Page 6 of Love is a Harmony
Melanie had closed her eyes when she first saw it, willing it not to exist. Noah was a good guy, she truly believed that. A good guy who made bad decisions.
Blake, on the other hand…
He huffed, standing and kicking back his chair. The chair toppled over, crashing to the ground. “When my contract is up, maybe I’ll go to a label that has more respect for me.”
Melanie straightened the papers on her desk with more calm than she felt. “I wish you luck with that.”
He stared at her like he expected more. More reaction. More anger. More… hurt?
After a tense moment, he stormed from her office.
Melanie only had a few minutes of quiet to forget about him before her dad walked in. “Hey, sweetie.”
She smiled and stood to kiss him on the cheek. “What do you need?”
“Do I have to need something to come see my only child?”
“Yes.” She loved her dad, but as the head of the label, he got lost in his work so often she’d created a habit of bringing him dinner only to watch him not eat it while his mind was elsewhere.
He laughed at her honesty. For most of Melanie’s life, it had been just her and her dad. Her mom died when she was young. “Well, daughter of mine.” He pulled out a file he’d been holding behind his back.
“Give it here.” She took it and flipped open the file to find printed out articles about Drew Stone.
Her father righted Blake’s overturned chair and sat down. “We have a problem. Drew’s new relationship with his dancer doesn’t play well with the safety squad. My assistant brought these to my attention. They’re all conservative publications, and I’d like interviews with Drew and Lola set up with the largest ones.”
Melanie nodded. “On it.”
“I knew I could count on you. Now, to another matter. Dinner. What are we eating?”
Melanie shrugged. “Sorry, Dad. I promised Jo I’d go see her.”
“You are very good to your clients, dear. But now, I’m going to starve. Cindy went home early.”
“Why would your assistant do that?”
“I told her she could, and now I’m regretting it.”
Melanie laughed. She wondered when the last time her dad ordered food for himself was. “I’ll order food before I leave.”
“Okay. Something fried.”
“Something green,” she challenged.
He sighed. “Compromise? A salad with fried chicken on top?”
“Only if there’s no ranch dressing.”
“You’re mean.”
She flashed him a smile. “Yes, now, scoot. I still have work to do before I can leave.”
He stood and offered her a salute before leaving her to the blissful emptiness of her bare office. Noah made fun of her every time he was here, saying she lacked color.
She knew he meant the room, but she wondered if it was true of every aspect of her life. This job was Melanie’s world. She worked all day before going home to an empty apartment, waking to do it all over the next day. At least, that was her life now. It hadn’t always been like this. Before, there was Justin.
Shaking herself, she studied the list her dad gave her before firing off a few emails. Drew was a pain in the rear, but she loved him and didn’t mind easing some of the media gossip if it meant he and Lola could be happy.
She didn’t know how much time had passed when her phone rang. For a moment, she hoped it was Noah. She had two cell phones, one for work and one for personal, and Noah was the only client who always called her personal line, insisting they were friends.
