ like some shark-like negotiator.” When she opened her mouth, he continued. “Before you try to serve me another helpin’ of that attitude, think about what I just said.”
The woman had pipes on her, but her band was mediocre. Not horrible, but not top-notch, either. The talent was definitely not equally distributed throughout that band.
Her band would be considered good, possibly even great in this area. However, if they tried to book a gig at some big venue like a club in New York or L.A.?
Dodge doubted it would be happening until she scraped off the rest of them. Now, if she had the right musicians standing behind her…
“And you’re not in the music industry, so I’m not sure why you’d think you’re an expert.”
“How ‘bout the fact that I’ve been listenin’ to music all my life? Good fuckin’ music. Also, I’ve booked a lot of fuckin’ bands to play on that stage downstairs. Is it Madison Square Garden? Fuck no. But I know what the fuck I heard when you played both nights. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have invited your guys back to play last night. That’s the hard truth whether you wanna hear it or not. I don’t hire garage bands, Syn. And hate to tell you, without you, that’s what they are.”
She opened her mouth and he braced for a hailstorm. But at this point, he was now ready to fight since someone needed an attitude adjustment and if he couldn’t do that the way he’d like, he’d do it with his words.
He was trying to help her out and she had the balls to make demands.
What the actual fuck.
She should be thanking him, not giving him fucking heartburn.
She sucked on her teeth, but kept that chin raised. She also stared him down.
Oh yeah. Maybe it was good she wasn’t sticking around. While she flipped his switch in a good way, it wouldn’t take much more to switch it in the other direction.
“I’ll think about it.”
He casually shrugged, pretending he didn’t give a fuck whether she did or she didn’t.
“You do that. You got my offer and my number. Do with it what you will.”
She nodded, even though it looked like that gesture took more effort than it should. “Well, it’s been…” Her words drifted off and she dropped her gaze from him to the floor.
He knew exactly why she broke eye contact. That submissive action got his blood pumping all over again.
She had fire in her but knew when to back off.
He liked that.
A controllable flame.
As if she was an oil lantern and he adjusted the wick. He wanted to be the only one to make her burn hot.
The thought of anyone else touching her to make her burn like that…
He clenched his teeth.
He shouldn’t have thoughts like this about her. It just didn’t make any fucking sense.
As he waited for her to finish her thought, his heartbeat counted off the seconds.
When she finally did, he was more disappointed than he should be. “Gotta go,” she mumbled and turned to head to the door.
Without any hesitation, she yanked it open, stepped out onto the landing and shut the door quietly behind her.
That soft click went through him like a gunshot.
Yeah, for now her leaving was for the best. He needed to figure things out, including why he was having these urges and thoughts about her.
More importantly, figure out if her brother was his brother, too.
Christ, why did that make his asshole pucker?
He got up and wandered naked over to the windows, using his fingers to separate the blinds only enough so he could peer out but not be spotted. She appeared from the rear door of Crazy Pete’s. But instead of rushing to the bus, she paused in the alley and her head, covered with the cat-eared hood, tipped down.
His heart began to thump in his chest as he waited to see what she did next.
Did she forget something?
Why was she standing out there in the freezing cold in that goddamn sweatshirt not moving?
A few heartbeats later, she lifted her head, glanced over her shoulder and up at his windows.
Fuck.
He held his breath as she continued to stare up at him. He knew she couldn’t see him but it still made his pounding heart skip a beat.
