Chapter Fifteen
Xander (Thursday)
I had a bad feeling the second I walked into the studio. I just knew something was going to explode, and I was all on edge about it.
Michael hadn’t come into the coffee shop to have a drink with me, and the atmosphere was thick and tense. I had a feeling that I knew what was coming, and much as I knew that I’d brought it on myself, I was still anxious.
“What the fuck is this?” His temper boomed through the studio, setting me on edge. “How could you do this without me?”
I knew he’d be mad if he found out about me sending over the drafted contract without consulting him, never mind the fact that I’d had dinner with Lila alone, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad.
“What are you yelling about?” I did my best to stall, but as he flew around the corner, his fiery temper hit me hard. His expression was dark, his eyes were blazing... I was in for it.
“You signed them? You signed Lila and Kyle without consulting me.”
I held out my hands in a surrendering gesture, and thankfully, it seemed to work. He stopped in his tracks and threw his hands on his hips while he waited for me. “I didn’t sign them. I just got a contract sent over to them. I thought that was what we discussed.”
“We did, but I didn’t expect you to go ahead with the deal without me. I know this is your business, but you’ve never acted that way before. We’ve always done everything together.”
Admittedly, that made me feel awful. He was right. I’d been so blinded by the way that Lila made me feel, I’d allowed myself to forget all about Michael. He’d been loyal ever since he started working for me; we’d become best friends to the point where we were almost like brothers. I could see why he saw this as a betrayal.
“I’m so sorry,” I told him sincerely. “It was never meant to hurt you. I guess I just didn’t think. They want to go over the finer points of the contract, so you can get to know it before that, anyway. Nothing has been formally done without you.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, still protecting himself from me, but his face softened a little. “I just hate finding out things from other people; it makes me feel like you don’t trust me,” he told me with a brutal honesty. “I want this, and I know that we have to act quickly, but still I’d much prefer to be in the know.”
I could see how I’d made him feel unimportant, which would never, ever be my intention. “Well, they’re coming in today to record, so we can talk through things then.”
“Okay.” Michael nodded slowly, finally starting to come around. “Well, I’ll go and familiarize myself with the contract now so if it comes up, I don’t look like a total idiot.”
He was still angry at me, but it wouldn’t last. That was the great thing about my friendship with him. We would still always love each other no matter what. “Okay, I’ll set things up. You just come around when things are ready.”
As he walked off into his office, I made my way excitedly to the studio to get ready for Lila. I felt so incredibly happy to see her face again, far more than I should’ve, but I couldn’t stop my feelings. We’d already decided without needing to communicate that nothing could happen anyway, so I was pretty sure that everything would be just fine.
But then she walked in, this time dressed much more casually than before, and my heart literally skipped a beat. It was all well and good telling myself that I could remain professional around her when she wasn’t here, but whenever we were around each other, that all went flying out of the window. She was just too damn beautiful for words.
I smiled at them through gritted teeth. “Are you guys ready? Let’s get started, shall we?”
***
Things were good, and the recordings were going well... Admittedly, maybe not as great as the first time they came in, but good enough. It wasn’t Kyle; he was doing well. It was Lila. She didn’t seem to be fully in the zone today. I didn’t know if I was being distracting or if she wasn’t well, but her voice just wasn’t quite at its best.
We redid a few takes, trying to recapture the magic, but it just wasn’t happening.
“I’m sorry.” She finally sighed sadly and slumped her shoulders forward. “I haven’t been feeling too great the last few days, and I think the pressure of having everyone around me is making my voice scratchier than it needs to be.”
“You can stay, if you want?” I asked her over the mic. “You don’t need to record with Kyle – that isn’t the way that we normally do things anyway. You can stay behind and just record the lyrics. I’ll just set up the equipment and leave, too, if you like?”
She glanced happily at me, grateful to have a solution to this issue, before turning to confirm things with Kyle. He seemed as pleased by the suggestion as she was. “Why don’t you go and have a rest, get a drink?” he asked her. “I’ll finish up my bit, then you can get in here afterward.”
As she walked out the room, Michael finally came back to sit by my side. We waited for a while in silence, just listening to the magic of Kyle playing before he finally started talking. “The contract looks great.” He leaned into me with a smile, and I knew that this was his way of an apology. “I shouldn’t have freaked out so much about it. These guys are awesome, and I’m glad to have them.”
