Chapter 18

The press brief was … brief. There were exactly six journalists, all by invitation only. They were from five magazines and one newspaper. This was a deliberate set up by Reid in his style of promoting Colt. Of course, Purple Crush needed no promotion. According to the manager, he needed organization, and that’s what he was doing. He wanted Colt’s image to shine and not be tarnished by the likes of Carl Benson.

Chelsea watched as the last journalist, a pretty redhead smiled and batted her eyes at Colt. She leaned over and placed a dainty hand on his knee. They were facing each other in two armchairs, in a casual type setting. Chelsea observed as Colt grinned and settled his eyes on the woman’s breasts. Her own chest tightened, and she felt a twinge of annoyance settle in there.

She snickered and turned away, but not before the girl casually placed a business card on his thigh. He picked it up and turned it over with a grin. She turned away, starting to feel a dark mood come over her.

They were scheduled to go hand out T-shirts at a local club later in the evening, but suddenly a splitting headache pressed at her temples. She cleaned up after the last interviewer left and went to get some alone time.

As she was about to open her room door, a hand shot out and grabbed the knob. “Hello. It’s Chelsea, right?” a man’s voice asked.

She turned, and her eyes made contact with Carl Benson’s sharp ones. “Please, let go of the door. I have nothing to say to you about Colt.”

He dropped his hand and replied. “I don’t want to talk about Colt. I want to talk about you.”

She turned sharply to face him. “What … why?” She scrunched her face in confusion.

“People want to know about the mysterious girl that works with the group.”

She recalled what Reid told her. He’d said that her image was important and that she would be on the radar. However, she did not trust this Carl Benson fellow. Was he the one calling her and hanging up.

“Did you call me yesterday and today, then hang up?”

His brow shot up. “No, you have a secret admirer?”

“No,” she shook her head. “It must have been a prank call.”

“Tell me what happened,” he suggested.

She looked gravely at him. There was something he was fishing for; she just knew it. There was no way he was there just to interview her. He knew about the press meeting and wanted information. Should she play along to find out what he was after? Maybe she could find out why he was after Colt as well.

“I’ll talk to you, but not here,” she said. “Let’s have coffee on the dining room terrace.”

He allowed her to lead the way to the elevator. A smile seemed to permanently affix itself to his face. She figured he felt he’d got her where he wanted. She planted a smile of her own. Her temples were still pounding, but she needed to figure out what Carl Benson was up to. They found a seat on the terrace, and she ordered a cup of mint instead of coffee, the mint would relax her.

“So, Chelsea where are you from,” Carl threw at her.

With a sweet smile, she replied, “Virginia, and you?”

“California. So tell me, how did you land a job such as this all the way from … which town is it?”

“A very small town that nobody cares about.” She shrugged.

She removed her glasses and ran her fingers through her hair to detangle it. She’d watched it in the movies that these things were seductive. Was she trying to seduce this person? Maybe. She closed her eyes and slightly tilted her head back while fluffing her hair. When she opened her eyes, Carl was staring at her with his strange smile.

“What’s it like working for Colt?” he asked.

“I thought you said this interview is about me.” She leaned forward and placed her elbow on the table.

“It is. How you get along with the rock star is about you.” The scornful way he said ‘rock star’ didn’t go unnoticed by her.

She shrugged. “Why don’t you ask the questions you really want to ask, Mr. Benson?”

“What do you mean?”

She met his eye. Tapped her right foot under the table, something she did when she was unsure of herself. However, she presented a confident smile and held the journalist’s gaze.

“Stop beating around the bush and ask what you really want to ask.”

He grinned, still holding her stare. She tried hard not to blink or look away. This was strange for her. It was not like when she and Colt’s eyes met. That was different. She could do nothing about the mesmerizing effect Colt had on her. However, this was all her own willpower, something she was never used to doing.

“That all depends how much you’re willing to tell,” he leaned forward and said.

“What do you want to know?” She smiled again, trying not to let her face hurt.

