Page 70 of Deeper

“Zan’s got a cute little idea—I’ll let him tell you. Have any clues as to who you want to cast for the female lead? Whatlookyou have in mind?” Paul asked in a coded manner instead of blatantly just coming out and questioning if Zander was going to use a Black model for his video of “Canvas.”

Zander’s expression was empty now as he stood beside me. “Try to find me a South Asian model.”

Paul nodded and tipped his head towards me before once more hopping on his phone as he walked away.

The lobby was empty outside of the receptionist across the room at the front desk. The large floor-to-ceiling windows on the wall to our right illustrated how night had fallen upon us as the sun was now lower in the sky.

Zander took a step back and stared at me, and I knew something was wrong. “You look like you have a question, as do I. Should you go first?”

Business mode once more.

Fine, I was too curious to let it go. “What’s the story with your old team?”

Zander escorted me onto the nearby elevator and blew out a breath before he spoke.

“They dropped me.” He peeked at me, ashamed. “I wasn’t comfortable performing, or touring—I refused to tour for my first album, and being that the tour bag is massive, my manager didn’t like that I was wasting my potential, that I wasn’t milking all my opportunities. They wanted me to do movie cameos, guest spots on competitions, and that’s just not me. So they walked away.

“I was on my own, and I was angry—a hothead. When I was trying to put togetherDamage Controlit was hard finding someone willing to jump in. Paul approached me and just straight up didn’t give a fuck about my past. He told me he was willing to get in the ring with me, so long as I was willing to keep fightin’ until the end.”

Blunt or not, Paul had a heart there. With Zander not ready to tour, he was missing out on major money, which was probably why a lot of people didn’t want to touch him. While this was still about business, Paul willing to work with Zander said a lot about him, as if money wasn’t the motivator behind his decision.

“And your assistant?” I asked.

“What’s there to assist when I’m in a rut?”

Understandable.

“So,” Zander went on. “In my life, when I’m crashin’ down, the only two people who can get a hold of me and set me straight these days are Nazanin and Paul. My parents allow me to be an adult, so they don’t step in, but Naz doesn’t care about that. She’s like a second mum sometimes. Paul’s…what, thirty-three? Outside of the business, he’s like the older brother I never had. I do my best to listen to him, because I am grateful he stepped up to work with me when I was on fire.”

Zander was from the UK. Here in the States, he had no one. If he ever went on a self-destructive path, there wasn’t much to stop him. It was good that Paul cared beyond work, and even though she was in another country, Nazanin stepped up where their parents wouldn’t.

I was beginning to question if Zander saw a therapist when our elevator reached our floor and Zander led me towards the exit. Or, he started to, before he stopped and faced me, armed with his own inquisition. “Now, why did you call me your ‘friend’ when you were talking to Paul?”

Ah, he’d caught that. “Because wearefriends, Zandy.” I reached out and patted his chest, something that didn’t amuse him.

“Bianka.”

“What?”

He shook his head. “Why won’t you address this as what it is: dating.”

“Because you haven’t taken me on a date.”

Zander blinked. “A date?”

“That’s the main component in dating, actually going out and wining and dining each other. Otherwise, we’re just friends who occasionally screw around,” I pointed out.

Zander folded his arms, staring at me curiously. “So you want to go on a date?”

“Uh, yeah, duh. Court me, I’m worth it.”

Zander checked the time on his phone. “Wanna grab a bite and go to the cinema?”

It wasn’t extravagant and luxury, but something down-to-earth and low-key. “That sounds perfect.”

He took a dangerous step closer, flashing me a dirty smile. “And then can we go home and fuck?”

“Hell yes.” I reached out and we high-fived.

---