Page 9 of Rockstar Untamed
Sailor smiled shyly. “Thanks, I will.”
Bodhi grinned at her. “She’s great, huh?”
Sailor nodded. “Lovely, really lovely.”
women of Florence with abandonment. Soleil herself didn’t have time for relationships. At thirty-one, she was one of the most successful art dealers in the world and traveled constantly. Bodhi had harbored a crush on his friend’s younger sister when he was younger, but Soleil, who had known about the attraction, had made it clear that it would never happen between them. Now they had cultivated a friendship, which was as important to Bodhi as his relationship with Claudio.
He grinned at Sailor. “So, I just have to take Tim to school then we can get started. Why don’t you explore the house and grounds while we’re gone? I’ll be a half hour, tops.”
“Okay.”
Sailor wandered around the vast grounds of the mansion as she waited for Bodhi to return. The pool, which glittered blue in the morning sun, was huge and she wondered if Bodhi would mind if she, on occasion, did some laps in it on her lunch break. She felt her body was becoming untoned lately. She hated to go to the gym, but swimming was her thing, letting the water stream past her body. She loved it. She crouched down and dangled her fingers in the cool water. Bliss on a hot June morning in L.A. There was a small guesthouse across the other side of the pool, and she went over, trying the door and finding it unlocked, she went in. It was lite, open and airy inside, constructed to look like a beach house, all white painted wood, hurricane lamps and white furniture. A whole wall with solid bookcases and Sailor gave a silent ‘yay’ as she saw the books were a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and others. She picked out a Stephen King novel and scooched down on the couch to start reading. She missed this, having books on hand to bury herself in.
She didn’t hear Bodhi come home so absorbed in the book. He stood, leaning at the doorway, watching her, a small smile playing around his mouth. God, she was adorable, all that dark hair shoved into a messy ponytail, her blue jeans flared over her Chuck Taylors, her pink t-shirt snug against her breasts and flat belly. Again, he reminded himself that she was his employee…
“Hey, there.”
Sailor looked up and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. Bookshelves are like catnip to me.”
“Hey, it’s all at your disposal, buddy, all of it. Even the guesthouse itself. You ever need to stay late; you can use this as your own. Hell, you could even move in, rent-free of course, if you want.”
Sailor closed the book and replaced it back on the shelf. “There you go again, trying to give me stuff.” But she smiled as she said it. Bodhi shrugged.
“I understand, but it’s just stuff, you know? I like to share.”
Sailor nodded, smiling. “Shall we get to work?”
It was maddening, Bodhi thought, to have her so close beside him, breathing in her clean scent of fresh linen and cotton, her hair escaping from the ponytail. But he wasn’t a kid anymore, wasn’t that man who would risk everything for a fuck. He liked Sailor as a person, regardless of his attraction to her, and throughout that day, he came to understand just how intelligent and efficient she was. He marveled at her ability to brainstorm ideas with him when, by her own admission, she knew nothing about the music business. Bodhi had setup a conference call with Emily Moore in San Francisco, and Sailor had handled it with confidence and grace, not afraid to ask questions when she needed. Emily, a sweet-natured woman, offered to represent Bodhi officially and Sailor setup a day to fly up and sign contracts the following week.
“Come on a day when some of the honchos from Quartet are here, Bodhi. You can meet Dash and Roman, maybe Tomas too if he can drag himself away from Bay. You knowthe 9thand Pineare on tour and that Bay is seven months pregnant, right? Lunatic. So, Tom may be with her, but Roman and Dash will be here.”
“Sounds good. I’ll let you and Sailor discuss dates if that’s okay.”
“Wonderful. Speak soon, Sailor.”
When Emily had ended the call, Sailor grinned at Bodhi. “Just between you and me, I willtotallyget star struck if I meetthe 9thand Pine.”
“And yet, not star struck at all with me,” Bodhi sighed, with mock-self-pity.
“I’m just hiding it well,” Sailor shot back and Bodhi laughed. He stood up and stretched.
“We got a lot done today, Sailor, I’m feeling reenergized. It’ll be good to get back to work, but not until I have this situation with Tim sorted out. I won’t neglect him for my work.”
Sailor smiled at him. “See? I know you don’t think you’re a good dad, but you are.”
Bodhi was quiet then, and Sailor bit her lip. “Sorry, was that inappropriate?”
Bodhi shook his head. “No, it was a sweet thing to say, but I’m sorry, I don’t believe it. I can’t reach him, Sailor. When you’re not here, or when Solly or Claudio isn't around, he ignores me.”
He sat down next to her. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything.”
“Did you know what you were missing? Growing up without parents?”
Sailor sighed. “It wasn’t like that really, we were all…taken care of. If that’s what you call caring for someone,” she added, almost to herself and Bodhi was intrigued.
“Sailor…just what was this commune like? Are we talking Maharishi Yogi or Jim Jones?”
