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“She’s scary,” Sparks whispered against Juliet’s ear.
“There’s a reason they call her Dragon Lady,” Juliet whispered back. “She’s actually my sister’s best friend.”
“Your sister doesn’t seem scary.”
“Shows how little you know,” she said, trying not to laugh when he poked her in the side.
Lila ended her conversation and tilted her head as she noticed Juliet and Sparks tucked close together on the sofa. “Hello,” she said coolly to Sparks. “You’re Randy, Harper’s brother.”
“I am, yes.” Like the gentleman he was, Sparks rose and held out a hand. “We met when I was hired on as lighting director, but I’m not sure we ever got much of a chance to talk.”
Lila shook his hand politely. “I remember. You do a fine job. Your sister speaks highly of you.”
“Well, she would. Baby brother and all. Plus, I babysit my niece whenever she needs me to, at least when I’m in town.”
“Handy that we’ll be back before Thanksgiving then, after the San Francisco show.”
He nodded as if he knew exactly what Lila was talking about. Weird, since Juliet had no clue and she was in the band.
What the hell?
When Juliet would’ve spoken, Lila shifted her way.
“Juliet, there’s a band meeting in five. We’ll use the banquet room at the end of the hall.” She paused, offering a smile to Sparks. “Do you mind if I steal her?”
“No, of course not. We were just talking.”
Lila’s smile never wavered. “Of course. I heard she took a spill onstage. Thank you for taking care of her.”
Juliet’s face flamed and she ducked her head. “Jesus, Li, it wasn’t that bad.”
“Walk with me?” Lila asked Juliet, still smiling.
Uh oh. Lila’s smiles were more dangerous than her anger. She and her boss, the head of Ripper Records, Donovan Lewis, were alike that way. They were both perfectly dressed, perfectly coiffed sharks with Red Bull in their veins.
“I’ll just get back to work then.” Sparks slid his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, his gaze lingering on Juliet for an extra beat. She knew he wanted to say something, maybe even to kiss her goodbye, but that wasn’t happening in front of Lila. “Bye, ladies.”
“So polite,” Lila said once he’d walked through the curtain and back onstage. She started to walk down the hall, leaving Juliet to follow like a recalcitrant child. “He’s not who I would have figured you would’ve chosen.”
“Oh, I didn’t—” She fell silent at Lila’s glance.
“He’s Harper’s brother.”
“A fact you just pointed out a moment ago.” And yes, her voice sounded irritable, and no, she didn’t care. “I also know that the rest of Oblivion and Warning Sign and hell, even you yourself have played musical beds, so don’t give me that tone as if I’m a child who doesn’t know what she’s doing. It doesn’t work when Margo does it, and it definitely doesn’t work when you do it as my sister’s stand-in.”
Lila’s expression never faltered. “How about when I do it as the person who signs your checks? Do I have any more sway there?”
Juliet hated, absolutely abhorred the chill that raced up her spine. Lila didn’t have a heel to stand on, and they both knew it. Juliet hadn’t caused any problems within the band. She was always on time, always flawless.
“I didn’t realize having sex meant I couldn’t be in the band too. If that’s the case, maybe you should tell the boys that. Like, oh, Michael, who ran off and got married on a drunken bender without your okay. Seems like plenty of people do things without your say so, and they get by just fine.”
She knew she was digging her hole that much deeper, but she couldn’t seem to stop her mouth. She’d understood from the get-go that Lila would watch her like a hawk because of Margo—because her oh so helpful sister would have told Lila to, since Juliet was just a flighty mess—and that any relationship she undertook would face scrutiny. That hadn’t concerned her, since she didn’t have relationships. She hadn’t in forever, not since—
Not going there. Not now.
Lila picked up her pace. “You good now? Or do you have more complaints to register?”
“Actually, yes, I do. What San Francisco show? I didn’t even know we were scheduled next week. Besides, I thought you felt we needed to stay local for a while.”
