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“Onyx, you can sign here.” She points to a line on the paper, after giving him a minute to look things over. His fingers grab onto the pen, and for the first time, I really see the tattoos on his fingers. Music notes, Roman numerals, and more stars are visible around the ink smudges I’m used to. My stomach clenches.
“Ms. Lennon.” Mia says my name and I startle. I don’t want to be caught gawking at Onyx’s fingers like a creep. “Are you in agreement?” she asks, and it takes my brain a minute to comprehend.
My brow arches and I slide my gaze to Onyx. His face gives nothing away but I can remember all the veiled threats from earlier. Would I really be in danger if I took off? My heart screams that Onyx is doing the right thing, but what if he’s not? I believed him once and was burned. Onyx’s eyes harden as if he knows what I’m really thinking. I glance back to Mia.
“He said you think I’m being forced. It’s more like I’m being bribed and coerced.”
“Jade.” Onyx’s voice is low and measured. The way he says my name sends heat right to my core and I squeeze my legs together, hating that I sort of like his authority over this situation. I must really be messed up in the head that I’m going along with this. My cheeks heat. I sigh warily. “Yes, Ms. Rosen, I am in agreement to the contract.”
“I told Onyx if you aren’t in agreement, I won’t take either contract. This is all up to you,” Mia explains. My chest expands with hope. Onyx is staring her down and the woman doesn’t even flinch. I think I have a girl-crush and also it feels good to have a strong woman in my corner. With renewed hope, I pick up the gold pen and sign my name on the blank line. I smile at Mia when I’m done.
* * *
Onyx walksus out of the room, which I’m thankful for. I’m not sure I could manage. My legs feel weak, my hands are shaking. It was a small contract, two years, but I feel like I just signed my life away. I follow Onyx and Terrance to the elevator and wait for the doors to close before I even attempt to glance at Onyx. His eyes are already on me though, taking in my reaction.
“Well, that starts sooner than I thought,” I finally manage to say.
Onyx’s lips quirk up before his eyes narrow, as if he remembered too late he shouldn’t laugh at anything I say. “There’s a lot that has to get done before a tour.”
I nod in agreement, even though I have absolutely no idea. I’m literally his puppet at this point, following his lead. We take the elevator all the way to the parking garage before jumping into a black town car. Terrance drives us a few blocks down to the hotel we have a room at. I keep my head down, as previously instructed, and follow the men past security and up to another suite. Terrance opens the door and I’m surprised this time when another man and woman, I do not know, are waiting on us.
“You got the contract signed?” the woman asks, her voice clipped, but she’s looking at Onyx and not me. She’s dressed stylishly in a black leather skirt and a hot pink blouse that is tucked in. Her head of dark curls bounce easily around her as she keeps looking from her phone to Onyx.
“I did.” Onyx’s voice is bored when he answers her. We all watch, while he walks over to the minifridge and grabs a beer. “This is Jade. Jade, this is my stage manager, Narissa. She will be in charge of making sure you know where you are going and how the whole concert flow goes.” He nods in her direction.
“Hi,” I answer slowly and give her a small nod.
“And this is Titan. He’s head of security for the performers. You listen to what he says and any direction he gives you.”
This time I can’t help the giggle that escapes. “That's going to be interesting.” I point between the two bulky men. Onyx’s brow rises. “Terrance and Titan. Titan and Terrance. Two watch dogs.” Terrance at least smirks but tries to hide it. I think I pissed Titan off though, since he just glowers at me, while Narissa sneers.
“Anyways, hi, Titan. Thanks for being here.” I give him a little wave and then he looks even more flabbergasted.
“Cute,” Narissa says before turning to Onyx, “we’re leaving. Your flight information is already on your phone and I placed a copy of all materials in this device.” She holds up what looks to be an old version of an iPod.
She hands it to me and I take it from her, not sure what I should be doing. After that, she and Titan leave the room and, once again, it’s just me, Onyx and Terrance.
“What's this?” I hold it up to him.
“Study materials,” Onyx answers. I do my best, but my face betrays me.
“Studying what?”
Terrance sighs. “I’m going to grab a shower quick. We have an early morning.”
I watch his retreating back and wait for Onyx to explain the assignment to me. I wait while he drags his gaze over me again. “It's all my newest songs in the past few years. Listen, learn them, and know them, so when you’re asked to dance on stage, you can be prepared.”
“Your music?” My throat goes dry when I realize what I’ve been given. “I don’t…”
“You don’t listen to my stuff anymore?”
I shake my head and feel the tears sting my eyes. My throat burns now, that fiery feeling returns to my chest. It aches.
“You didn’t miss much then,” he grunts, “get used to it, Jade. It's your job now.” He stalks off to the room he had previously claimed.
Then it's just me. The empty space is too big and that crushing feeling of being so small and alone weighs on me again. My hand grips the iPod and I walk to my own room, refusing to already be in breach of contract. I refuse to back down because part of me thinks that is what Onyx wants to happen.
I change into my pajamas and crawl into bed. I slip one ear bud into my right ear and power on the music. My eyes close and I slip in the left one. The silence bleeds out into an array of music. None of it is remotely close to the material Onyx was creating when he left.
