Plat, page 3
“I don’t have your issues,” he said quietly. “And you need someone to take care of you.”
I opted not to argue with him since it never ended well, but there was no way in hell I was going to marry a man older than my father. For now, I could pretend to be considering it. This project with Nobody’s Fool solved several problems for me, so I really wanted to do it.
First, I hadn’t put out an album of my own in almost three years, and both my father and the record company were getting antsy. We’d toured for more than two years before I finally put my foot down and refused to do another day. That had been more than six months ago, though.
Second, the happier I made Darren, the more he got my father to back off, which was one of the only things I wanted in life. The idea of getting away from my father for even a few days, without supervision, was heaven on earth for me. It rarely happened, but I desperately needed a little freedom. It was like I was about to burst from pent-up frustration and the need to live a little.
Which probably had a lot to do with what I’d done tonight. Maybe this was the mania people talked about in those who were bipolar? Because I was high as a kite right now, and it had nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. I’d never had a manic episode since I’d been diagnosed, so it was bound to happen, but this felt so good I had no regrets.
Hell, I hadn’t done anything like what I’d done with Tyler in years, but it was as if someone else was controlling me when it came to him. I hadn’t been able to stop myself from touching him, kissing him, being with him. Having him inside of me had been like nothing else. I hadn’t had sex in far too long, for a multitude of reasons, but tonight I’d given in because I simply had to. That was the only way to explain it. The magnetism between us had been more than I could resist.
All I wanted was to go to Vegas and hang out with Nobody’s Fool. With Lexi. And Tyler. Just thinking about those incredible blue eyes of his made me want to sigh with longing. I harbored no illusions that anything might come of it, but to be around him for a few days, looking at him, listening to him talk, potentially touching him again. That would be worth the sacrifice. I’d had so little pleasure in my life the last seven years, I deserved something like this once in a while.
Now I just had to find a way to make it happen.
I was sitting on a chaise on my balcony a few mornings later, enjoying a cup of coffee, when Lexi’s name flashed on the screen of my phone. She knew I was an early riser, and I answered her call with a grin. “Hey!”
“So, it looks like it’s a done deal—you’re coming to Vegas to do a song on our demo tape.”
“I heard.”
“Why don’t you sound excited?”
“I’m excited. I just…” I bit my lip. It was hard to admit how much control my father had over me. And Darren. Sometimes it felt like I was everyone’s puppet, and I was so damn tired of it. “I had to make a deal with the devil to make this happen.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just that Darren expects me to talk you guys into changing your sound.”
“You know that’s never going to happen, right?”
“Of course. But the only way I’d be allowed to do it is if I agreed, so I had no choice.”
“I’m sorry, Ariel. You don’t have to if this is going to complicate your life. It’s a great compromise for us, but I don’t want you to be manipulated.”
“Well, I’m going to be manipulated whether I do this or not because my father will always find ways to manipulate me. At least in this case, I get to hang out with you.”
“Well, I’ll be waiting at Casey’s when you get here, and we’re having girls’ night. Wine and dinner and girl talk. You in?”
“God, yes. I don’t think I’ve ever…done that.”
Lexi paused. “You’ve never had a girls’ night? Hanging out with friends and talking about guys and giggling and stuff?”
“Mmmm…not since I was a teenager.”
“Then it’s about time.”
“Zaan doesn’t mind that you’ll be out?”
“He’s got plans with his friends for some Xbox marathon or something. Believe me, we spend lots of time together, but we also try to do our own thing. We’re married, not Siamese twins.”
“He sounds like a great guy. I’m really looking forward to meeting him and getting to know him.”
“He’s amazing,” Lexi said. “And, you know, if you’re looking for a really amazing guy of your own, I believe Tyler is interested.”
“Tyler…” I almost couldn’t breathe. “He, um, what did he say?”
“Well, he asked lots of questions about whether or not you’re single, which is usually what that means.”
“Oh my god.”
“So, are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Interested, silly!”
I sighed. “Lexi, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“You and Tyler hooked up the other night.”
“He told you?!” I demanded, horrified.
“Of course not. But you gave me a very intense look before you followed him, and then when you got back you looked completely, thoroughly, well-fucked and glassy-eyed.”
“Eeek!” I let out a shriek of dismay. “Seriously?”
“Come on, no one could tell but me. Don’t worry.”
“My dad would have a heart attack.”
“He’ll never find out from me or Tyler, that’s for sure. Tyler asked me a billion questions about you, though, which tells me he’s into you. And now I know you’re into him.”
“Nothing can come of it. My dad will make sure of it.”
“Why don’t you take your father to court?” Lexi asked softly. “And then you wouldn’t have to worry about this stuff.”
“Because I’m terrified of what he’ll do if I lose,” I admitted.
“We’re going to talk more when you get here,” she said firmly.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“See you day after tomorrow?”
“See you then.”
I disconnected and stared out at my beautifully landscaped yard. Usually, the grounds of my estate, especially the pool, were soothing to me. Today, I barely saw them.
