My Rock (The Rock Star Romance Series - Book #1) (8 page)

I
was blown away by his praise. I could feel the color rising in my cheeks as I
said, “Thank you, all of that means a lot coming from you.”

“You’re just so young, and it’s rare to find someone
your age
who
is so focused these days.”

My mind flashed back to the torrid events of Sunday
night and my mouth went dry as I tried to convince myself that no one would
ever need to know about that. I’d definitely gotten Tristan out of my system.

“I’m really excited to be working on this show. It’s
an amazing opportunity and I’m gaining a lot of experience. I’m really grateful
to you for allowing me to do this.”

He smiled and said, “Again, you’re doing a great
job. What I wanted to discuss with you is this; you know that after the finals
are over and the winner is crowned that they commit to a year of touring before
their album is released and then get their money and become a free agent,
right?”

“Yes, of course.” I said.

“Well, I’m not sure how you would feel about
traveling, but I think you’d make a great P.A. for the show on the road.”

I was stunned into absolute silence. I couldn’t have
formed a word at that moment if my life depended on it. Jake saw the look on my
face and chuckled. It brought me out of my trance and I finally said, “Wow, I’m
sorry, I just don’t know what to say. That’s…I mean it’s an incredible offer. I
still have a semester left to finish my degree. I think it’s only fair to tell
you that…”

Still smiling he said, “Yes, I’m aware of that,
Elly. I was thinking about it, actually, and as much as I’d like you to accept
my offer, I wouldn’t want to impede your education. I do know that USC offers
some of the classes online. I don’t know what you have left to do, but that may
be an option if you’d be interested in going on the road with us.”

“I would, yes. Wow…I’m sorry. I’m just so blown away
by the offer.”

He laughed and said, “Get used to it. Something
about you makes me think that you’re going to go far in this town. That means a
lot of good offers are yet to
be had
. Just keep that
level head on your shoulders and don’t let this business ruin you, okay?”

“Absolutely,” I said. I could feel myself grinning
so wide that my cheeks actually hurt.

Jake left to catch his flight and he didn’t ask me
for a single thing in return for his kindness. In spite of all I had already
been through at my age, I still liked to believe that people are basically good
at heart.

*
* *

The next eight weeks flew by. I finished my summer
class and I got an A in spite of losing my focus and not studying much there
for a while. I enrolled in the online course for the fall, just in case, and I
didn’t see or hear from Tristan, which was a blessing. I was so over him, and
my only regret about work starting back up would be that I’d have to lay eyes
on him again. I wasn’t afraid I’d give in again; he had humiliated me enough
that I could firmly say that I didn’t want anything to do with him.

I got a big paycheck from the first rounds, and I
paid off some bills and bought some new, professional clothes; things were
looking up.

We had a meeting scheduled for the day after the
crew got back and the day before we re-started production in L.A.
I
got there early and hung out with Molly and Keith and got
caught up on what had happened on the road.

“So Lena’s gone,” Molly told me.

“Lena, the stage manager, Lena?”
I asked.

“Yep, the one who was married to Bob, the run crew
manager.
”

“She was married too? Jeez, you guys were only on
the road for eight weeks. What happened?”

“She got fired for screwing one of the contestants,”
Keith said.

“Oh my god, are you serious?” My chest suddenly felt
tight and I was afraid I was going to have to explain why I suddenly had an
anxiety attack.

“Well, that was the rumor anyways. No one actually
saw them together, so who knows what the truth really is,” Molly said,
shrugging.

“If they didn’t have a pretty good idea it was true,
they couldn’t have fired her over it though, right?” I asked.

“Bob caught them making out in his RV in the set
parking lot in Cincinnati. He wasn’t going to say anything at first, I guess,
but then she started telling him that she wanted a divorce and she was in love
with this other guy. She’s thirty-two and the guy is nineteen. The whole thing
is crazy. Anyways, Clint and Jake met privately with the kid and he apparently
confessed to the whole thing.”

“Wow,” I said, running through how many awful ways
they could find out I’d slept with Tristan in my head.

“Aw, don’t look so depressed,” Molly told me. “I’m
sure there will be plenty of scandal right here in L.A. Other than that, you
didn’t miss a thing. The travel was grueling and we didn’t get to see any
sights other than the inside of a warehouse or hotel conference room and Diva
was in a bitchy mood the whole time, reaming out the entire crew.”

I forced a smile and said, “Glad I missed it then,
but it’s good to be back to work.”

