“Eli, you’re here,” she croons with a seductive lilt.
My balls shrivel up, and my skin crawls.
Before I can stop her, Silla grips my forearms and smacks two kisses on each of my cheeks, way too close to the corners of my mouth. “When are you going to take me to dinner, darling?”
How about never?
“Silla, lovely to see you.” I avoid giving her an answer. I step back, putting distance between us as I brush myself off, erasing the feel of her claws on me. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to meet with Callie about something.”
Silla’s eyes narrow into slits for a flash before she smiles. “Business? Shouldn’t I be there for that?”
“It’s all good. No contracts to sign today. I just need to ask her something about the recording studio schedule for tonight.”
Silla hums, unconvinced by my excuse. She adjusts her purse on the crease of her elbow and fluffs her hair. “Well, I better be off. There’s so much to do before our tour starts.”
“Have a good evening, then.”
“You too, Eli, darling.” And just like that, Silla gets on her broom and flies away.
A full body shiver wracks my spine as I taste her cloying perfume on my tongue.
I’ve met vipers like her. They are usually stage moms living vicariously through their children, banking all the dollars while their kids work to the bone.
Interesting…
“Hey.” Callie’s sweet voice rips my concentration away from the weird exchange with Silla and lands it back on her, where it wants to be. She’s wearing black jeans shredded at the knees, exposing her tan skin that begs my hand to touch it, and a sheer white top that shows one of her silk-smooth shoulders.
Her beauty knocks me on my ass every time I see her.
Callie looks me up and down, and her neatly groomed eyebrows crunch in such an adorable way it makes me want to kiss the spot between them. Kiss away her worry.
“Are you okay?”
Her question throws me off. “Fine. I just had a run-in with Silla.”
Callie looks down the empty hall, then back at me. “I can smell,” she says, wrinkling her nose.
I bark a laugh, and I don’t know if I’m laughing at her astute observation or the cute way her nose wrinkles, but I can’t help it.
“We all can. Come on, Cal. Let’s get out of here.” Throwing my arm around her shoulder—where she fits all too damn well against my body—I lead her down the hall.
“So, what’s up with you and Silla?” I ask.
Callie stiffens under my arm. “What do you mean?”
“Hmm. Let’s see. You’re a nice person, and she’s not. It has me wondering why she’s your manager.”
“She, uh, d-discovered me,” Callie stammers.
“Doesn’t mean you have to be loyal to her. It’s okay to outgrow certain people in this business as your career takes off.”
“I know, and I will fire her when I’m ready, but not yet.”
“Is something going on I should know about?” The alarm in my head goes off again.
She shakes her head. “No. Just trust me, okay? Please?”
Trust. I keep giving it but get nothing in return.