Page 52 of The Pursuit of Happiness

I laugh, “Well, look who went from not wanting me around to not being able to exist without me.” I place a hand over my heart, “I feel so special.”

She chuckles which catches the attention of Brody and Ivory who stare at us with confusion on their faces. They look between Aria and I and then I watch as realization coasts across their features. So much for keeping our newfound relationship a secret. The door opens and Selene storms in wearing her signature Chanel perfume and four inch heels. She has an exhausted look in her eyes, but a pleased expression on her face nonetheless. “Guess what, deranged clients of mine?” She spares me a glance, “And Slater.”

Brody takes the bait, “What, mistress of evil?”

Selene narrows her eyes at Brody and frowns, “You don’t get to address me in creative nicknames. That’smything. Besides, I do it better.”

Ivory rolls her eyes, “What do you have to tell us?”

Selene props her hands on her hips, “I managed to get Aria and Slater onAfter Hours.”

My eyebrows practically shoot off my head and Aria immediately stiffens. I can sense the anxiety rolling off of her in waves and I rise from my set to stand at her back, close enough to comfort her without touching her. Her shoulders relax only slightly, but I can still see she isn’t happy about this appearanceat all. “Why?”

Selene looks at Aria like Aria just argued that animals can talk, “What do you mean, ‘why?’ I just booked you a very difficult to get on TV appearance. You should be thanking me!”

“Selene, thank you for thinking about us. That was very nice of you to get us on the show, but-” I start, trying to keep my tone calm.

My girl cuts me off, bursting at the seams, “But this is not the right time! John Sweet is a very rude man. He makes jokes about people at their expense and I know he’s going to mention the tape. And Slater’s…incident.” I notice that she leans into me as she speaks and I don’t stop her. She doesn’t do it in a way that makes whatever it is we have obvious, but she does it in a way meant to console us both.

Selene crosses her arms over her chest, “I already made his team agree not to discuss either. I think this could take bad press and replace it with good press.”

Ivory interrupts, skepticism in her tone, “I thought you said there was no such thing as bad press?”

Selene shoots her ashut the fuck uplook and ignores her comment as she continues, looking only at us “Trust me on this, guys. I would never throw you to the wolves. You know that.”

Aria doesn’t look convinced and I watch as Brody makes eye contact with Aria and they have some kind of silent communication with their eyes. Aria sighs after a moment and nods, “Okay.”

I reach up and place my hand at the base of her neck, massaging the muscles with my index finger and thumb to calm her. She starts to relax and I don’t draw too much attention to the action, keeping my expression casual even though I want to rip her clothes off her body and sink my cock so deep inside her she can’t walk afterwards. I use all of my willpower to not get hard. “Thanks, Selene.”

Selene dips her chin. “You’re welcome.” She looks at Brody and Ivory next, “How is the new album coming?”

Brody accounces proudly, “We have four of the seven songs finished.”

“Good. Keep working today.” Selene sounds pleased. As we’re about to break and get back to work, Selene calls, “Slater.”

I drop my hand from Aria’s neck and Aria takes only a step away from me so that she can listen to whatever it is Selene is about to say to me. She probably thinks this is about my current legal troubles. “Yes?”

Selene gives me a gentle smile, “I have a surprise for you.”

I point to my chest in complete shock, “Me?”

Selene rolls her eyes, “Yes, you. Unless you know another Slater who happens to be in this room right now?”

I shake my head, “No, that would be me.”

“Great,” Selene claps her hands together in front of her chest. She whips out her phone a second later and sends a quick text. As she does, the door opens and Selene smiles, “I thought you could benefit from seeing some familiar faces.” I wonder what she means for a second, but then I understand completely because my mom and dad enter the room, smiles on their loving faces.

I suck in a sharp breath that comes out a choked laugh, “Oh my God,” I say excitedly as I race across the room and wrap my arms around my mom. I squeeze her so tight and lift her off the ground in a bear hug. My mom is a tiny woman. It truly is a miracle that she birthed me. I’m easily about two feet taller than her.

“My boy!” Mom says affectionately into my chest, though the sound comes out muffled.

I release her and hug my dad next, clapping him on the back. My dad is my height and I notice he’s gotten more gray in his once brown hair. His face is slightly more wrinkled but he’s stillthe loving father I’ve always known. Mom looks great. Her hair must’ve recently been dyed her blond color that looks exactly the same shade as mine, and her glasses make her look like a child despite the small wrinkles on her face. “It’s so good to see you, Son,” Dad grins.

One thing I never had to worry about after the sex tape and this new scandal was losing my parents’ love. They will always support me even when they know I’m wrong. They may give me a lecture about why it was wrong, but they focus more on the solution than putting me down when I fuck up. And growing up, I fucked upa lot. “I can’t believe you guys are here!”

Mom pats my arm, “Selene called us, honey. She said you could use some family time and your father and I were in town.”

I ask, “How was Barcelona?”

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