Bam
I DIDN’T KNOW exactly how I was going to murder Chas, but my plan was to make it slow and painful. How was I was going to deal with Zeke? How much did he have to do with this? I couldn’t think about him now. I turned my focus back to Chas. I could only deal with one asshole at a time right now.
“Bam!” Hadley called, breathless as she jogged toward me.
“Not right now, Had.”
“Wait, I really need to talk to you.” She waved a small stack of paperwork at me.
“What?” I snapped.
“I think Chas is stealing from the band.”
I paused and took the paperwork from her, giving it a cursory glance.
“I’m Lucy,” Lucy said, slightly out of breath.
I frowned. I didn’t realize she’d followed me.
“Hi. I’m Hadley.”
“Everything okay?” Lucy asked, placing her hand on my arm. Her voice was deep with concern. It calmed me long enough to remember my drama free promise to Lucy.
“I’m good, I just have to discuss this contract matter with Chas, right away.” I wasn’t about to storm into another after party in order to confront our manager in a fit of rage. At least I wasn’t going to do that in front of Lucy. “Maybe we should grab that slice of pie another time. Thank you again for coming and for everything. I’m sure we’ll get this whole contract thing sorted out. We’ll talk soon.” I left the two women standing there, and continued my quick, but controlled walk down the hall.
* * *
Lucy
I smiled at Hadley. “You found something hinky, huh?”
She nodded. “I can’t talk about it, but yeah, I did.”
“Totally get it. I’m going to make a quick call, will you excuse me?” I grabbed my phone and called my dad back.
“Hey, Luce.”
“Hey Dad.” I filled him in on everything I knew and he swore.
“That poor bastard.”
“Which one?” I asked.
“For the moment, Bam. But Chas is gonna be ruined.”
“He deserves it.”
“Don’t disagree.”
I sighed. “So, what do you want me to do?”
“Get Bam to sign. We’ll need to get his legal name, but let’s give him a few days to deal with all this shit.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll take care of it.”
“Good job, honey.”
“Thanks Dad.”
I hung up and noticed Hadley was no longer in the hallway. I was alone and unsure exactly what to do. Since I didn’t feel any of this was my business, I figured heading home was the best course of action, so I walked outside and slid into the Town Car.
“Home, Miss Haddon?” Sully asked.
“Yes, please, Sully. Thanks.”
As Sully drove me home, I texted Bam and let him know we’d talk when things calmed down.
“Sully? Can we stop at PCC real quick please?”
“Sure thing.”
I still had a hankering for pie… and maybe some ice cream.
* * *
Bam
“You piece of shit!” The words flew out of my mouth as I approached our manager.
“Not this bullshit again,” Zeke angrily whined as he slammed his champagne glass down.
“Shut the fuck up, Zeke! I’ll deal with you next.”
“Deal with me? You’d better back the fuck off, man.”
“Both of you chill the hell out!” Jimmy ordered, immediately placing himself between us. This certainly wasn’t the first time the three of us had found ourselves in this situation.
However, regardless of all the fights we’d had over the years, I’d never felt betrayed by Zeke before. The hurt I felt was even worse than the anger. I understood Chas ripping us off, but how could Zeke get him to do this, and why?
“A lead singer bonus?” I seethed.
Zeke’s posture softened and his eyes dropped as he back up a few steps.
“Look, man, it’s not a big deal,” Zeke said dismissively.
“Not a big deal to you. Why would it be with five thousand extra dollars in your pocket after every show?”
Jimmy and Edward had now turned their full attention to Zeke. Chas remained totally silent, which was my first indication that things were worse than I thought.
“Five thousand dollars a night—what is he talking about Zeke?” Jimmy’s words were controlled but intense. Jimmy was the nicest guy in the world—until he wasn’t.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Bam. I don’t know anything about five thousand dollars. Chas said he was going to negotiate a lead singer bonus for me. He said it was something that all his bands did, and that I’d get an extra two grand for the whole tour. I figured if this is what the other singers were doing, why not me? You get an extra slice from songwriting, and Jimmy has his studio, so why not get mine?”
I turned to Chas who was now visibly uncomfortable. I had never seen Chas squirm before, not in the slightest, but his fat face was beet red and his forehead was covered in sweat.
