Page 35 of Hard Rock Fling
"Be careful with those!" I admonished without thinking. "They're the originals, not photocopies."
"Protective of your work?"
"You ruin one of my sketches and I'll dress you in a paper bag." I bit my tongue the moment the words left my mouth.
Ian laughed and guided me to a chair with a hand on my back. That light touch sent sparks up my spine. The heat of his hand was like an iron-hot brand on my skin, even through my blouse. When we reached an empty chair, his hand left my back, fingers trailing along my hip, indecently close to my ass.
I willed myself not to blush and sat gingerly, smoothing my skirt. Even behind his sunglasses, I could feel Ian's eyes burning into me. Exactly the response I'd hope for.
I surveyed the table. It was disconcerting being on the receiving end of so many stares. It should have been the Director, my boss's boss, who intimidated me. Instead, it was the members of Darkest Days who made my chest clench.
I nodded politely to the table, unsure where to begin.
Once again, Ian came to my rescue.
"Janet, Hope used to work for you. Why don't you introduce us?" he suggested.
Janet's mouth pinched, annoyed at being ordered around. I jumped in.
"I believe I already know everyone." I turned to the woman sitting at the far end of the table. "Kristine Watts, Director of Product Development?"
Of course I knew who she was. She was my boss's boss. I interned in her department. She'd been one of the people interviewing me for the position. Her dark blue eyes glinted behind her glasses. They didn't hold a hint of recognition, not that I expected it. She didn't have time to memorize the names and faces of all the interns.
"And Naomi Sera, Darkest Days' manager."
Naomi gave me a no-nonsense nod, not unfriendly, but brisk and business-like. Her dark hair, cut short in a bob, was almost severe. She must have chosen that cut on purpose, to make up for her baby face. I knew she was at least in her thirties, but didn't look much older than me.
With those introductions out of the way, I moved on to the band.
"Of course, I know the members of Darkest Days already. Noah Hart, Cameron Thorne, August Summers, Ian and Damon Drake."
Damon narrowed his eyes at me. I swallowed hard and looked away.
"And this is Hope," Janet said. "She's an intern with Product Development."
"Not anymore."
All eyes turned to August. He faced me, but it was like he was staring right through me, a look of concentration on his face.
"Now that we've all been introduced," Naomi said, "Tell us about the concept you thought up for our promotional photo shoot and first music video."
This was what I'd been nervous about. I didn't know if they would like my preliminary ideas.Ididn't know if I liked my preliminary ideas. I'd barely had time to think them through.
I took a deep breath and dove in.
"To start off, we need to talk about the stages of a relationship and how to represent them. When it comes to the clothing, we can't be over the top. It's got to be subtle. They still need to have a cool rock star style. Here are my basic ideas." I spread out the sheets of paper where I'd jotted down some ideas and quick line sketches. "First is the courtship stage, right?"
Everyone nodded, waiting for me to continue.
"You put your best foot forward, act on your best behavior. You're the gentleman. You're the romantic. At least at first. You need to hide your flaws. Your inner demons. You don't want to scare them off too soon. You need to ease them into it. Reveal your dark side slowly. Cameron." I nodded at Darkest Days' bassist. "That's you."
Cameron wore a tight grey t-shirt. It shouldn't have been surprising — this was a business meeting after all — but I rarely saw Cameron without his abs on display. The lack of chiseled muscle transformed him. His sexy bad boy image was softened, his face cute and earnest. He was less like a sex god and more like a member of a boy band. Maybe that was why he often went shirtless.
Cameron leaned back in his chair with a pleased expression. "Are you saying I'm secretly a demon?"
"In the sack, apparently." I hadn't meant to say that, but Cameron just laughed with a smug tilt of his chin. I was glad he hadn't called me out on the gentleman part. There was something about him off-stage. Something less wild. Something softer.
I was positive Cameron would hate being called soft.