I threw my arm around him and grinned. “It’s gonna be great, you just wait and see.”
“So, are you okay finishing up here?” Michael glanced at his watch. “It’s just that I have plans with Steph...”
“That’s still going on?” I exclaimed in shock. “Really? She must be something special, huh?”
“I guess I’m just ready to settle down.” He shrugged as if that statement wasn’t huge, as if it wasn’t totally stunning coming from him. “I’ve had my fun, now I want something more. Maybe Steph is the one, maybe not, but I’m more than willing to give her a shot.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. You go.”
As he walked off, I felt all unsettled inside. Why was Michael, my playboy friend, suddenly ready to settle down? It didn’t make any sense; the world was topsy turvy. It made me reconsider everything in my life, but how was I supposed to even think about finding someone when the only person on my mind was Lila? She was the only one I could even think about – and she was the one person I needed to keep away from.
Kyle finished up and left without any fuss, and as Lila came back into the booth, those feelings became even stronger. Thinking about my best friend settling down and finally finding “the one” had me feeling needy and desperate. I wanted someone. I liked the idea of having someone to come home to at the end of the day, someone to share everything with, someone to open up to. And I wanted it to be Lila. She was the only person I could picture in that role.
Damn it, why do I have to like the one person I can’t have?
I watched in amazement as Lila burst into song. I could still hear the illness there, the scratching in her throat, but she was powering through it all and doing a much better job without the pressure of a big audience.
This girl had what it took; that was becoming increasingly clear to me with each passing day. She was suffering, in pain, but still making it work.
At least, she was until she burst into a horrible round of coughing.
“Why don’t we leave it there for the day?” I asked through the mic. “Give it a rest until you’re feeling a little better?”
“Okay.” She looked despondent, but agreeable to my suggestion. As she slid the headphones off over her head, I felt like she was on the verge of tears. I wanted to do something to make her feel a little better, so I moved through the doors to join her in the studio room.
“You know, your brother isn’t the only piano player,” I told her with a grin. “I can play, too.” I wasn’t sure why the hell I was saying that; it wasn’t like I was anywhere near as good as Kyle. I just wanted to distract her from whatever was troubling her. “Want to see?”
“Sure.” She shrugged, acting casual. “Let’s see what you got.”
As I sat down in front of the piano, flexing my fingers, I didn’t care how much of a fool I was potentially about to make of myself. Lila’s eyes had dried up, and she was smiling again. It was all going to be worth it. I could play, even if I wasn’t as skilled as Kyle, so hopefully the noise I made wouldn’t be too painful.
I touched the keys and brought the piano to life. As my confidence grew, I turned to glance at Lila, to see how she was reacting to me, and our eyes fixed on each other. I instantly sensed danger. We were bordering on dangerous territory once more, but I couldn’t stop. This wasn’t just sexual; this was deeper than that. I felt a connection so powerful with her that I could picture a real future there.
Was I being stupid ignoring that? Was it crazy to simply bypass someone who could be the love of my life just because she was recording a few songs for me?
Oh God, this is so difficult.
I continued to play, and she moved nearer to me, swaying her hips as if she had no control over her body anymore. I was mesmerized by her, completely turned on by what she was doing, almost to the point where I couldn’t control myself anymore.
What the hell was I supposed to do? I wanted her. I already knew that she wanted me; what were we supposed to do about that?
She slid onto the keys, bumping her butt along them as she went, distracting me completely. My hands fell away. There was no way I could concentrate anymore; she was driving me insane. That body of hers was incredible, and the closer she brought it to me, the tenser I became. Lila had no idea what she was doing to me!
“What are you...” I started to ask, but I didn’t get the chance to finish that sentence.
She took my face in her hands and kissed me hard. I wasn’t expecting it, so the sensation of our lips crashing together was utterly intense. I had bolts of powerful electricity racing through my system, and my heart was pounding so loudly I feared it might burst out from my chest. Intense chemistry flowed between our lips, bonding us even tighter. I snaked my hands around her waist, dragging her in closer to me, my insides flipping about wildly. I was almost dancing with the excitement.
It had happened. We’d finally overstepped that boundary. It wasn’t right, we both knew that, but we were addicted to one another, pulled in by a powerful magnetic force. There was no resisting it, however hard we tried.