“You’re gonna tell me exactly what the hell is going on right now,” I said flatly. I was glad I had sent Lucy home.
Chas began to stammer out his first words. “Look lads, there’s clearly been a mistake here. I’ll talk to Lucy—“
“You’ll stay the fuck away from Lucy Haddon or I’ll break every bone in the sausage casing you call a body.” I could see the band’s attention turn toward me. My protectiveness for Lucy was obviously on display.
Keep your cool.
“I’ll ask you one more time,” I warned. “What the hell is this lead singer bonus shit, and what have you told Zeke?”
“I’ll tell you what he’s been doing and what he was planning.” Hadley came through the door, the stack of papers held high above her head.
“That little tart doesn’t know anything!” Chas bellowed toward Hadley.
I jabbed a finger toward him. “Shut your mouth or I’ll let Winston lock you in a road case.”
“Just say the word, brother,” Winston rasped from about four feet behind me.
Hadley continued, “He’s been skimming a thousand dollars a night from the band in the form of hidden management fees as well. He probably knew he wouldn’t be able to hide this much longer, so devised a new scam for this tour. He knew about the RatHound tour possibility a month ago but never said anything about it because he needed time to work on Zeke.”
“I swear, Bam, he told me it was a one-time payment of two thousand bucks. I was pissed at you and shouldn’t have done it, but I had nothing to do with this other shit,” Zeke said.
I believed him, and although I was still angry, I could see he had been played by Chas.
“You stole from me, Chas. You stole from my brothers. You lied to us, tried to turn us against each other, and thought you’d get away with it?” I asked.
“You ungrateful little shits would be nowhere without me. You have no idea how the real world works. I take what I earn. What I deserve!” Chas bellowed, spit flying from his mouth.
“Chas, you’re fired.”
The words had barely left my mouth when Winston and two members of our road crew grabbed Chas in order to “assist him” out of the room.
“Hold on!” I called out as they reached the doorway. “Winston, call Mack and see if the Dogs of Fire have some Seattle members that could babysit that piece of shit for a little while. Ask him to dig up anything else he can on Chas while he’s at it. The man is part bloodhound and I want to know everything I can about Chas before calling the lawyers. I also want to get back every cent that piece of shit stole from us. Tell Mack I’ll owe him―again.”
“You heard the man,” Winston rasped to the roadies. “Now, let’s go see how well you fit in that road case.” Chas barely had time to begin his groveling before he was removed from the room.
The band was silent, but Jimmy and Zeke looked at me knowingly. I’d met Mack when I did the duet with Melody. She was starring in a near X-rated movie based off of Mack’s wife’s novel and Mack and I had stayed in touch. Involving the Dogs was not something I really wanted to do, but we had history with them, and they knew how to show restraint and discretion. As motorcycle clubs went, the Dogs of Fire tended to be above board and had always been supportive of us. A couple of the younger recruits had even acted as roadies and security for a couple of shows in Portland, all put together for us by Mack.
Hadley approached me quietly. “Bam?”
“Yeah, Had?”
“Um, so I kind of did something.”
I rubbed my forehead. “I don’t know that I can handle much more, Hadley.”
She smiled. “I siphoned some of the money Chas stole into a secret account.”
“Excuse me?”
“I wanted to get it away from him before I brought this to you, so I kind of did it without him knowing.” She grimaced. “I was able to get almost sixty-percent back so far… I know it’s not the best out—”
I dragged her against me and gave her a bear hug. “Are you shittin’ me?”
“I learned how to forge his signature,” she whispered. “I hope this doesn’t get me in trouble.”
I met her eyes. “Babe, if anyone comes lookin’ for you, you’ll have the full support of the band and our legal team. This won’t touch you. As a matter fact, you’re the only one I can trust right now. Just do me a favor and stick around and we’ll get all this sorted out.”
She grinned. “Okay, Bam. Thanks. I’m going to head back to the party, okay?”
“Absolutely.”
I grabbed a bottle of Maker’s Mark from the bar, and declared “band meeting” before exiting.
