Page 24 of Release
“Everything is going well, but I—”
“Excellent, excellent!” She took a page from Rick’s playbook and sped up her speech, throwing around some empty words as she kept walking. “I can’t wait to hear it. Listen, call the office if you need anything, anything at all. I probably won’t be available for the rest of the day, but they’ll take good care of you. See you later, Wilkes.”
“Lexxi, hang on a second,” he said, laughing and oblivious to every hint she had dropped. “I want to talk to you. Since when do we breeze past each other?”
Wilkes grabbed her wrist, and she quirked a brow in displeasure at the commandeering move. Bryce’s eyes bounced from Wilkes to Alexandra, and back to Wilkes. Her cynical brain wished she had brought along a bodyguard today. Unfortunately, there was no way to channel that idea and make her six-foot-six brick wall of a personal security consultant appear right now.
“Three minutes. If it’s any longer, you’ll need to make an appointment.”
He nodded excitedly. Frustrated, she waved Bryce along, and he left them in the poppy orange section of the hallway, made brighter under a skylight.
“Yes, Wilkes? What is it?” she asked tersely. Wilkes’ smile wavered at the gruffness of her question, but he managed to keep it in place.
He’s a better actor than me.
She was sure there was a scowl on her face right this second.
He shuffled nervously from one leg to the other. “I wanted to tell you how proud I am of your ambition. You’re taking everybody by storm with Purple Blaze. I mean, wow! Did you get your groove back while you were on vacation or what? New job title, new you, huh? I have to admit, the new look might take some time to grow on me, but—man, I’m just…well, I’m happy for you, Lex.” He chuckled and canted his head to the side, studying her.
Eh, decent actor.
Sincerity was not his strong suit. She crossed her arms and looked squarely up at him to get it over and done with.
“Two minutes left, Wilkes.”
“Come on, Lex. It’s me here.”
“Wilkes, you’ve already congratulated me. You brought in over a hundred roses worth of congratulations. We have history, and maybe we can be friends, but please stop downplaying the change in our positions at the label. I don’t want to hold my seniority over your head, but I’ve taken on a heck of a lot of responsibilities, and what I need right now is the space and time to make it work for everyone, including me. You’ve got an album coming out, and so do I, on top of everything else. So can you either get to the point or let me get my work done?”
He took a step back with hands raised apologetically, almost pouting. “Of course. I understand. Stay out of your way.”
Groaning, she rolled her eyes, dropping the crossed arms stance. “Christ! You know it’s not like that, Wilkes. Look, I just want to be able to do my job without wondering if you’re kissing up to me for special favors or whatever. People see you doing that, and it’ll cause resentment. Or, they’ll start thinking they can get away with the same thing. I don’t need that right now. So stop schmoozing and, maybe that energy can go into putting out the best record you can.”
“Lexxi, what happened to us?” Wilkes murmured, his tone suddenly different. He tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder and stared intensely into her eyes. When he leaned in closer, she read his intentions loud and clear.
“Don’t,” she said, turning her face from his incoming kiss. “Did you even hear a word I just said?”
He straightened up and nodded almost imperceptibly. “Right. Business. Just so you know, I wasn’t trying to undermine your authority. To tell you the truth, it didn’t even occur to me folks would think like that. I guess I’m still a simple country boy at heart. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head in disbelief, but did not acknowledge anything he said. “Did you wait around to try and kiss me in the hallway, or did you really need something?”
“Don’t fault me for trying, Lex. Yes, there is something more. I need you to hear something.”
“I don’t have time, Wilkes.”
“I promise. No more than five more minutes.”
Wilkes grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the studio where he had been recording. Alexandra trudged behind, regretful she hadn’t told Rick to get that severance offer lined up for Wilkes like they had discussed. She entered the studio, and was welcomed by soft lighting and a crowded room filled with a team of writers, engineers, producers, and a few others peering at monitors and mix boards. Extricating her hand from Wilkes’ possessive grasp, she nodded her head to greet the three or four who looked up. Everyone seemed highly involved in what they were doing, as they should be. Only Wilkes appeared perfectly okay with losing recording time just to hunt her down.
She gazed around the room. It was fairly similar to the one next door to the one she used, and she had to wonder if Wilkes caught wind of that and had purposely chose this one. Red oak walls boasted speakers and soundproof acoustic paneling for the ultimate recording experience. A countertop covered in studio equipment overlooked the actual sound booth where comfy barstools were placed before two microphones. It was an unassuming place, but this was where the magic happened.
Wilkes grabbed a stack of papers and waved them at her to reel in her fading attention. “I have a song I want you to take a listen to, Lex. Do you want to see the sheet music?”
She took what he handed over to her, and scanned through the lyrics as Wilkes continued, animatedly explaining why he had dragged her in here.
“Now, these guys—the new writers you paired me with—tell me this song will be a definite chart topper. I have no doubt about their writing skills. They’re responsible for three of the current top ten country songs, but I have a gut feeling this one’s missing something.”
Both of the writers present muttered agreement with him. “It could be improved. Wilkes has some ideas for it,” said one.
