Page 109 of Rock Out Together
I tipped my chin in her direction, still too pissed with her to talk. Had she listened when I’d complained of feeling unwell, I might not have gotten so bad that it required a trip to the hospital.
“This couldn’t have come at a better time. Imagine ifyour issue had happened mid-tour?” she speculated, her eyes almost bugging out of their sockets to emphasize what a catastrophe it would have been—for her maybe. My nurse had only met her briefly, but she had the measure of Klarissa in a heartbeat. All my manager saw was dollar signs.
“You know, you’re exactly right. My ear problem couldn’t have happened at a better time. The tour’s finished, the new album is doing well, and I’m thinking that it’s time we parted ways.”
It took Klarissa a few moments to gather her wits, unswallow her tongue and get the multitude of emotions that had flitted over her face in check before she replied. “Look, you’re obviously not well. Don’t you think all this stress might be affecting your judgement? I don’t think you really mean that,” she babbled. She tried to pull off a look which was a combination of caring and confident with a smattering of shock thrown in, but I saw past her. She clutched her chest like she was distraught about my decision, but it only made her appear as if she was having a medical episode.
“This isn’t a decision based on what’s happened today. You’ve been riding my ass harder than ever this past year, and quite frankly, I don’t know why I’ve put up with it.”
A snarl curved her lip at one side but she quickly schooled her face into a passive appearance, then dropped a veil of concern over it again. “Let’s just take a breather,” she suggested, inhaling deep with her hands over her stomach like some fucking yoga guru. “I won’t hold what you’ve saidagainst you, Harry. And I won’t accept this is the end of the road for us?—”
“Then take it up with my legal team because I’m most definitely firing your ass. I heard you threaten Davy. Is that how you treat my band when I’m not around?”
“Those boys are amply taken care of. Sometimes they just need to be kept in line.”
“You’re the one out of line here, Klarry, and they aren’t boys, they’re men. Now, I’m tired… in fact, I’m fucking exhausted between being sick, the gig and looking at your haggard pinched features. I want you to leave and make sure you take all your shit out of my recording studio before I check in there next week. I’ll make sure you get your twenty percent, but I want you to leave me alone right now.”
“You best check the contract you signed with me. Three months’ notice is the usual termination, according to our contract,” she muttered bitterly.
“I’m taking the next three months off,” I decided in a heartbeat. “I’ll make sure the band gets their dues… but you’re not getting another penny out of me—so sue me.”
When I saw how unhinged Klarissa’s jaw became, I wished we’d had that kind of conversation sooner, if only for the entertainment value and satisfaction of seeing her lose her shit.
“You’ll be sorry,” she muttered, completely ruffled for the first time since I’d known her. Her hand tugged at her hair as she flung the hospital room door wide and strode through it.
“Already am, I should have fired your ass a year ago,” I called after her, leaning forward, and sitting up in bed toensure my voice carried out to the corridor after her. Once I knew she had gone, I laid back on the pillow and took a deep breath.
“Well done, I’m proud of you,” Chastity chipped in, wandering around my side of the bed.
I glanced over at her and when a sexy smile tugged at her lips, my heart began to race.
“We should have dinner sometime,” I mused. She stopped what she was doing, placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes to study me.
“Maybe… maybe not. That would depend on what you’d expect in return.”
“What are you offering?” I asked playfully. I sat upright in bed again.
“I might need to give you a bed bath before I respond to that… you know, to decide if you’re worth my while.”
“Sounds to me like I’d need to measure up,” I replied, amused, knowing I likely would.
“That depends, you might be a grower not a shower, that would mean extra work,” she remarked, chuckling.
“Damn, you’re quick,” I mumbled, shaking my head and most definitely feeling another stirring in my boxers from her constant flirty responses.
“My wit, maybe, but believe me when I tell you, this baby has plenty of staying power.”
“So, if not dinner, then what?” I asked, totally interested in where she wanted to take this connection we’d built.
“Well, now that you’ve stopped puking, I do see a lot ofpotential in you. I can tell a person’s level of fitness from how quickly their body recovers.”
I laughed again, suddenly realizing I felt perkier than I had in about a month. “Oh, I always bounce back,” I disclosed.
“Ah, then maybe I’ll give you a chance to prove that last statement you made. But…” she said, quickly hesitating, “Alas, I just remembered, it’s against hospital protocol to hook up with a patient,” she admitted. “Then again, if we were to meet in the street once you’d been discharged, and you asked me to dinner again… who knows, I might just say yes.”
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