Morning arrives before either Zachary or I am ready to welcome it, yet we had no choice but to get out of bed. After the second round of glorious lovemaking on the beach, we had to find a gold cart to “borrow” to get back to the house. We crawled into bed, covered in sand and ocean salt, and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep…
That is until the alarm went off at 7 am, forcing us to crawl out of our pleasant slumber. The day will start early, and record executives will be clamoring to sign Bethany, so Zachary doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. That means getting back to the main hotel before anyone else has a chance to approach and try to talk her into anything without his guidance. We’re in the shower, getting ready for the day, and I can see the stress in Zach’s forehead.
“What’s on your mind?” I ask as I hand him the shampoo. He glances down at my soap body and smiles.
“Well, now that you mention it…”
I smack him with a loofah. “Be serious for a second.”
“I just want to make sure we get Bethany hooked up with the best possible label. Someone that can find her a better producer. I feel like shit for sending her to that Sam asshole, and I want to make sure nothing like that happens again.”
I give him a quick kiss and brush some soap off his nose. “You are a sweet man, Zachary Graham. And I love how much you care about Bethany’s well-being. But you never could know anything like that would happen. And you can’t protect her, or me, or anyone else from the world outside. All you can do is be there for people when the worst happens. Because it does happen sometimes.”
Zachary sweeps me up in his arms and gives me a long, slow kiss. “You’re really amazing, Ava. Did you know that?”
I wink. “I know.”
We may be in a rush, but that doesn’t stop Zachary from pressing me up against the shower wall and taking me right there. If things keep up like this, I’m not sure we’ll ever get anything accomplished.
An hour later, we’re rushing back to the hotel in the golf cart, our hair wet and both of us starving.
“Breakfast should be getting started now. It will be the perfect place to gauge interest, and hopefully, Bethany slept in so no one will be vying for her attention,” Zachary says as we pull up to the hotel. When we get inside, the back patio that overlooks the ocean has been converted into a dining room, with a huge breakfast buffet set out. Delicious pastries, fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, and eggs fill every corner of the buffet, and the record executives are already attacking the buffet like they haven’t eaten in years.
Zachary gave me a grin and gestured for me to go get food. “Before it disappears. I want to start talking to a few specific people. I’ll grab something at the end.”
I nod and make my way to the buffet, ending up behind a tiny woman with platinum pixie hair, huge earrings, and wearing a bright pink sun dress. Her sunglasses are almost as big as her whole face, and I instinctively want to be her friend. She turns around and looks me up and down.
“You look like you had the kind of night I did.”
I blush and smile. “I mean, I don’t know what kind of night you had, but mine was pretty great. I’m Ava Webber. And you are?”
“Kate Peters. Executive VP of Development for Shoreline Records. You’re Bethany’s friend, right?”
I fill my plate with everything I can manage to get on it while nodding at her. “Well, you could say that. I’m… I mean I’m here with… I guess I… Well, I work for Harper, Graham, and Graham. So, what did you think of Bethany?” Smooth. Really smooth, Ava. But Kate just smiles at me.
“She’s fantastic. Really fantastic. In fact, I’ve spoken with the head of Shoreline, and he’s willing to pay literally whatever you guys want to get her on our label.”
I almost drop the ladle of eggs I have in my hand. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. We have an entire division focused on developing the careers of up-and-coming female singer/songwriters, and we’ve been on the hunt for really unique new talents. We’d love for Bethany to be the artist that we launch the offshoot with. Just something to consider.”
I set my plate down and turn to Kate. “Out of curiosity. When you say you’ll pay anything literally? What exactly are you talking about?”
Kate reaches into her pocket and pulls out a slip of paper, then hands it to me. When I open it and look, I think all of the blood in my body stops flowing. Kate gives me a sly wink.
“Like I said. Just something to consider.”
Kate walks off and leaves me, and I stand there staring at the piece of paper with shaking hands. I scan the crowd for Zachary and spot him talking to a group of men on the corner of the patio, laughing and smiling, but looking annoying. I can see in his eyes that he’s not pleased, and he’s just pretending to save face with the executives. I abandon my food on the buffet and, casually, rush over to him, almost tripping over my own feet.
When I get to his side, the men all turn and look at me like I have three heads, probably annoyed that I interrupted. I don’t care. I take hold of Zachary’s arm, and he turns, startled.
“Ava! What’s up?”
I put on a syrupy sweet grin. “I am so sorry for interrupting your conversation, but Zachary. Something has come up that needs your immediate attention. Can I borrow you for a minute?”
Zachary looks confused, but he nods. “Yes, of course. Gentlemen, pardon me for a moment.”
Zachary follows me off of the patio and back into a corner of the hotel where no one can hear us. I’m practically jumping up and down once I’m sure we’re alone.
“Good lord, Ava. What’s going on?”
“Zach, have you ever heard of Shoreline Records?”
He laughs. “Yeah, of course. They’re one of the most respected boutique labels in Los Angeles. Why?”
“Well, Kate Peters just approached me. They said they’d do literally anything to have Bethany front a new female-focused branch of their label. And when I say anything, I mean anything.”
I had Zachary the piece of paper that Kate gave me, and he looks at it, confused. “What is this? Her phone number?”
I shake my head until he catches on. Then his eyes go wide. “No shit.”
“YES, shit.”
He grabs my hand and drags me out of the hotel lobby, down the path that leads to Bethany’s bungalow. After tripping twice, I have to yell at him to stop so I can take off my heels. When we finally get to Bethany’s door, Zachary slams on it, excited. After a few more knocks, the door finally opens, and Bethany is there, looking disheveled, and still half-asleep, with a sleep mask hanging off of her neck.
“What the hellllllllll?” she mumbles through a yawn. “You said I could sleep as late as I wanted!”
“You can sleep later,” Zachary almost shouts excitedly. “Bethany, have you ever heard of Shoreline Records?” he asks, mimicking my question.
Bethany squints, blocking the sun from her face and stifling another yawn. “Of course, I have. They represent Ruby Davis. She’s my idol. Why?”
Zachary looks at me, beaming, then back at Bethany. “Do you want to be on their label?”
“What?” Bethany asks, rubbing her eyes and clearly still not getting it. “Are you messing with me?”
We both shake our heads at the same time, and she shrieks at the top of her lungs. The executives at the buffet probably can hear her.
“Yes! Of course, yes! Oh, my god! I’d work for them for free!”
Zachary grins and hands Bethany the same piece of paper I gave him. Bethany looks at it, not sure what she is seeing.
“What is this? Someone’s social-security number?”
We both shake our heads again until she catches on again. The second shriek lets loose?
It sends the birds scattering from the trees.