“How well do you know him? Are you close with him?”

She forced her foot to stop its tapping and took a deep breath. With the need to know exactly what he wanted, Chelsea knew she needed to act as if she was willing to talk. There was a buzzing in her ear, and the throbbing at her temple was at a steady beat. A wave of nausea washed over her, but she swallowed hard, trying to keep her smile.

“Are you okay?” Benson asked with a frown.

“Why?”

He pointed to her forehead. “Beads of sweat there, and you look pale.”

“Just a headache,” she said.

She blinked, and that did it. The second her eyelids touched was the second she felt a wave of dizziness over her. She tried to keep her focus, but when she tried to look at Carl, he was swimming before her eyes. She was sinking into a dark abyss, and then everything went black.

Colt paced his room in the suite with his back rigid and jaw clenched. The tension was making his neck stiff, but as long as Jason Williams was around, he would have to deal with it. It was one thing dealing with the prick, but now he was pestering Chelsea. Was he the one with her when she passed out? The jerk did not even have the courage to call for help; he slipped away and then called the hotel front desk to tell them she’d passed out.

“Coward motherfu …” he pursed his lips, cutting off the expletive.

He opened the door and called for Reid. The man was standing by the window looking out over the hotel gardens. He turned when he heard Colt’s voice. Concern was etched on his face, and Colt’s fury escalated.

“Do it,” was all he said.

Reid shot up one brow, and then he relaxed his face. “Yeah,” he nodded his head.

“How is she?”

“She’s awake, says she had a headache and nausea,” Reid replied.

“Why did she go to the terrace with him, did he threaten her? I swear if he’s threatened her, I’ll kill him myself.”

Reid shook his head, “I don’t know. We’ll ask her when she feels better. She’s resting now.”

He needed to see her to make sure she was alright, but that wasn’t his style. Going to her room, inquiring about her welfare would shock her and everyone else. They all knew he was a jerk, and he intended to keep it that way. It served him well in the past, and he intended to make it serve him way into the future. He would just have to ride it out and wait.

In the meantime, he needed to take care of Jason. Reid was already making the necessary arrangements to have the money delivered. Losing 250 grand was nothing; he just knew that the deadbeat would keep coming back if he caved. But he could not have him harassing Chelsea. That’s why he gave in.

“The lawyer’s drawing up the contract,” Reid interrupted his thoughts. “Go see her,” he added.

“I don’t need to; you take care of her.”

Reid placed a hand on his shoulder. “Colt, I know you want to see her. I can see it in your eyes.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” he replied and shrugged off his manager’s hand. “Since when have I ever needed anyone?”

His heart skipped several beats talking about Chelsea and thinking about her. He could feel his blood rushing hot in his veins at the sound of her name. She was like a drug, giving him a heady sensation, making him feel high. What the fuck? he swore in his mind at his train of thought. Drug? More the hell like poison!

“Anything you say, buddy, anything you say.” Read nodded.

“Just make sure when we’re done with that little twit, I never hear from or see him again,” he told the older man.

“Yes boss.” Reid grinned.

He snickered. They were leaving to go back on the road the following morning, but he was concerned that Chelsea might not be up to it. He could have her fly there instead of the long trip driving through several more states.

“Why the hell did we buy a bus instead of a jet?”

Reid looked at him sharply. “Because a bus brings you close to the people. We talked about this, Colt.”

“I know, but look what happened. How can she manage the road if she’s sick?”

“Colt, she ain’t that sick. It happens. She said she had a headache, and then she was dizzy; that’s what happened.”

Colt was not convinced. “Did you ask her about Jason? What did he say to her?”

“No, I haven’t asked her yet.”

There was a few minutes silence while he thought of what to do about Chelsea before they left in the morning. He was about to suggest to Reid that he fly her to LA and have her wait there when the door opened and she slowly entered. Her skin was still pale, but her emerald pools seemed to glower at him. Her face was also set as if angry. He decided to leave well enough alone until a later time.