CHAPTER 54

ALICIA

"Is this it?" I turned on the soft leather seat of Jared's car to face him, momentarily losing sight of the modern-looking mansion we'd just pulled up at. "This place is gigantic."

Jared nodded, one corner of his mouth lifted in amusement. "We've done pretty well for him."

"I'll say," I breathed, trying to think back at how long the white wall that eventually led to Gerry's gates had been. We had to have been driving alongside it for at least a minute.

The gate itself was a metal thing worthy of either a prison or a palace. I couldn't quite decide which. Beyond the wall and barely visible through the narrow slats of the gates was a house that looked like it could house a small country and should have been on the cover of an architectural magazine.

"Guess we can't take all the credit, though." Jared pushed his sunglasses up into his hair and gave me a quick wink before rolling down his window to ring the doorbell.

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged, waiting for the shrill bell to finish its tune. "I mean it's hardly like we’re the first band the guy has managed. He's a superstar. I bet he's got houses like this stashed all over the place."

"Boy, did I ever get into the wrong side of this business." I'd known Gerry was in this game for the money. I just hadn't realized how much of it he made. But then I remembered how much I loved my job and how much Gerry's seemed to annoy him. "Never mind, I wouldn't want his job anyway."

"That's why we're here." He smirked. "Can't play without the whole team on the pitch."

It was starting to look like they were going to have to. The gigantic gate didn't budge, and the intercom remained silent. We’d tried calling Gerry on the way over, but we didn't get an answer. Whatever he was doing, it didn't look like he wanted to see or speak to us about it.

"Why is Gerry so pivotal to the band?"

Jared was so impassioned about not going back to recording without him that I quickly realized it was a good time to choose my battles. It would have taken me longer to convince him to record without Gerry than it would to make this trip to his house.

Plus, Jared was hard to resist when he felt so strongly about something. Guess it was just hard to understand why he felt so strongly about their manager having to be present before they started recording again. I never imagined there was much love lost between Gerry and the boys. In fact, I always kind of got the impression that none of them really got along very well.

Dom and Caleb tolerated Gerry, presumably because they knew he was the manager and was the best at what he did, but Jared, Nick, and Matt could be openly hostile toward the guy. And frankly, I'd often sensed that same animosity on Gerry's part.

Clearly, however, I'd misread the situation. Jared's jaw was set as he rang the bell again, obviously not ready to simply give up and drive away.

"He's the one who got us out of the garage," he sighed, jabbing his finger onto the button for the doorbell and keeping it there. With his free hand, he ran his fingers through his dark hair, giving it a really sexy, mussy look.

I doubted that was what he'd been trying to do, though. It looked more like the mighty Jared Larsen was actually stressed about something for once. Any fool would be able to see this meant a lot to him.

"I don't want to leave the people responsible for making the band what we are," he added and then cheered when the gate slowly started sliding open.

I'd never seen him like this, but I would be lying if I said I didn't like it. The way he'd been these last couple of days, no sign of that damned persona, and all real, full of fire and passion, this was the guy I couldn't resist. The one I always knew was inside him but only ever got glimpses of.

We parked outside of Gerry's house, and he was waiting for us at the door, looking like he hadn't showered since the band broke up. Maybe shortly thereafter, since he hadn't looked this way the last time I saw him.

For the first time in my life and from the stunned look on Jared's face, for the first time in his, we were seeing Gerry without a suit. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt that were both wrinkled like he'd just plucked them up off the floor and instead of smelling like his expensive cologne, he smelled like a liquor store.

His eyes were slightly glassy as he blinked at us and stepped aside. "Wasn't expecting you two, of all people. Come on in."

Stumbling slightly as he led us through his cavernous entrance hall and to a bar with a view that seemed to stretch forever, he flashed us a lopsided grin and leaned against the counter. "Whiskey?"

"No, thank you." I declined immediately. Never mind the fact that it was barely noon, Gerry was clearly in need of help, and I didn't think drinking with him was the answer.

Jared caught my eye and then shook his head as well. "I'm staying away from the heavy stuff for now."

Gerry blinked as if he couldn't quite understand the words coming out of Jared's mouth, and then he smiled. "Good for you, son. Never thought I'd see the day. Proud of you."

A flush crept from Jared's neck to his cheeks. Oh my god. Was he blushing?

On occasion, I'd gotten the feeling the guys saw Gerry as their father, or father-figure at least, but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that praise from him would make Jared freaking Larsen blush.

I refrained from reacting, not wanting to ruin the moment between the two. If anything, I wished I could bottle it and relive it whenever Jared was being the pretentious, celebrity ass I knew so well he could be when he wanted.

Jared cleared his throat and grabbed a bottle of water Gerry offered him. "The band is back together. When will you be able to come back to work?"

"Work?" Gerry asked, sounding as if he'd never heard the word before as he waved it away. "I'm not going back. Retired. I don't have raising any more kids in me."

Was that what it was? Was that why he would get so very angry and disappointed in them? Was this the reason he seemed so deeply aggravated and personally offended when they got up to their antics? It had to be. Just as they viewed him as a father, it seemed the mighty Gerry Thomson saw the band members as his spoiled children.

Now there was a head trip for me. I hadn't been expecting that.

"You can't retire now, Gerry, please. We need you," Jared told him. Anyone else might have sounded like they were begging, but not Jared. He didn't beg. It was more like he was stating the facts.

Gerry dismissed what Jared was saying with another wave of his hand, reaching for the bottle of whiskey beside him and taking a gulp straight from the bottle. "You don't need me. You never have. Trust me, you guys will be fine without me."

"No, we won't. We're not moving forward without you, Gerry." Jared's tone was firm even. He meant business, and he was completely serious. As far as he was concerned, no Gerry meant no Destitute.

Shit. And here I thought the difficult part was going to be getting Jared back. Who could have guessed that was only the beginning?

"You can't be serious," Gerry scoffed. "I knew you'd come back. You boys won't ever abandon each other."

"And we won't abandon you either." Jared's voice dripped with sincerity. He wasn't joking.

"What are you saying?" Gerry squinted, his words starting to slur as he took another sip of whiskey.

Jared grabbed the bottle from him and walked with purpose over to the sink. He didn't say another word as he emptied the bottle down the drain. Neither did Gerry. It didn't escape my notice that Gerry didn't try to stop him either. The bottle must've cost a fortune, but whatever was happening between the two was more valuable than that.

"I'm saying that it's all of us or none of us," he told Gerry firmly. "And we'll need you to be ready to work tomorrow."

Holy crap. Jared taking control was seriously hot. And more than that, seeing him take control of situations and of his future, of what he wanted, and what he believed in, it validated everything I'd ever thought about him. He really was quite the man.

"Okay," Gerry agreed eventually, after a painfully long silence during which the men stared each other down like they were about to start a duel. "I'll be at the studio tomorrow, and I'll be your manager again, but I'm taking the rest of the day off."

Jared nodded and turned to leave, motioning me to his side. "You do that. We'll see you tomorrow."

If I thought I was in trouble over falling for Jared before, I was in serious trouble now. In the past, I could never know for sure whether he really was the man I thought he was and wanted him to be or if I was only making it up in my head because that's what I wanted to believe. But now I knew for sure, he was everything I'd ever thought he was and so much more.

I wasn't falling for him anymore. On that day, in that moment, I fell for Jared Larsen. Hard.