* * *
Lucy
I took one last bite of the chocolate cream pie I’d purchased and rinsed my plate. It was exactly what I wanted, but it didn’t quite “satisfy” since I’d really wanted to eat it while staring at Bam. I glanced sadly at the rest as I slid the box into the fridge.
Just some extra empty calories to add to all the rest of late.
Damn, I loved me some pie. Of course, if I were being self-aware, I might recognize I was eating my feelings, but tonight I chose to be oblivious.
As I poured a glass of wine and started my wind-down time, my phone buzzed. I let out a rather pathetic whimper. I’d left my phone on my kitchen island and I really didn’t want to get back up… it was wine time. But… I was technically awake and the call might be important, so I hauled my ass up and answered the phone without looking at the caller ID. “This is Lucy Haddon.”
“Hey, it’s Bam.”
“Hi.” My heart raced a little. His voice was even sexier over the phone. “Is everything okay?”
He sighed. “Yeah. Just wanted to hear your voice.”
I bit my lip. I should object. I should tell him to call someone who wasn’t in a business relationship with him. One of his friends, perhaps. I should keep this professional.
Instead, I asked, “That bad?”
“Little bit.”
“Sorry, Bam.”
“It’s too late to meet me for pie, huh?”
“Little bit,” I mimicked.
I heard the smile in his voice when he asked, “What about meeting me for breakfast tomorrow around ten?”
“Most people eat breakfast well before ten, Bam,” I pointed out.
“Brunch, then?”
I grinned. “I guess I could bring you new contracts before I head to the beach.”
“Yeah, about that. We’re gonna have to remove Chas from any contracts, as his services are no longer required by Roses for Anna.”
“Sounds like we have a few things to talk about.”
“Indeed we do. I’m in communication with our lawyer and the label and for now I’ll be taking point on all business matters.”
“I can have new contracts drawn up, but I’ll need your legal name so you can sign them.”
“Beau Nelson.”
Ohmigod, the man’s name was Beau? Sexy name for a sexy southerner. Crap on a stick!
“But nobody ever calls me that,” he added. I was relieved to be rid of Chas, but so nervous to know that I’d be dealing with Bam even more directly and frequently.
“Okay, I’ll get those sorted,” I said as professionally as I could. “Which means, the only question now is where to meet for brunch tomorrow.”
“I’ll take you wherever you’d like to go, baby,” Bam replied.
“You can’t call me ‘baby,’ Bam.”
“No?”
“No,” I breathed out. Damn it! I needed to be firm, but I my voice was all quivery and crap.
“How come?”
“Because we have a professional relationship.”
“So, I can’t call you ‘baby’ because we have a professional relationship?”
“Exactly.”
“You’re fired, then.”
I let out an inelegant snort. “You can’t fire me. I don’t work for you.”
“Then we don’t, technically, have a professional relationship.”
“Bam.” I dropped my head back with a groan.
“Meet me for brunch, I’ll sign the contracts, then our professional relationship will be done and we can have some real fun.”
“What kind of a girl do you think I am?” I challenged. “I don’t fraternize with the opening act.”
“Never?”
“Never,” I confirmed.
“So fraternizing is out… what’s your position on canoodling?”
“Frowned upon.”
“Tom-foolery?” he challenged.
I bit back a laugh. “That’s right out.”
“Well, shit, you’re not givin’ me much to go on here… baby.” He sighed again… dramatically. “I guess you’ll simply have to meet me for brunch and we’ll stick to some light shenanigans.”
Well, crap on a stick. The man was funny. I was a sucker for funny. Especially drop-dead gorgeous drummers who offered me pie.
“Light shenanigans I can handle,” I said. “Where do you want me to meet you?”
“Billy’s again? Say, eleven?”
“I can do that.”
“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow. Dream of me.”
“Ohmigod, Bam, you’re ridiculous.”
He chuckled. “Yeah?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“But I just put that in your head which means you’ll be frustrated in the morning.”
I gasped. “I will not.”
“Yeah, Lucy, you will,” he countered. “And I’ll be happy to take care of that for you.”
“This conversation falls under tom foolery, Bam.”
“Okay.” He laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight.” I hung up, finished my wine, and headed to bed.
And I dreamed of Bam. Shit.