I had a lot to think about, but I was distracted by thoughts of a blue-eyed rock star who’d made me come alive for the first time ever as an adult.
And even though we’d already had sex, he was still interested.
No way.
Tyler was interested.
Too bad my father would never allow it.
But Tyler freakin’ Thompson was interested.
For some stupid reason, that made me incredibly happy.
The good news was that I was going to be able to do the project with Nobody’s Fool. The bad news was that I only had a week to do it. Seven short days to hang out with Lexi and get to know Tyler and the others. Seven fucking days to pretend I was a normal person.
A familiar ache of loneliness shot through me. It had been drilled into my head that depression was something I’d have to live with as a woman with Bipolar Disorder, but I was never depressed beyond an occasional bout usually brought on by something situational. More than anything else, I was lonely. I had no close friends, no life outside of music, and certainly nothing that even vaguely resembled a social life. I hadn’t gone out on an unchaperoned date in more than seven years. And I would have been lying if I said it didn’t suck.
Of course, I’d probably sold my soul to the devil for this little taste of freedom. Darren had told me he’d talk my father into letting me work on this project if I would agree to do everything in my power to convince Nobody’s Fool to lighten up their sound from hard rock to pop. I’d jumped at the chance even though, in retrospect, it made me nervous. Darren was a wily sonofabitch, and he almost always sided with my father when it came to things about my career. So it worried me that he’d done this for me because deep down, we both knew I couldn’t force Nobody’s Fool to do anything they didn’t want to do. Which meant he would hold this over my head. I didn’t know for what, but he’d catch me when I least expected it.
It was worth it, though, because being on my own for a week was heaven. I’d be staying in the guest cottage on Casey Hart’s estate, which was both convenient and private, and I’d get to spend all day with Lexi and the guys from the band. I tried not to think about Tyler too much, but I had to admit I was looking forward to seeing him again. In a perfect world, I’d have let him know I was interested too, but nothing in my life was perfect, so I’d have to settle for fantasies. And there was a lot to fantasize about with him.
He was tall, probably about six-one, with shoulder-length dark hair that was a sexy mess. His blue eyes reminded me of the Mediterranean Sea, and the cropped beard on his face just added a ruggedness that made me want to jump him. Again and again. Adding to that eight-pack abs—because six just wasn’t enough—and the tattoos all over him, I could get lost in everything that was Tyler Thompson. He was a stereotypical bad boy rocker, with the looks, talent, and success to almost definitely put him out of my league. But I could still want him.
And I wanted him so much it hurt.
I just wish I understood why.
5
Tyler
The band was coming over early on Tuesday to talk about the project with Ariel Fox. There was a lot at stake, and we had to be sure what we wanted to do because of the money involved. We also needed to be prepared for anything since Darren was trying to force us to lighten up our music. We didn’t want to, but the amount of money they’d offered meant it would be best if we found a way to compromise. The other option, of course, was to walk away and produce it ourselves, but it was a lot more work, and all expenses would come out of our pockets. If the record company handled everything, they took a cut, but basically, all we had to do was show up, record, and then go on tour, which was ideal.
Bash and I had been through a lot with Urban Whiplash Records since that was the label that Pretty Harts had been signed with, but times had changed, and the music world changed regularly. With a former pop diva fronting us now, I sensed they wanted us to go lighter on the rock and make music for a potentially more adult contemporary crowd. That wasn’t what we wanted, though, so we had to figure out what we were going to do if push came to shove.
As always when I had a problem, I turned to one of my closest friends and confidantes, Casey Hart. Even now that she was married to the king of an eastern European country and mom to a newborn, she made time for me. Especially when it was music-related. We’d played in a band together for a decade, and our bond was solid despite the change in circumstances.
“Hey, I was just thinking about you,” she said when she answered her phone.
“Good or bad?” I asked, laying back on my bed, one arm behind my head.
“Always good.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
“Why do you sound bummed? What’s going on?”
I told her what had happened at the gig the other night, except what Ariel and I had done and how Darren was pressuring us to change our sound.
“Why would they want to change something that works?” she asked in confusion.
“Because you’re not with us anymore, and apparently Bash and I don’t carry the star power you do.”
“That’s bullshit. We were a band, a unit that worked only because we were one. Individually, none of us could have done what we did as a band.”
“Tell that to Darren Randall.”
“You want me to?”
I chuckled. “Will it help?”
She was quiet for a little bit. “I don’t like this idea of a single with Ariel Fox,” she said after a moment. “She’s incredibly successful, but I don’t think she’s going to help your cause. If anything, she’s going to be the catalyst he uses to force you to go in another direction.”
“Fuck. We thought it might be a compromise, putting another Whiplash artist on a single, but we’re not lightening up shit. That’s not our style, not the brand we’re building.”
“Randall’s a tough old fuck,” she said. “I don’t know that he’ll back down. He’s used to getting what he wants, and right now, he wants Ariel Fox in his bed and Nobody’s Fool to go mainstream.”