Clint and his assistant filed in and he called the
meeting to order. Without mentioning names or job titles, like Molly and Keith
had, he went over what they’d just told me. I saw poor Bob slump in his chair
as if he was trying to make himself invisible. Clint emphasized the fact that
one contestant had forfeited his chance at all the cash and fame and the
employee had basically forfeited her career. Hollywood was a harsh place. If
you were an actress or actor or even a model, one of the
pretty people
, you could get away with a lot; those of us behind
the scenes, however, not so much. Once you
were blackballed
,
you would play hell getting another production job in L.A.

Clint wrapped up the meeting and then we were in a
scramble to get things ready for the final rounds. The first one that day was at
ten, or as soon as the judges decided to shuffle in. The bad thing about being
back in L.A. was that all three of them lived there; getting them out of a
hotel room was much less trouble than prying them away from their mansions.

It was after eleven before Diva showed up. The other
two judges were fit to
be tied
and talking all kinds
of smack about her before she got there. As soon as she arrived however,
everyone was back to kissing her ass. I guess some women were just born with
that quality.

The good news was that things ran different for the
final rounds. I’d be in the conference room with Molly, lining up the
contestants from one through twenty-four. I told Molly I’d work the front of
the line, since I checked and saw that Tristan had drawn number twenty-three.
She was working the area where they
were seated
,
sending them to me up front two at a time. I saw Tristan in the back and the
way he was looking at me, like a wolf at a lamb, I was happy Molly was there.
Even Tristan wouldn’t be stupid enough to do or say something that could put us
both in jeopardy…I hoped.

The contestant’s got to sing a full three-four
minute song that day, and the whole show
was being filmed
and would be fed out a few hours from now as being
live
. Later on, when we got down to twelve, it would actually be
live. In the meantime, we would take advantage of the three-hour cushion
between the East Coast and the West. Because of all of that, things were moving
excruciatingly slow.

The contestants were served lunch and there was a
table in the back laden with snacks and drinks for them to take at their
leisure. It was for us, too, and I was dying for something to drink, but
Tristan was next to the table. When he wasn’t madly texting on his phone, he
was strumming his guitar and staring at me. I wondered what he was thinking; I
couldn’t help myself. He didn’t smile or wave, he wasn’t glaring or looking
angry—he was just looking at me. I didn’t want to walk over there and make him
think I was in any way interested in talking to him.

He looked really good that day though. I guess
either his agent helped him decide what to wear, or his brain wasn’t quite as
muddled as I had thought. He had on a pair of nice designer jeans that were
just mildly faded to give them a gently worn look. He wore a light blue
t-shirt, and over the top of that, he wore a light-blue and tan plaid button-up
that
was left
open down the front. I was surprised to
see that he’d also
worn
that silver cross he used to
wear all of those years ago. He’d gotten a haircut, and it was actually styled,
and he was clean shaven. His dark eyes still didn’t have a real clear look to
them, but he at least looked like a well-groomed stoner. I was personally wishing
he’d shown up looking like shit. It would have gone far in cementing my
decision to stay far away from him.

The room was clearing out by late afternoon and I
took the opportunity when Tristan got up to use the bathroom to run over and
grab a water and granola bar. There were only three contestants left besides
him, two that would go before, and one after. The rest of the contestants had been
set free for the rest of the day and would be back first thing in the morning
for an elimination round.

I realized after I sent number twenty-two out that I
was holding my breath. I really hoped that he just stood up there like the rest
of them had, waiting his turn like a normal human. I should have known that
Tristan acting like a normal human was a completely abstract concept. What he
did when I called out his number was stroll up next to me like he was god’s
gift to the world. I kept my eyes pointed out towards the stage, pretending
that I was too busy to notice him. A normal person may have taken the hint, but
not Tristan.

Tristan threw his arm around my shoulders and when I
looked at him in shock he said, “Hey sexy,” with a grin.
 

I heard Molly clear her throat before I even had
time to react. I threw his arm off of me and glared at him. The son of a bitch
was still smiling. I’d almost missed that number twenty-two was finished and
walking off the stage until Tristan asked, in a low, raspy voice, “How about a
good luck kiss?”

I had my mouth opened to tell him that he’d lost his
fucking mind when he stepped in, put his hand on my hip and kissed me full on
the mouth. Then he casually turned and strolled out onto the stage, guitar in
hand. I stood there for a few seconds, trying to process what the hell had just
happened. I could feel Molly’s eyes boring into me from behind. I turned around
slowly and with the best “What the Fuck?” look I could muster I shrugged my
shoulders.

I didn’t really know Molly well enough yet to
discern what the look on her face meant, but my anxiety riddled brain
interpreted it as shock and disgust. I wanted to fade to black.

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Consumed (The MMA Romance Series - Book #1
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MMA Romance Series – Book #5)

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