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Pepper had been busy over the last fifteen years.

Am I really going to do this?It was scary. And I’d be giving up some control, which I certainly didn’t like either.

But the stage called to me. I couldn’t resist the beckoning of the music, it was too ingrained into me. Melodies haunted me, lyrics sang in my blood, and ever since I could remember picking up the guitar—I knew my life belonged to music.

I was going to do this.Ifthe offer was good.

There was relief in that. I didn’t like going back and forth when making decisions, so even committing to the possibility made me relax.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out quickly, half expecting it to be Pepper. It wasn’t her though, it was Beth.

Good luck, darling, we’re rooting for you.

Warmth spread through my chest.

Thank you. I’ll let you know how it goes

A knock at the door had me putting my phone down. I turned and smiled as Tommy filled the doorway, his energy contagious.

“Hey,” he said. “Jeff put you in here?”

“Yeah,” I chuckled. “I don’t think he liked me.”

Tommy snorted and glanced behind him before making a face. “No one likes him, so it doesn’t matter. Let’s go to my office, it has an actual view.”

One more deep breath. “Lead the way.”

TWENTY

PEPPER

It’d beena week since I’d seen Salt.

Two weeks since we met.

Tommy left a proposal on my desk at the end of the day last Friday. Their meeting was perfect, or so I’d heard. Salt had everything Tommy wanted, and Tommy had a vision of how we could take his career to the next level.

For one week, I’d let that proposal sit on my desk.

And every single day, I thought about Salt.

Despite the fact that everyone else went home for the weekend over an hour ago, I was still here.

Still staring at the damn papers.

All of my sex toys arrived earlier in the week. They’d helped the ache that was gnawing at my heart and pussy.

A knock at the door startled me. My head whipped up, but then I relaxed as Ellen leaned against the frame, offering a grim smile. She was dressed in yoga pants and a jacket, a gleam of sweat on her forehead.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you stay late on a Friday unless something big was happening,” she said.

I slowly covered the contract with another piece of paper as I sighed. “There’s just a lot to do. Did you go for a run already?”

“Yeah, I’ve been off for a while now. Since I left at my normal time, unlike you. Doesa lothave anything to do with you going to Russo’s last week?”

I stiffened. “How the fuck do you know about that?”

“The same way I knew you were still working. Remember, our locations are shared on our phones?” She held hers up, flashing the screen. “You know this is how I show my love. By checking on my Sims. And I’ve been giving you time to confess to whatever’s been weighing on you the last week, but you’ve been locked down tighter than a damn vault.”

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