“He’s old enough to be her grandfather!” I protested. “Really?”
“Oh, he’s had the hots for her since she was about seventeen. I’d be willing to bet my left tit he had a hand in her father getting that conservatorship over her.”
“The what? What the hell is a conservatorship?”
“It means he controls everything in her life. Her career, her money, her friends, everything. It’s kind of creepy, in my opinion. I could totally understand him overseeing her business and finances to keep her from spending too much when she’s manic or whatever you call it when a bipolar person spirals, but from what I’ve heard, he has a say in everything from what she wears to how many hours of sleep she gets to who she’s allowed to be friends with. I don’t know the details, but he’s an overbearing prick.”
“And Randall is using her father’s control over her for what? To get in her pants?”
“I don’t know anything for sure, it’s all rumor, but that’s what it sounds like. So be careful. Not because of her—everything I’ve seen and heard is that she’s a sweetheart—but her father will use, abuse, and suck dry anyone she works with. Anything he can take advantage of, he will, with Darren’s blessing.”
“Yeah, fuck that. I’ve had too much success on my own to go down that road.”
“We know people,” she reminded me. “You’ve got this. Stand your ground with Randall and tell him to go fuck himself if he won’t play ball. Frankly, you can drop my name. He knows I have more star power than he ever will, so if you casually mention that I might produce—no details, no threats, just drop it in conversation that I offered to help in any way I can—he may well back off.”
“You’re the best, you know that?”
“I am,” she agreed, laughing. “Anyway, baby’s awake, so I have to run. Call me soon and let me know how it goes?”
“Will do. Talk to you later—and thanks.”
“Any time.”
I hung up feeling a lot better and repeated what she’d said once everyone had arrived.
“So she doesn’t think we should work with Ariel?” Lexi asked.
“She thinks we need to be careful,” I replied.
“Douglas and Darren are both assholes,” Lexi said, “but I hate the idea of not working with Ariel because of them.”
“We have to think of ourselves,” Stu said in his deep, Scottish brogue. “I feel for the lass, but we have our own careers to worry about.”
“I don’t think this is about her,” Lexi said. “This is about them using her to get us to do what they want. We have to be prepared to fight back without impacting her because her life is already hard enough.”
All of us turned to look at Lexi, and she held up her hands in a placating gesture. “I’m not saying we sacrifice anything for her, I’m just saying I want no part of sacrificing her. I can’t divulge everything I know because things were told to me in confidence, but trust me—her life sucks. Her father controls her to a degree none of us understand, and whatever Darren and her dad are up to, I’m not going to enable them to control her even more.”
The room was quiet for a minute, and then Stu nodded. “Right. I’m not interested in helping anyone control another person, either. Whatever her situation is, we don’t need to be part of that.”
“So, the question is, do we walk away from the deal?” I looked around. “I don’t need the money, but I know some of you do.”
“I guess I’m hurtin’ a little,” Ford admitted. “I have money for the basics, but if we have to do this on our own, I may have to sell my house in L.A. to finance my share of a project like this. I honestly don’t know how much I can afford.”
“I think we have to try and find a compromise,” Lexi said after a moment. “I’m not worried about the financial part since my husband makes plenty of money, but Whiplash essentially let me off the hook with the second half of the Special Kay contract.” Special Kay was her old singing group. “Technically, I still owe them another album, but Darren said not to worry about it since they’re interested in Nobody’s Fool, and we’ll most likely be touring soon anyway. My lawyer is prepared to fight should they make an issue of it, but it’s going to cost me a pretty penny if that happens, so I’d like to avoid it if I can.”
“You know my situation,” Stu said after a moment. “I lost a lot while I was in prison. I’m renting a place in L.A., but I don’t have much saved up since I paid off my house in Scotland. I was countin’ on the advance they’re offering…” His voice trailed off.
“Okay, so Lexi’s idea of a compromise is the way we need to go,” I said, exchanging a knowing glance with Bash. He and I both had plenty of money, but this project was something of an unknown. We hoped it would take off, but until we were actually out there touring and making money, everything was up in the air.
“It won’t hurt us to do the demo tape with Ariel,” Lexi said after a moment. “If she sings on one song, we’ll lighten that one track just a little, but her fans are going to go crazy for it no matter what. Our fans are going to be curious, and hopefully, the record company recognizes the potential. Putting a name as big as hers on a single is win-win. As long as she’s down for it.”
“I agree,” Ford said. “Let’s do whatever we can to make this work without compromising the music we want to make.”
“Sounds about right,” Stu said, nodding.
“Okay, I’ll call Darren tomorrow.”
I was still thinking about our conversation when I got to bed that night, my thoughts racing from music to business to Ariel Freakin’ Fox. I couldn’t stop thinking about her, and I wasn’t sure whether it was curiosity or something else. Like a fun distraction. I was still bowled over by what we’d done the other night. Even though she’d completely blown me off afterward, acting like she barely knew me and leaving before we could even exchange phone numbers.
