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“Come on,” she wheedles. “It’ll be fun.”
Eighties girl bands are everything to Aubrey. They always have been. We spent most of our early teens either learning to play or choreographing dances to The Bangles, The Go-Go’s and Banarama.
“I can’t. I need to prep for tomorrow, and it might be an all-nighter.” After the mornings’ conference meeting, the office was buzzing about the Benson deal. I need to know every detail before morning.
Rule number three: Always be prepared.
“It’s not tonight. It’s in a month,” she says. “And I may have already signed us up to play.”
“Toplay?”
“Please? Please, please, please? It will be so fun!”
“Aubrey–”
“I can’t do the Go-Go’s by myself. I need you.”
“You need someone with real talent, and that is not me.”
“It is totally you. There are four bands playing, and we would be second. I got my friend Erica to play drums. We just need you on bass. No rehearsals required–I know you’re busy.”
“I’m not playing without a rehearsal. We literally haven’t performed since tenth grade.”
“Yeah, but I know you. You never forget anything. I’ll rehearse with Erica. You just have to show up that night and play.”
“Fine.” I open the calendar on my phone and enter the date. “I’ll do it. For you. Just let me get my sea legs with this job. I might need to pull some all-nighters to stay one step ahead.”
“Those billionaires don’t deserve you.”
“No. They do not.”
Aubrey scampers over to the espresso machine. “Before you go, I’ll make you a latte. Full-caf this time.”
“You’re a goddess.” I take a moment to check my work phone. There’s already a hundred new emails, and a few frantic texts from Indira over the meeting with Benson we’re trying to schedule “yesterday.”
Sure, boss. Let me just build a time machine real quick.
Aubrey hands me a to-go cup. Twenty ounces of caffeine, bless her.
I salute her and head out. I’ve got emails to answer and a corporate takeover to conquer. And Brick Blackthroat? I’ll treat him like any other rich jerk. Impress his suit pants off as Professional Madi, cash my paychecks and spare not a thought for him outside of anything strictly work related.
I’m not afraid of the Big Bad Boss.
ChapterFour
Brick
The next morning, I have my driver drop me off a couple miles from Wall Street and walk the rest of the way in. I’ve been itchy to run ever since leaving the office last night. I refuse to believe it’s because of New Girl. I don’t get hot for humans.
Still, I have an excess of energy, so walking it off before I go in and rip everyone around me a new one is probably for the best.
My phone buzzes, and I shove my earpods in to take the call. It’s my sister, Ruby. She’s five years older, but we’re close. Especially because she has two pups now with Eagle, my lead counsel, and I’m crazy about my niece and nephew. Also, we had a fucked-up upbringing in an even more fucked-up family, and we’re now the leaders of the Blackthroats.
“What’s up?” I answer curtly. Even with family, I’m stingy with words.
“I talked to Mom.”
I suck in a sharp breath. Every mention of our mother makes me want to thrash someone. Not her… because she’s still my mother and as much as I hate her, I’m too damn attached. Some core of me–maybe it’s the alpha wolf instinct–is still protective.
