Page 55 of Her Nightshade

My eyes narrowed. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Trevor leaned back in his chair. “It means we’ve all been picking up the slack while you’ve been playing house with your hot cougar. We’re busting our asses to get ready for this tour and you’re too busy chasing Ana around to care.”

The room went silent, and I suddenly saw red.

“You don’t get to talk about her,” I growled, my voice low, feeling a burning rage.

Trevor shrugged, unfazed. “Just saying what everyone’s thinking.”

I shot up from my chair, the scrape of the legs against the floor echoing in the room. “Say one more word about her, and I swear to God—”

“Charlie,” Reese interrupted loudly. “Sit down, man.”

I stood there, chest heaving, ready to fight. My mind was already racing—Trevor’s words, the endless schedule, the thought of Ana with Miles somewhere outside this building. It was too much.

“Fine,” I spat, grabbing my phone off the table and heading for the door. “You want me at rehearsals? I’ll be there. But don’t anyone of you ever fucking bring her up again.”

Without waiting for a response, I stormed out of the room and immediately dialed Ana.

“Hi, baby. That was quick. I thought you’d be gone for a few hours,” she answered, her tone bubbly and light, a stark contrast to the anger brewing in me.

“I got out early. I need you, Ana. Where are you?” I muttered, the frustration still clear in my voice.

“I’m just out with Miles, running errands. We’re grabbing a few things for the apartment. Why? What’s wrong?” Her tone shifted, the concern creeping in.

I clenched my jaw. The thought of her with Miles only fueled the anger still pulsing from the meeting. “I don’t like that you’re with him,” I said, the words sharper than I meant them to be.

“Charlie…” she sighed softly, and I knew her patience was wearing thin. “We’ve talked about this. Miles is just doing his job. You trust me, don’t you?”

“It’s not you I don’t trust,” I shot back, pacing the floor outside the meeting. “It’s everyone else.”

“Baby,” she said gently, her voice soothing my nerves. “You have to stop this. You know I’m coming right back to you.”

“I know,” I muttered, exhaling a shaky breath. “It’s just…the meeting was shit. They’re all riding me about the tour.”

“Okay,” she said gently. “Meet me at the apartment? Or should we pick you up?”

The thought of her spending another second alone with Miles made my stomach churn. “Pick me up,” I said quickly.

“On our way,” she promised, and we hung up.

I shoved my phone into my pocket, trying to steady my breathing, but the sound of hurried footsteps snapped my attention back. Reese stormed out of the meeting room, his face full of frustration as he came down the hall towards me.

“Charlie!” he barked, his voice echoing in the hall. “What the fuck was that back there? You can’t keep walking out like this!”

I turned to face him, shaking my head. “I’m not doing this right now, Reese.”

“No, youaredoing this right now,” he shot back sharply. “Do you even care about this tour? Because if you don’t, there are a hell of a lot of people wasting their time trying to make it happen.”

“I said, not now,” I growled, stepping closer, every nerve in my body on edge.

Reese didn’t even flinch. His arms crossed, his eyes full of disdain. “You think you can just coast on your name and your headlines with Ana? You’ve got a team depending on you. Growup, man.”

The blood rushed to my ears, a low roar drowning out reason. I stalked forward, my voice dropping to a low rasp. “I told you to keep her name out of your fucking mouth.”

Reese smirked, taunting me. “God damn, Charlie. She’s got you so fucking whipped you can’t even focus on your career.”

My vision blurred with rage as I grabbed the front of his shirt, shoving him back against the wall. He was taller than me by a couple of inches, probably just as built, but I’d take the fucker on if he kept going.

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