Chapter 3

Brando

The second Rowland calls the meeting to a close, Haley springs out of her chair and breaks for the door, her slim legs not just for show. I bound after her, but she’s so fast that I only catch up just as she’s about to get into the elevator.

“Haley, please,” I say, grabbing her arm.

She spins around and I almost flinch when I see her eyes. It’s like I’m being skewered by them. It’s a look worse than any punch.

“Let go,” she says. It’s her voice, but it’s been possessed by something that even I’m scared of.

“Just give me a minute,” I say.

“Sure. You’re my manager. I can give you a minute. Starting now.”

“Come on, Haley.”

She checks her watch. “Fifty eight. Fifty seven. Fifty six…”

“Are you not even going to give me a chance to explain?”

“Go ahead,” she says, folding her arms and pursing her lips. “Explain. Explain the bet you made. Explain how you got Lexi back to Majestic Records. Explain why you were in such a rush to make my record a hit, and what it really meant to you all along.”

“Haley, come on,” I say, putting my hand on her arm, gently this time. She bats it away violently anyway, and I see the delicate line of her jaw move as she grinds her teeth, breathing through her nose. “I’m sorry. Okay? I fucked up.”

She steps toward me angrily and puts her face close to mine.

“You didn’t fuck up at all, Brando. You got exactly what you wanted. I fucked up. I trusted you. Signed a deal with you. Slept with you. I told—” she stops herself as the elevator opens and lets some people out, lowering her voice a little, from furious spite to hissing venom, “told you about Rex Bentley being my father. You took advantage of me, Brando. I put everything in your hands: My career, my secrets, my…body. And it was all just a stupid fucking game to you. Explain this: How could you do that to me? To someone you claimed to care about? How did you lie so well?”

“I wasn’t lying,” I say, though I can barely look her in the eye. Her words fall like a sack of bricks, crushing me. It was bad enough losing her, but knowing that I hurt her this much is enough to push me over the edge. I try to speak. “I… I…”

“Brando!” comes the call from across the hall. We turn in the direction of Rowland’s office and see him peeking out from the doors. “Get your ass back in here. Lexi’s on her way.”

It’s the last thing I want to hear right now. The last thing I wanted Haley to hear.

She flashes me one last go-fuck-yourself look. “I’m beginning to feel like all I do is keep you warm for her.”

“Haley!” I call, as she steps behind the elevator doors just before they close. I think about putting my arm in to stop them, dragging her out, getting on my knees to beg, but I don’t – I can’t. All I want to do is take her pain away – even if it that pain is me.

Rowland is talking about something but I’m not really listening when Lexi shows up. I’m still somewhere deep in my thoughts, still trying to swim out of all the feelings swirling around inside of me.

I wish I was anywhere but here. Hell is Rowland’s office. Where I’m forced to listen to a boss I find repulsive, where Haley tells me how much she hates me, and where the girl I once loved more than anything in the world, only to lose her to the shallow, plastic, star-making machine, is about to show up and piss all over my hopes and dreams once again.

“Lexi!” he calls out suddenly.

I turn slightly to look at the doorway. She’s still beautiful. Still remarkable. Still capable of making time stand still. Even now that she doesn’t wear the latex dresses and miniskirts that Davis had her in. Instead she’s wearing her gym clothes, yoga pants and a tank top – but she’s still unbearably hot. I turn back around to face Davis.

“Hi baby,” she says to me, as she sits on the chair Haley was in and crosses her legs slowly, aware of the effect it always had on me.

Rowland’s gaze flickers between us in the same way it did when Haley was here, only this time it’s me giving off the ‘let’s get this over with’ vibe.

“I’ve got awesome news, Lexi. Haley’s gonna be supporting you on your tour!”

Lexi times her derisive laugh perfectly. It’s the one she used to use in order to let all the men in the room know who’s in charge. “Why? To make me look better?” Her gaze slides over to me. “Or is this a pity thing? Your little protégé can’t book a gig, is that it?”

“Come on now, Lexi,” Rowland says, his voice going as feeble as the poor guys who try to pick her up. “Haley’s the next big thing! She’s got a lot of people out there excited.”

Lexi turns to me with her wet-lipped look. “Does she get you excited, Brando? Let me guess; this was your idea.”

“Hell no!” Rowland exclaims, leaning back in his chair as if the insult blew him back. “You think he could come up with something like that?”

“Rowland thinks that having a genuine musician on your tour might help you last long enough to be worth a second album,” I say, staring back at her, my voice deadpan. “Maybe some of her talent will rub off on you.”

“Which talent is that, honey? The one she uses in the studio? Or the one she uses in—”

“Ah-hem!” Rowland interrupts, struggling to gain our attention. She and I are locked in a stare, two bulls pushing each other until one breaks. If the last meeting was all about Rowland, he may as well not exist for this one.

“Take your pick,” I growl, “she’s better than you at both.”

“Enough!” Rowland shouts, slamming his palms on the table. “Jesus Christ! I almost regret arranging for you to go with them.”

“What?” Lexi and I say at the same time, our heads swiveling back to Rowland. I can’t have heard him right. This must be some kind of bargaining tactic, some kind of threat.

“Oh,” Rowland says, adjusting his collar as if he’s just been in a fight, “that was the other thing I wanted to tell you; you’re going on the tour with them, Brando.”

“Ha!” Lexi laughs, throwing her head back and sticking her tongue between her teeth. She’s loving this.

“Why, Rowland? I have work here, and—”

“These are your two biggest artists, Brando, and they’re about to go on the biggest tour of their careers together! We need this to go smoothly. What are you going to do here in LA? Continue booking gigs and arranging studio time for your other groups? We could get an intern to do that. Your work is on the road.”

“Yeah, come on, Brando. We can ditch the third wheel and make it just like old times again,” Lexi says, winking. Her eyes are sparkling at how much she’s enjoying this. “Shit. She can join in if she wants.”

“This is maybe the most important event in Lexi’s, Haley’s, and Majestic Records’ history,” Rowland says, before I can snap back at Lexi. “I can’t leave it to chance.”

I roll my eyes away and fix them on the building across the street. Three weeks of Lexi twisting the knife every chance she can. Three weeks of trying to stop the only two women I’ve ever loved from killing each other.

Three weeks to get Haley back.

And then it hits me: this is the best chance I’ve got.

The only one.