Page 99 of Deeper

Zander stepped into the room and immediately shut the music off with a remote. “Who can think with it that loud?”

Paul was a sight to see. In the corner of his mouth a joint was hanging out, and in one of his hands was the biggest gold-plated bottle of champagne I’d ever seen. A few buttons of his dress shirt were undone, exposing a glimpse of his muscled, fine-haired chest.

“Bianka!” Paul cheered as he set eyes on me. He opened his arms out in greeting. “Where’re your bags? We’ve got a jet to catch.”

This was the first I’d heard of a trip. I looked to Zander for an answer. He merely rolled his eyes at his manager. “I haven’t told her or invited her, Paul.”

I wasn’t invited? “What’s going on?”

Paul took a pull from his joint and set the champagne down. “Zander’s got the number-one song in the country, that’s what. We’re going to New York to celebrate.”

Zander faced me pitifully. “It’s work, not a party. Excuse him.”

Paul snorted. “The sooner she knows, the sooner she can pack.”

“She’s not coming,” Zander spoke up for me. “She has a job.”

There was no need to be offended, because Zander knew me well. I couldn’t just take off for New York and miss work. I needed my job and the money.

Paul eyed me funny. “You are the most honest person I’ve met out here. Most people would be screaming at a free trip to NYC. I mean, this is America. Who doesn’t feel entitled to other people’s money?”

Rajaa entered the room carrying a mug of either tea or coffee. He greeted me with a tilt of his head. “Hey, Bia.”

“Hey, Raj.” While we were still pretty much strangers to each other, I felt a sense of calm around Rajaa for the simple fact that he, like me, was just a normal person dropped into this world of fame and money. Beyond that, it was the fact that he knew Zander asSaadthat made me most comfortable. He saw his cousin as just family, not this big entity he had to be a yes-man to.

“You done packing?” Paul asked Rajaa.

Rajaa bobbed his head as he sank down on the sectional. “I finished this morning.”

“Hope you packed your sense of style, because we’re getting you laid,” Paul announced. “New York girls are different than the ones here in LA, trust me.”

“Paul,” Zander warned, taking a protective stance near Rajaa.

Rajaa squirmed a little with all the attention on him. “I’m only here to assist Saad as he works on his album. I’m not in the position to date an American girl, and I’m not trying to have a fling either.”

“Not everyone’s a pig, Paul,” I teased.

Paul faced me. “That reminds me, you and I need to talk, one-on-one.”

Zander didn’t protest as he settled down next to Rajaa and began sifting through his cell phone. “Be nice,” he issued out as Paul began leading the way out of the room.

Paul came past me and made a face at that remark. “Come on, let’s use the office.”

Curiously, I followed Paul down the hall and over to Zander’s private office. It was nothing more than an all-white room with a sheet of glass for a desk over two metal beams. There was a Mac desktop computer on the desk. One wall held a shelf with a few books, ivory elephants, and other decorative pieces, as the other housed black and white portraits of famous people, and the back wall was just a series of windows facing the side of the house. The zebra print fur rug under the desk was a nice touch, making me want to remove my shoes and burrow my toes in the fine material.

Paul shut the door and stood back, narrowing his eyes at me.

“What?” I asked.

He shook his head, soon running his fingers through his blond hair. “You’re really staying behind to work that nine-to-five?”

I made a face. “I need my job, Paul. I can’t take off for God knows how long to be in New York.”

Paul rubbed at his jaw, taking in my words. “Okay. I brought you in here because I need your contact information, e-mail, cell phone—whichever is best to get in touch with you.”

I took a step back, caught off guard. “Excuse me?”

Paul delicately placed his hand on his chest. “One, it is important that I have the numbers of everyone in that kid’s life. Case in point, the very existence of you. He fell off the grid in LA and came back with you. Second, I’m a manager. Money and career opportunities are my main motivation—you and I could potentially make some cash together.”

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